"Tell me, Hera, why are you accusing me when I didn't touch your precious friend?" Hunter asked, still keeping his calm. He wasn't shouting, nor he looked angry, but Hera braced herself anyway, awaiting his false composed demeanour to collapse. "Did he do something which I'm not aware of?" He asked, faking an intrigued tone and Hera didn't miss the mockery behind it.
Hera was speechless, her anger replaced with worry now. She was clueless about how to explain herself without fueling his fury. "Can we not talk about it here?" She asked timidly, keeping her voice low, eyes cast down. Startled, she stepped back when Danny stood up, the chair causing that ugly screeching sound before he kicked it with his foot in anger. Then the chair toppled over.
.
"Boys, you're student council members, please behave," they heard the librarian say in disapproval. Eric nodded apologetically at the kind woman. With a tired sigh, he pulled Hera towards him before offering her a seat next to him. Hunter was still seated in his chair, his temper surprisingly, still intact.
Evelyn held on to Danny's arm and pulled him back when he prepared to leave. Bianca too showed genuine interest after seeing her friends' reactions and asked Danny to explain. He only shook his head, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Michael spoke and told them everything.
That day when Hera cried with an excuse of failing her tests, Danny silently left as if unbothered by her tears and Michael followed him. But the truth was he saw her running into the girls' washroom, wiping her eyes furiously. She came from the opposite direction of her classroom. Danny noticed she entered the building from the back entrance, and that was suspicious enough.
When she lied to Hunter, it confirmed she's was hiding something because Danny knew his sister too well. When Hera lies, she always avoids looking into the eyes. Danny and Michael's search led them to one of her best friends, crying and kicking the ground in anger, and they didn't want to believe the first thought that entered their mind.
'He was her best friend and wouldn't attempt anything immoral with her, right?'
Danny had thought, and as if reading his mind, Michael's eyes held the same question.
Ignoring his instinct, Danny could've ruled it out as a typical silly dispute between friends, but Andrew spoke digging his own grave. He'd mocked how Hera had sent her bodyguards to fight him. "Yes, Daniel, I touched your sister. What'll you do now, kill me?" He'd asked with a mocking chuckle. As soon as he admitted touching his sister, Danny lost his senses, and with one solid hard punch, he broke nose. Both he and Michael beat him to their satisfaction.
Danny was enjoying it too much when Michael stopped him. His buddy had stated that Hunter deserved to get his hands on Andrew as well and he'd successfully convinced him not to kill him before that. They hid it from Hunter because Danny wanted to give Hera a chance to tell him by herself.
"Be glad that we didn't kill him yet," Michael said with a grimace as if disappointed in himself for not doing that.
"Why would you hide something like this, Hera? You should've reported him immediately," Evelyn spoke after listening to the full story. Hera was more angry than worried now because Hunter didn't open his mouth yet. Frustration was clawing at her skin. "Because it's my choice and only I should have the right to decide," Hera offered as her defence.
She saw through her peripheral vision how Bianca shook her head in disagreement. "What's wrong is wrong, Hera. You shouldn't protect him," she said as if she understood Hera's reasons. Hera glanced at her in surprise.
"Maybe, it's okay because he's her friend. Hera doesn't mind him touching her, I guess?" Samantha said, mocking her with her amused laughter. "Shut the fuck up, Sam, or get the hell out of here," Danny snapped in anger, gritting his teeth.
"Or maybe it's a precious memory she wanted to keep to herself," Hunter said bitingly, tone harsh and sarcasm dripping from his every word. Finally, he'd reacted, and Hera saw the mask slipping. Hera watched, holding her breath while Hunter stood up, grabbed his jacket from the armrest of the chair, and picked up his bag ready to storm out. "I'll report him," Hera said hurriedly. Hunter mocked a smile, "Thanks, so nice of you," he spat before walking out of the library.
Hera ran after him calling his name for the ninth time, but he didn't stop. His pace so fast she couldn't keep up and jogged after him. He looked so furious, Hera was afraid to touch him.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Hera cursed when she discovered he's walking to the parking lot. "Are you kidding me? Out of all the day, he's to chose to bring his car today? It's hardly ten minutes walk from the dormitory to our school!" She exclaimed in frustration before running at full speed to stop him.
Panting hard, she jumped into the passenger seat as soon as he opened the lock to his black Range Rover. She watched through the glass as Hunter muttered a curse. He tossed his blazer inside along with his bag and slammed the door shut. To Hera's shock, he didn't get in the car but walked towards the bleachers.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Hera kept cursing as she followed him. "I'm done with the running quota for the day. I need to save what little energy left in me to fight with you," she said, attempting to humour him but in vain. Loosening his tie, he glared at her while Hera slumped herself on the bleachers. "I promise I'll report him. But wait until the tests get over. Facing him so soon would disturb me," she said, hoping he would agree.
Hands shoved in his pockets, he finally turned, standing directly in front of her. The breeze ruffled his hair, messing it thoroughly, and the fringe covered his forehead. With his tie loosely hanging, shirt tucked into the waistband of his pants, he looked so hot, like a young, billionaire businessman from romance novels. Hera wished she could move her fingers in his hair, brushing it back to its place. She felt disappointed when he did it by himself.
"Just because you're being generous and agreed to report him, don't think I'll spare him. I'm not as generous as you're," he said, again mockery dumped at Hera.
"This is why I was afraid to tell you. I don't want to witness a repeat episode of Nate," she admitted in a low voice. Hunter scoffed, tearing his eyes off her as he looked away. "What Nathan did was nothing in comparison to what Andrew did," Hunter said, kicking the nonexistent stone. "And you expect me to not to touch that bastard?" He chuckled humourlessly and shook his head. "Not happening, Goddess," he stated.
Mouth agape, Hera stared, not knowing how to convince him. She wished she could cry and melt his heart with her sad eyes. Her tears always made him give up to her wishes. But to her distress, tears wouldn't come now when she needed them because she couldn't fake it for the love of God. She couldn't use it against him while she's at fault and guilty.
"Do you know what it feels when the person you love the most doesn't trust you?" He asked, and Hera stared at him hurt and offended. "Of course I trust you, Hunter," she was quick to disagree, but he shook his head as if she lied to him. "You always know when I lie, Hunter," she said, and he smiled.
"Exactly, Goddess, that's the problem. I knew it when you lied. Do you know how much it hurts when you know that something is wrong with your lover and they don't trust you enough to tell you the truth?" He asked, and the pain lacing his tone only added more to her guilt. He looked away, turning his back to her. Hera wanted to reach out and pull him into her arms but didn't dare to do it. She couldn't afford to interfere and upset him further. So she waited and patiently listened while he spoke.
"You don't understand, Goddess, how it feels when you know someone dared to hurt your girl and you weren't there to protect her. Do you know what I went through when I saw you crying? When you flinched at my touch," he paused. Crouching down on his heels, he took her hands and finally saw the fading bruises on her wrists. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath, and Hera could see how hard he's trying to fight his anger. "I didn't flinch at your touch, Hunter, I winced because it hurt," Hera admitted.
"I felt so useless because I couldn't protect you. You didn't tell me the truth, and it made me so helpless. I so desperately wanted to chase away your worries, your fears, and to soothe your pain, but you wouldn't let me," he confessed, sounding so hurt.
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