The Tattooed Bad Boy

by Shiewanie Kristo

  My heart started pounding once again, but this time it wasn’t because of the giddy feeling Hunter gave me. The realization that the rumors were true aroused this intense series of fear within me and all I wanted to do was run away from Hunter. If he was a murderer, then he could actually do anything. The moment he turned around, I started wishing for a hole to just appear in the ground and for it to swallow me whole. He was rather shocked to see me, but that only lasted for a few seconds before he started getting frustrated.

  “Look, I’m sorry you had to hear all of that.” he sighed.

  “I thought you were a nice guy...” I breathed out. “I really did...”

  Hunter stared at me for a while before he started laughing loudly. “Did you not hear those rumors? Oh, don’t tell me you’re one of those ‘I-won't-believe-until-I-see' types. Oh,” he rested his hands on his hips. “I thought you weren’t scared of me.” he continued as he stepped closer. With every step that he took forwards, I went backwards. “I guess I was wrong.”

  He raised his hand and once again, I flinched, releasing a ‘tji’ sound as I closed my eyes and instinctively turned my head. Instead of the smack that I was used to, I felt a hand rest on my cheek. Shocked, I looked up at him. His face was dangerously close and the fear that I was feeling was now replaced by that giddy feeling once again.

  “You should be afraid of me, Zoe. You should be very afraid.” I could feel his breath on my lips.

  “I... don’t want to...” I was at a loss of words, so I stopped mid-sentence.

  “You don’t want to what?” he stepped even closer.

  The wall hit my back and now I was just stuck between this wall and Hunter’s tall figure. He was just towering over me with this intense look on his face.

  “I don’t want to be afraid of you...” I felt all the nervousness leaving my body. It was like my brain was suddenly on auto-pilot and I just kept on saying what was in my heart. “You act like this cold-hearted person, but your eyes show so much more. You think you can hide yourself from the world, but you can’t. I see right through you. I know that those rumors aren’t half of what you really are. You’re in pain, Hunter. At the end of the day, you’re the one who’s afraid.”

  A certain emotion flashed through his eyes and my eyes grew wide when I realized that I spoke too much. I pushed Hunter away from me, seeing he was caught off guard by my words, and held my jeans tighter.

  “I’m sorry... I... I shouldn’t have said all of that.”

  “Right, you shouldn’t have.” his jaw clenched. “I’ll drop you home.”

  He walked past me, out of the house. I really did say too much...

  Chapter Six

  “Where the hell have you been?!” Tony stepped in front of me as soon as I entered the house.

  His arms crossed over his chest and I gulped. “I was in the library with Alyssa, so I didn’t realize that it was late already.”

  He just stared at me for a few seconds before pointing towards the kitchen. I nodded and quickly ran into the kitchen. I tied my hair in a bun, washed my hands, and started preparing their meal. I was a hundred percent sure I wasn't going to get to eat today, and I really didn't care anymore. Once I was finally done with preparing everything, I walked into my room and right at that moment there was a knock at the door. I quickly locked my door and jumped in bed. I kept thinking of Hunter. The way he looked at me when he suddenly switched to his bad side. Come to think of it, that was the first time I had ever seen Hunter laugh. It wasn’t for a good reason, but at least he laughed and it made my heart beat faster. I couldn’t like Hunter, he’s a murderer. He’s like Tony in a way...

  But why am I still not scared of him like I’m scared of Tony?

  Hunter and I could never be either way. He’s on a way different level. I looked at the cut on my thigh. Knowing that these scars were going to haunt me my entire life somehow made them hurt even more. Tony knew exactly what he was doing. He was creating these scars on my body as if he were writing a story –the story of how he could do whatever he wanted to me, of how I would never ever be able to forget him. He didn’t only imprint himself as a trauma deep in my heart, but also on my body. Tony himself was a scar that would never fade. Tears filled my eyes. This dark void in my heart made my chest heavy. It was as if it blocked the air from my lungs. It was this unexplainable emptiness and pain that whispered to me to end it all. If I ended myself, the pain would automatically end too. There was nothing to lose here besides my life. As if I were in a trance, I got up from my bed and walked to my bathroom, stopping right in front of my sink. I looked at the razor blade I held so many times, but just couldn’t get the courage to do it. But now, enough was enough. This was the only way out of this hellhole and I was done with all of this. I didn’t want to live through Tony’s torture anymore. I was so tired of it all. I reached for the blade, but the sound of someone banging on my bedroom door stopped me. Frowning I walked to my door, knowing it was Tony. If I don’t open this door now, who knows what he’ll do with me later. I slowly opened the door and as I expected, there stood Tony right in front of me.

  “Yes, Tony?” I asked, looking at the floor.

  “Look at me.” he sounded pissed.

  I slowly raised my gaze. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. His black hair was nicely styled to the back and his black suit made him look even more dangerous than he already was. His jaw clenched. His dark eyes connected with mine and before I could blink, his hand raised and smacked me right across the face. The sudden took me by surprise which lead me to lose my balance and fall to the floor. My left cheek pounded and I was sure it left a bruise.

  “Next time, add less salt. I’ll fucking kill you.” was all he said before casually walking away.

  “Zoe,” Alyssa called, making me look at her. “Are you alright? You’ve been so off today...”

  "Nothing, Aly. I'm fine." I breathed out and looked ahead of me as I walked.

  "Sure, I'll believe that." she said as she stared at me.

  I didn't say anything; I just continued walking. I was too devastated to respond to anything right now. I closed my eyes and the events of yesterday flashed in front of my eyes. My breath caught in my throat and I opened my eyes again. I shouldn't think about it anymore, I told myself. I breathed out as my breathing went even again and I looked ahead of me again. It was lunch break and Alyssa and I just found out that we're free for the rest of the day. I could go home, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to see Tony's nasty face. I felt a shiver run down my spine from disgust as I thought about yesterday. I had that razor right in front of me and yet I couldn’t do anything. We reached this small café not that far from our school.

  “Are you sure you won’t buy yourself some food?” Alyssa asked rather concerned.

  I looked at her and shook my head. She breathed out and walked over to the counter while I sat on one of the chairs as I waited for her to be over with it. I had no idea what was going on in my life right now. Everything was chaos. I was at war with myself. I had no idea what I was feeling, neither did I know what the purpose of living was. I just knew that I wanted all this to end. It didn't matter whether it ended while I am still breathing, or dead, covered in blood. I just wanted it to end.

  "Here you go." Alyssa handed me a sandwich.

  I looked at her and frowned. "I didn't ask for one." I said and she nodded.

  "I know you didn't ask for any, but I'm smart enough to notice that you're hungry." she said and I took the sandwich out of her hand.

  "Thanks. I have no idea what I'd do without you," I said and she smiled.

  "I know. I'm awesome." she chuckled and I laughed as I shook my head at her.

  We walked out of the café and headed to the school. Alyssa was just the most amazing person ever. I have no idea what I would have done without her. Alyssa has always been there for me and has taken care of me as if I were her little sister. That was the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I took a bite of my sandwich as we
walked towards the benches and sat down. I continued eating as I spoke with Alyssa. I wanted to tell her so badly, but I couldn't.

  "We need to talk about something." Alyssa looked at me.

  I looked at her and frowned once again. "What's wrong?"

  "I need to know what's going on between you and Hunter." she crossed her arms over her chest and shot me a skeptical look. "What happened yesterday was not normal."

  I breathed out as I stared at her. I should have seen this coming. "Hunter and I met." I said and she raised her eyebrows at me. "Well, this guy was bothering me and Hunter appeared out of nowhere and knocked him out."

  "He really did?" her eyes grew wide.

  “He did!” I nodded eagerly. “It’s not something you’d expect from him, right?”

  “Yeah, but you do know what kind of guy he is right?”

  Of course, I do...

  “I do...” I breathed out.

  “Stay away from him, Zoe.” Alyssa’s hand rested on mine. I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off. “I’m serious. Otherwise I’ll tell your brother.”

  Chapter Seven

  "You're late," Tony gave me a certain look as I entered the house.

  I froze immediately and gulped as I stared at him. Tony rolled up his sleeves as he shot me a look, anger flashing through his eyes. I knew I shouldn't have gone to the library with Alyssa. It was just the worst idea ever. I should have just walked home. You stupid, Zoe. I scolded myself. What was I even thinking? I mean, I knew that I would get in trouble for it, but I still did it.

  "I-I went to... the library with Alyssa," I gulped once again.

  Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, I see," He took a few steps towards me. He looked me dead in the eye. His whole expression screamed the word 'dangerous'. "Then Ms. Zoe Rainey, may I know the reason of you going to the library after school?" he raised his eyebrows at me.

  "Uhm..." I blinked a few times, fear taking over me. "Alyssa insisted... I couldn't refuse..." I released a shaky breath.

  "Look, Zoe," Tony walked over to me and threw his arm over my shoulder. "I told you, you have to be home before I am and I don't think that that's such a hard thing to do," he said as he led me to the kitchen. "I know, everything has a first time, and Zoe, we have to make sure that this stays the first and the last time," he led me to the stove.

  There was a pot on the stove and it took me just a few seconds to realize that there was boiling hot water in it. My eyes grew wide and I looked at Tony with pleading eyes. I was about to open my mouth, but Tony shushed me. "Don't worry, my dear," he smiled at me. He walked me over to the dining table and placed me on the chair.

  He took the rope that was placed on the table and tied my wrists onto the chair. "Please, Tony... Don't do this..." I breathed out. "Please..."

  He smiled as he removed his tie from his button up shirt. "Zoe, I said, shh..." he shoved the tie in my mouth.

  My eyes grew wide once again as he leaned forward and smirked at me. I tried getting the tie out of my mouth, but I guess I was too shocked to do anything. I watched as he walked over to the sink and took a glass from the cupboard.

  "You know, Zoe, you were always my little Angel, you know that?" he looked at me. "But lately, my little Angel is becoming rebellious, and to prevent that you become a little Demon, we'll have to punish you." He filled the glass with the boiling water. He walked over to me and looked at me. His blue eyes watched me carefully, scanning my expression. "I don't want to do this, Zoe. I don't want to hurt you, but you leave me no other choice," he looked at the glass filled with the boiling hot water. I could literally see the steam leaving the glass. "This is very hot, Zoe... I am very sorry," he said and I shook my head furiously, pleading him not to do it.

  But before I could even think, Tony poured the boiling hot water on the back of my hand, making me scream, but since the tie was in my mouth, not very much sound came out. I squeezed my eyes closed as I clenched my jaw, squirming in pain. The pain was unbearable. I felt myself going breathless as the hot water poured on my bare skin, falling on the floor and splashing on my feet.

  "I warned you, Zoe... Look what you made me do," Tony said as he placed the empty glass on the table. "This is not over, Zoe," he looked at me. “It's not going to be over for a long time.”

  I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and I sniffed. The burning sensation kept getting worse and the pain wasn't getting any less. I breathed heavily as he grabbed the glass again and walked over to the pot, filling the glass once again. My eyes grew wide and I started squirming and jumping, but there was no use. The chair was too heavy and I was shaking badly. I shook my head once again, pleading him to not do this.

  It was hurting me badly!

  He placed the glass on the table and grabbed a knife. He walked over to me and cut the straps of my tank top, revealing my bare upper body that was covered by just a bra now. He grabbed the glass again and poured the water over my stomach, making me cringe in pain.

  "You should be happy it's not boiling oil, you little bitch!" he said with venom dripping from each word as he placed the glass on the table carelessly. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me. "So, Zoe, tell me, were you with Alyssa or with your boyfriend?" he asked calmly and pulled the tie out of my mouth.

  I breathed out as the tears streamed down my face. "I don't have a boyfriend! I swear, I was with Alyssa!" I cried.

  He chuckled and leaned towards me, placing his hands on the armrest of the chair. His face was so close to mine; I could feel his breath on my chin. "Do you really think that I wouldn't find out, Zoe?" he said in a low, dangerous voice. I gulped and he chuckled as he backed off again. "Hunter Adams, bad boy of your school, rumored to a criminal, and oh, he carried you out of your math classroom without you defending yourself," he smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like something to me."

  I breathed out, "He's not my boyfriend, I swear! He just helped me out when a guy was bothering me! Tony, we're just friends!"

  "And what did I say about befriending any other male, Zoe?" he yelled in my face, making me wince. "You are not allowed to have any male friends! Why don't you get it? You're mine, Zoe! Mine," he caressed my cheek. "I don't like other males touching you, Zoe. You're my property and no one is snatching you away from me," he clenched his jaw and grabbed the glass. He walked over to the pot again and refilled the glass again. "You didn't do the right thing, Zoe," he said and threw the water on my upper body, making me scream in pain.

  The pain was so unbearable, that I felt myself going unconscious. The last thing I saw was Tony’s furious expression before passing out.

  "Aren't you warm? Bitch, the sun is burning my skin and you're wearing long sleeves, sweating all over the place." Alyssa gave me a look.

  I chuckled. If only you knew, Alyssa... If only you knew...

  I didn't say anything and sat down. Alyssa sat next to me and placed her hand on my upper arm. I did my best not to hiss in pain. "Are you okay, Zoe? Something about you tells me that you're not."

  I smiled at her. "Alyssa, don't worry. I'm fine, I promise."

  She was about to say something, but then Hunter walked up to us. I stared at him as he looked at Alyssa and I. Looking at Hunter went a bit difficult since sun did shine right in my face, but I tried shielding my face with my hand.

  “Come with me.” he said, holding onto my wrists.

  Oh no! Not in front of Alyssa!

  “No!” I tried pulling my arm back, but it only hurt me. “Where?”

  "I can't tell you here," he looked at Alyssa and Alyssa scowled at him. "I hope your face stays like that one day." Hunter said, making her gasp. Hunter looked at me and said, "You're coming with me."

  “I don’t want to!” I pleaded.

  “You either come with me, or I make you.” he wasn’t joking.

  Knowing that I really don’t have a choice, I threw my bag over my shoulder and got up.