The Tattooed Bad Boy

by Shiewanie Kristo

  I reached Alyssa and my other classmates and greeted them. I sat down next to Alyssa and she threw her arm over my shoulder as she spoke to the rest. As for me, I just sat there silently. All I could think of was Hunter and Blaze. I didn’t know much about what they went through, but I do know that its bad. I don’t know how bad, but bad enough for Hunter to turn out like this. I don’t know what Hunter did, how much of a criminal he is, but I knew that before he was a criminal, he was a brother who fought against all odds to keep his sister safe.

  My eyes opened and in front of me was none other than Tony himself.

  “I see you’re up.” he walked around with a nasty grin on his face.

  My eyes grew wide and I breathed heavily. He was just talking as if I didn’t matter –not that I did anyways. I felt blood dripping from my lower arm and I looked at the cut, bleeding and dripping on the stone floor. I was surprised I was even conscious after everything he just did to me. I didn’t know why he was doing all of this, but I do know he was getting a blast out of all of this. I watched him as he wiped the blood of his knife with a cloth, smiling like a psychopath.

  “You really think I wouldn’t find out?” he walked over to me and pressed the knife against my neck.

  “What are you even talking about?” I asked, making him chuckle.

  “Zoe... that’s not the correct answer. You’re supposed to answer correctly, otherwise I’ll have to punish you.” He shook his head before I felt this sudden pain pierce through my thigh.

  Bastard!

  I groaned in pain as I felt the knife cutting a vertical line down to my knee. The knife detached from my body and tony looked at me with this victorious smirk playing on his face. He really did like it when I was in pain; his entire face said it. He threw the knife on the table and roughly grabbed my hair, making me once again hiss in pain.

  “Where did you go with Hunter?” he asked. It was as if venom dripped from each word and the look in his eyes was just prove of that.

  He found out... How did he find out?

  I gulped. “I...” I couldn’t think of any excuse and the truth was something that I couldn’t just casually tell him. I decided that remaining silent would be better.

  I couldn’t risk telling Tony about Blaze. It would be a disaster. Hunter trusted me enough to let me know about this and I couldn’t just go ahead and break the promise I made. A smack across the face pulled me out of my thoughts back into the real world where Tony saw me as nothing but a toy. The blood oozed from the cut that Tony’s smack had created, leaving this odd taste behind. His eyes contained nothing but anger. His breathing was uneven and it wouldn’t surprise me if he suddenly started breathing out fire. Another smack went flying through my face.

  “Where. Did. You. Go. With. Hunter?” he asked once again, but this time with periods between each word as if I was so stupid to be able to comprehend what he just asked.

  I breathed out, tears streaming down my face. How pathetic could this get? I was here, tried up but him, couldn’t even properly move since my body was in so much pain. My silence only frustrated Tony even more and to be honest, the more impatient he grew, the more I stared to get a kick out of his eagerness. As I looked at my brother, I started wondering who was suffering more. Me or him. I had friends and people that cared about me, but who did Tony have besides this dark void that only knew anger and jealousy? It didn’t matter if he killed me, because he was already slowly, day by day, dying inside without even realizing it.

  I wasn’t going to let Tony win.

  No matter what he did to me, I wasn’t going to tell him anything about Hunter, neither was I going to give him the satisfaction of hearing my screams. The more he shouted, the silencer I got. It got to the point where this smirk even appeared on my face from watching him get frustrated like this. I wanted to laugh in his face. What could he gain from all this? All this satisfaction was just temporary and what was he going to be when he gets older? He’ll either rot in jail or die in agony and to be honest, I thought I stopped feeling any type of emotion for Tony right then and there.

  “You stupid bitch! Who do you think you’re smirking at?!” he smacked me again. “He touched you, didn’t he?” his jaw clenched. I smirked once again, slowly nodding my head, even if I didn’t have the energy to do so. His hand balled into a fist and a sudden punch came flying to my face. I felt as if my lungs had given away and all that was let was for my brains to give up too. He released an unnatural groan before punching me straight in the face yet again. “Rest in peace, you fucking bitch!” was all I heard before a sharp object pierced through my belly.

  I fell to the floor, unable to move. My vision was getting foggy and the feeling of blood oozing out of the cut made me both nauseous and dizzy. I heard a rattling sound before the loud bang of a door being shut hard.

  I can’t give up...

  I tried moving yet again, but the pain was unbearable. Both tears and nausea were blurring my vision, but I could figure out the shape of a cellphone a few meters away from me. I once again did my best to crawl towards the phone. The only thing at this moment playing in my head was the sentence, ‘I can’t leave Hunter... I made a promise...’

  “Oh god...” I groaned as I reached for the phone.

  Luckily, I reached it and I realized that it was my own phone. Earlier when Tony dragged me here my phone fell and I thought that it broke, but when I turned it on, it was working perfectly fine. I saw that I had 2 missed calls from Hunter and I assumed that he saved his number when I was at his house. Nothing else came to mind and I called him. The phone rang about two to three times before I heard his deep voice as if he just woke up from a deep slumber.

  Well, too bad I’m dying here.

  “Hello?”

  “Help...” I managed to say in a very hoarse voice.

  “Zoe?” I heard him panicking. “Where are you?”

  I tried answering, but now my eyes started closing on their own. No matter how hard I tried, they just wouldn’t stay open. I could hear Hunter’s voice in the background, but I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.

  “Please save his life, Zoe.”

  I’m so sorry, Blaze...

  I couldn’t keep my promise.

  I groaned, holding onto my head as I slowly opened my eyes. The sound of voices was the first thing I noticed. Second, was when I looked around and realized that I was in a hospital room and next to me was sitting none other than Hunter Adams. He must have seen my shocked expression which is why a chuckle left his mouth. I was about to say something, but nearly jumped out of my vessel when I noticed some movement from the corner of my eye. That only led to Hunter laughing even more.

  “That’s the doctor, dimwit.”

  I started feeling rather anxious. What was going on? Why was Hunter here?

  Then it all came back to me. The way Tony treated me and when I called Hunter on the verge of dying. Everything.

  “Don’t worry. You're safe now.” the man who I saw from the corner of my eye spoke. The doctor apparently. “As soon as you get better, you can go back home. For now, you need enough rest.” he smiled and walked out of the room after giving us one last nod.

  “How... What?” I looked at Hunter as soon as the doctor left.

  Hunter sighed. “Let’s just say I arrived just in time.”

  I didn’t say anything. Instead, I just looked down at my hands somewhat feeling defeated. I wasn’t sure if staying alive was a good idea. I wasn’t sure if asking for help was a good idea. I had to admit it, even if I wanted revenge, I was way too much of a coward to fight for myself anyways. I couldn’t go to the police; I couldn’t do anything to get Tony in jail. Even if I took the darker way and tried to kill him, I would get caught instantly. I'm the only one who could murder him. And he’s already told his contacts that.

  “So,” Hunter pulled me out of my train of thoughts. “Are you going to tell me who the hell did this to you?”

  I swallowed harshly. There was no way to hide
this from Hunter. He already caught on. Besides, I couldn’t go back to that house either way, so what was the point in hiding everything?

  “Tony...” I said softly.

  “Who the fuck is Tony?” he asked, scrunching his nose.

  I chuckled, finding that rather adorable.

  My jaw clenched as I once again remembered everything. I looked up at Hunter, like a six-year-old girl, a tear slipped down my cheek right before I felt a breakdown coming through. Hunter took my hand in his and smiled at me before he placed a firm kiss on the back of my hand.

  “Don’t worry, Zoe. We won’t talk about this for now. Just know that whatever happens, I will always be here for you, no matter what. You’re not alone in this.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Why are you doing this, Hunter?” I sighed as he cleaned my wounds.

  It had been weeks until I was discharged from the hospital. My wound was almost completely healed and Hunter said that it would take about a week before it’s completely fine.

  “I told you already, Zoe. I’m taking care of you now. I’ve taken full responsibility and I will treat you like the queen you are.”

  Seeing him like this made me feel a certain way. There was just something about me being the only person he treats like this. Sure, he treated Blaze with love and care too, but she’s his sister anyways.

  It took a lot for me to realize that not all men are like Tony. I never really thought of men like that, but I guess with all the rumors, I was rather forced to assume hunter might be like that, even if I had a crush on him the moment I set my eyes on him. Hunter was so much more different than Tony. In a way, Hunter gave me the will to live. I wasn’t scared to die. If it wasn’t for Hunter, I’d probably be dead by now, just because the will to live had left me completely. Hunter made me realize that I deserve a lot better. I deserve to live for myself.

  “One thing though,” he started as he placed a cigarette between his lips. I frowned, waiting for him to continue. “Whatever happens here, stays here. No need to tell everyone how soft Hunter is or anything like that. I'd like for people to remain scared of me in order for them to know that they cannot get near you.”

  I chuckled. “Alrighty then.”

  Once Hunter was done cleaning my wound, he got up and walked towards the kitchen. I sighed. I haven’t been to school since the incident happened. I haven’t seen Alyssa and I know for a fact that I’m behind with all of my schoolwork too. Hunter told me to stay home until I was better and I agreed to it. But nothing could stop me from thinking about Tony. I kept wondering what he was up to at this very moment. I wonder if he had escaped the country or called to school to inform my death. But one thing I knew for sure... He was going to find out about me being alive sooner or later. There was no way I could hide from him.

  Hunter returned and sat down next to me. “Zoe, are you ever going to tell what happened? About this Tony you mentioned the other day? It’s been weeks.”

  I sighed. “My father was a powerful business man. He owned one of the most successful companies in the world. My mother and I had all the luxury in the world. We lacked nothing.” I started, looking at him. “I was five years old when I first met Tony. I was just playing outside when one day my dad came home and introduced me to my brother, Tony. Before he married my mother, he was in love with another woman and because of class differences, my father was forced to leave his love behind. He didn’t know she was pregnant and by the time she found out, their son had already grown into an 11-year-old boy. The woman could no longer take care of Tony and contacted my father. When he was 12 and I was 5, dad brought him home. My mother accepted him with open arms and everything was going fine. He was the best brother I could ever ask for. He took care of me as if I were his child,” I spoke my tale dreamily. “But one day...” My expression changed. “We found out that my mother was suffering from this incurable brain tumor and not long after, she died. My father got severely depressed and not soon after, he passed away due to a drug overdose. The company fell into Tony’s and I guess it’s the money that turned him into this greedy man. I soon became his puppet and it wasn’t long before he didn’t only just hit me, but also started raping me.”

  Hunter’s jaw clenched. “Why did he stab you?”

  “He found out about you and got jealous. He found that the pure woman he took advantage of was now not something that could please him. He found me to impure for his hands. The burn you saw on my hands...” I spoke softly, tears streaming down my face as I looked at my hand. “They weren’t from self-harm, but rather a result of Tony’s cold heart.”

  “Where is he now?” Hunter asked, fuming with anger.

  “I don’t know... He just disappeared.”

  “I see...” he sighed. “You should rest.”

  “But... but...” I pouted. “I want to keep talking to you.”

  “No, you have to rest.”

  “Hunter!” I cried like a kid. “You’re such a jerk!”

  He chuckled. “Babe, one day you’ll say that I’m the best person you’ve ever met.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I’ll just go to sleep then.”

  We laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I heavy breath left my mouth as my thoughts wandered. Regardless the fact that I was horrified, I also felt relieved and happy that I was now somewhere far away, to a place Tony could never reach me. All I wanted was to be happy and I think that I have that now.

  “Hunter...”

  “Hmm?” I heard him hum.

  “Out of all the people at school, what was so special about me? You could’ve found anyone else.” I locked eyes with him.

  “Look, there was just something about you that attracted me, okay. In the beginning it wasn’t attraction though. The first time I saw you, I noticed the bruises on your arm. I was confused as to why no one else had noticed it, so I took upon myself to keep an eye on you to confirm whether or not you were being abused. Well, I didn’t really see any other bruises after that and just assumed that you hurt yourself. I guess it was in that period that I started catching feelings for you. There’s just something about you.”

  I smiled. “Didn’t know you could be cheesy.”

  He snorted. “Shut the fuck up and go to sleep.”

  You really aren’t as everyone says you are, Hunter.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Here, I got your clothes, laptop, phone, and that one CD you asked for. I swear if I hadn’t zoomed outta there, your neighbors would have called the cops on me.” Hunter complained.

  I laughed. “I mean, it’s obvious that you looked like a thief. I would’ve called the cops on you too.”

  Hunter rolled his eyes. “What a nice person you are.” he commented back sarcastically.

  “Obviously. I’m helping the people catch a thief.” I joked further. Hunter didn’t say anything, but I saw the small curve of a smile appearing on his face, which made me grin too. “Thank you, Hunter...”

  “You’re welcome.” he plopped down next to me. “Anyways, you’re not going to school tomorrow.”

  I frowned. “Why? My wound healed already. And I’ve also missed a lot of classes, I can’t afford to miss more, Hunter! I want to see Alyssa too!”

  He sighed. “Alright then. But you won’t stay far away from me. You’ll stay by my side.” he gave me a look and I nodded.

  I guess I understood him. I was just recently stabbed and I almost died, so I get where he’s coming from. I’ll just have to listen to him. Who knows how unsafe the outside world is?

  “Blaze!” I hugged her tightly.

  She was already sitting up when we arrived, so hugging her was no problem. Hunter was planning on telling Blaze that I moved in with him. He didn’t know how she was going to react, but he did expect her to be pissed, since we are both young and living with a partner is a lot of responsibility. I was honestly scared and excited at the same time, probably because with Hunter I’ve found my once lost life and it feels like nothing but total bliss rig
ht now. However, Hunter wasn’t going to give Blaze all the details. So, all he was going to tell her was that I moved in with him.