Once I was done serving them, the blond guy, Adam, waved me over to their table again. I went reluctantly.
“One more round for all of us.” He demanded.
The girl rolled her eyes but didn’t bother apologizing for him this time.
Instead, she asked, pointing the finger at Ricky who was watching me with narrowed eyes, “Is that guy your boss?”
“Yeah.” I sighed and turned back to her.
“He’s an asshole,” she stated.
I was surprised how easily the swear word rolled off her tongue. With her painted nails and flawless make-up, she didn’t seem like the kind of girl who cussed. Then again, she was friends with Hunter, so I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised.
“You really shouldn’t let him push you around like that.”
“Listen to the woman.” Liam agreed.
I tried to shrug it off. “I can’t really do anything about it. He’s my boss, and I need the money, so my options are pretty limited.”
The girl frowned.
“Dude, that guy seems even more bad-tempered than Adam here,” Liam said and shoved the blond guy with his shoulder.
The only reaction he got was an exasperated growl, but Liam continued to grin widely, apparently used to his friend’s temper.
Suddenly, the girl cleared her throat and smiled at me. “Hey, can I get your number?” she asked.
My eyes widened in surprise, but before I could reply, she quickly added, “Oh, I don’t mean it like that! I know you have a girlfriend. Emily…She’s lovely.”
“Oh, sure. Yeah, she is,” I said, trying not to seem too relieved.
I honestly had no idea how I would’ve said no to her, since I had no experience whatsoever with being flirted with.
Next to me, I caught Hunter rolling his eyes at our conversation.
“Here you go.” I quickly scribbled my number down on a napkin.
“By the way, my name is Alexis.”
I opened my mouth to answer when Ricky called me over. “Hatcher, you blockhead! Get your ass over here!” he yelled across the entire bar.
I stiffened as I felt everyone’s eyes on me. Stay calm. It’ll be fine. Just pretend they aren’t there.
I forced myself to breathe in and out slowly, trying to fight down the anxiety taking over my body. Then I quickly did what he told me and crossed the room.
“Who do you think you are?” Ricky yelled into my face.
I fought down my gag reflex when drops of his spit hit me.
“This is the third time I caught you just talking with your friends instead of working. This is my bar, you moron, and you’ll do as I tell you, you understand?”
His head turned bright red as he proceeded to shout. I could feel my nails digging into the palms of my hands, which were formed into fists while I tried to keep calm.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t…They ordered me over and wanted more drinks. I just—”
This seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ricky’s face turned from red to violet, and I started to get seriously freaked out. He was drunk, completely wasted. I didn’t know how much he drank tonight. All I knew was that this was not good.
“Stop lying to me, you little prick!”
I took a few stumbling steps backward, wanting to bring as much distance as possible between us until I stood in the center of the room. I glanced over in the direction of Hunter and his friends but immediately turned back when from the corner of my eye, I saw Ricky grabbing one of the empty beer bottles that were on the counter.
I wasn’t prepared for what followed, not thinking for a second that he would really do it. Even when he lifted his hand and threw the bottle, I couldn’t quite believe it.
The bottle missed me by just an inch or two and shattered at the wall. It only lightly brushed my cheek, like the touch of a butterfly’s wing.
I looked at Ricky, my eyes wide and my body unable to move in shock. My heart was beating so fast I was convinced everyone in the bar could hear it thrumming. By now, every conversation had stopped. Everyone watched as one of my hands moved to touch my cheek in disbelief.
“Now do something useful and pick up the shards!” Ricky yelled.
There was a weird flickering in his eyes. Something that made me believe he would continue to throw bottles at me until one of them didn’t miss me if I didn’t obey. So I turned around and walked over to the wall.
Seeing the shards scattered on the wooden floor, glistening like crystals in the light of the ceiling lamps, suddenly seemed surreal. My blood was swooshing in my ears as I crouched down like I was in a trance and reached for the broken bits of glass. I slowly picked them up one by one, grabbing them with my right hand and collecting them in my left until someone captured my wrists and held them.
I looked up to see Hunter’s face hovering just inches away from mine. His eyes stared into mine, pity and anger fighting within them. Anger won.
“What do you think you are doing?” he hissed and looked down at my hands.
Just now, I realized there was blood dripping down my fingers from where the shards had cut into my skin. But I still didn’t feel anything. Everything was numb, so I just watched as the blood trickled from my fingertips, strangely fascinated by the way it hit the dirty wooden floor.
And then my field of vision seemed to shrink, and dark spots were dancing in front of my eyes. Hunter was still holding my wrists and didn’t break eye contact. My lips parted, and I realized I should probably say something, explain myself, but I already felt the room swirling around us. I was tongue-tied and couldn’t tell him what was happening.
His eyes widened. “Fuck.” His voice was strained. “You can’t stand the sight of blood?”
I nodded breathlessly.
Hunter quickly pulled me towards him until my back was leaning against the wall. He was kneeling next to me, strands of hair falling into his face. He pushed them away impatiently.
“Alex,” he said. “Can you get him a glass of water? And look for the first aid kit.”
“It’s behind the counter,” I murmured.
I didn’t hear a response, just the clicking of her heels quickly receding.
Hunter took hold of my wrists again as if he was scared I might try to pick the shards up again. “Just don’t look at it, okay? Everything will be fine.”
Something about his voice was strangely soothing, so I just nodded and looked up at the ceiling. The cuts had started to burn, and I could taste blood in my mouth from biting my lip too hard.
“You’re such an idiot.” Hunter groaned. “Why did you pick up the shards like that? Didn’t your mommy tell you not to play with sharp things?”
I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Probably nothing.”
Hunter’s only reply was a quiet huff, and for maybe a minute or two, we were just sitting there in silence next to each other.
Hunter sighed in relief as Alexis returned. I opened my eyes to look at her as she kneeled down beside me and held a glass of water to my lips.
“Here, drink this.” She ordered.
Then she started carefully inspecting my hands. When she was sure that there were no glass splinters in the wound, she took a muslin bandage out of the first aid kit and began to wrap it around the palms of my hands. A few moments later, she was finished.
“Thank you,” I said and smiled weakly to both of them.
Hunter only rolled his eyes and got up. “Just don’t do that again.” Then he walked away and said, without turning around, “Oh, and if I were you, I’d quit this job. Good night, idiot.”
“Good night,” I said, too late and too quiet for him to hear.
Chapter 4
When I woke up the next morning, the first mistake I made was to prop myself up on my right hand. With a muffled screech, I fell back into my pillows, hoping that I hadn’t ripped the wound open again.
Knowing better this time, I swung my legs out of bed and got up without putting too
much pressure on my hands. Then I quickly got ready and ran down to have breakfast, which was my second mistake.
My parents and my sister were still there, and of course, the first thing my mom noticed were the bandages around my hands.
“Jules, what did you do?” she exclaimed in a high-pitched, alarmed voice.
That was my mom, always assuming the worst.
When I was younger, I used to sleepwalk at night, crying and talking incomprehensible stuff, and for over half a year, she had been convinced I was possessed. Hell, if my dad hadn’t stopped her, she probably would’ve brought me to a priest for an exorcism.
“It’s nothing, Mom.” I sighed, pouring milk over my cornflakes. “I just cut myself on some shards at work yesterday.”
She was still watching me suspiciously while I started eating. “Julian, you know that you can always talk to us, right?”
I tried hard not to roll my eyes.
Luckily, it was then that my dad took her hand and said, “Honey, relax. He knows.”
“Does it hurt?” my little sister, Maya, asked, her eyes wide and her mouth in an o-shape.
With one of her little hands, she carefully touched the bandage. For a four-year-old girl, something that was covered with a Band-Aid was the worst thing that could possibly happen. Little did she know that real pain was felt inside most of the time.
I smiled at her. “It’s okay, Maya. It’s nothing bad.”
She frowned and pushed a strand of her strawberry blonde curls out of her face. “Do you want a syringe?” she asked, her voice dead serious and pointed at her doctor’s kit that she had gotten for her birthday.
I wrinkled my nose in fake concern. “Will it hurt?”
Maya nodded with a sorrowful expression.
“Okay,” I said and squeezed my eyes shut as she pulled out the toy syringe and pressed it against my shoulder. “Bring it on, Doctor.”
With an ecstatic laugh, she watched as I playfully groaned in pain.
I ruffled her hair with a grin and got up. “I’m leaving for school. Bye, then.”
“Juley, do you have your lunchbox? Oh, and your water bottle?”
“Yes, Mom,” I answered firmly. “I’m not ten.”
She shut her mouth and turned to my father for help. I knew that look. It said, “Andrew, how do I handle a teenage boy? Andrew, why is he always like that?”
Without turning around again, I practically stormed out of the kitchen and left the house, my car keys dangling from my fingers and my bag over my shoulder. I had kind of a hard time driving to school since my palms still hurt pretty bad, so I was happy when I finally rolled onto the parking lot.
It was still pretty much deserted. I had actually managed to come on time for once.
I couldn’t see Nate or Emily anywhere yet. I didn’t really have any other friends, so as pathetic as it was, I sat down on the stairs to the building and pulled out my sketchbook to just doodle a bit. Holding the pencil with my bandaged hand was a bit of a struggle, but somehow I managed. I didn’t even really focus on what I was drawing, just on the feeling of the pencil scratching over the paper and the way it instantly put my mind at ease.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice Hunter approaching until he bent down and snatched the sketchbook from me. I immediately leaped to my feet and tried to take it away from him, but he immediately held it where I couldn’t reach it.
I hated when people looked at my drawings. It felt too intimate like I was exposing myself in a way.
“Look at that. Baby is painting!” he said and looked at my drawing, one eyebrow raised.
“Drawing.” I begrudgingly corrected him.
“Huh?”
“I was drawing. Painting is when you…You know what, never mind. Just give it back already.” I groaned and made another attempt at getting it back, but Hunter just laughed and pulled it out of my reach.
“What’s this?” he asked, his voice curious rather than judging and held it up for me to see.
It showed a tender boy looking down at his bleeding hands. I had just lightly sketched it, and the facial features were basically non-existent, yet the guy somehow resembled me. His shoulders were bent in a hopeless looking way, and something about the drawing looked incredibly sad.
“The Idiot Who Grabbed the Shards of the Bottle His Boss Threw at Him?” Hunter mocked.
“Pretty detailed title.” I commented. “How’d you come up with it?”
A faint smile danced around the corners of his mouth.
“Oh, I don’t know…Just my vivid imagination, probably.”
“Hm, I’m sure you have a pretty detailed imagination about lots of things,” I said drily.
Hunter just smirked. “With you or in general?” He waited for my reaction before he added, “The answer is both.”
“What? Oh my God. Why would you say that?” I gasped, immediately feeling my cheeks heating up.
Hunter laughed, his eyes shining wickedly. “I know you’re thinking the same right now. Don’t deny it.”
I turned even redder. “No, I would never! I have a girlfriend, goddammit!”
Something about Hunter’s expression changed, but then he just shrugged and sat down on the stairs next to where I was sitting before he came.
“What are you doing?” I asked with a frown.
He just grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to sit next to him. “Taking this amazing opportunity to annoy you,” he said sweetly.
“Mission accomplished.”
“Oh come on. Don’t be like that. I know you enjoy my presence. Who wouldn’t?”
I just sent him a blank stare and decided not to answer the question.
“So, did you quit your job?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah. Right after you left, actually.”
“Why were you even working there? You didn’t fit in there, like, at all.”
I hesitated for a moment. “I wanted the money to buy a new camera. I guess I can forget about that now.” After a moment of silence, I asked, “Why didn’t I fit in there?”
He just looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “Are you serious, Jules? That was a bar with such sketchy people hanging around and you…You’re a goody-two-shoes. You’d never do something out of your comfort zone. You’re always scared of consequences. I know guys like you,” Hunter stated.
Something about the way he labeled me and the fact he was right with the things he said made anger boil inside me.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot I’m talking to an expert. You probably had sex with fifty percent of this entire school, so of course, you know everything about guys like me.”
“More like sixty percent.” He smirked, clearly enjoying himself. “You know, it’s actually kind of fun to mess around with you. You blush so easily. It’s adorable.”
I just scowled at him and reached over to finally get my sketchbook back, only for Hunter to catch me completely off guard as he pulled my outstretched arm, making me fall onto him. Suddenly, my face was just inches away from his, and my chest was pressed against his torso. My heart started racing almost immediately.
“Damn, you knew me for two days, and already you are all over me,” Hunter said smugly.
Before I could respond or even get off him, a familiar voice cut in. “Boys! What on earth are you doing?”
I scrambled to my feet immediately and looked up to see my Spanish teacher, Mrs. Charleston, standing on the stairs, glaring at us. Her expression showed a mix of horror, anger, and the wish to quit her job right this second.
“What did it look like?” Hunter asked, smiling innocently.
Meanwhile, I just wanted to leave this country and live in Pukapuka with a new identity.
Mrs. Charleston gasped and pointed the finger at us. “You two, detention after school! You are not at this school to perform these…these actions in public!”
“Ma’am, I wasn’t…I’m not…I’m not even into guys!” I stammered, horrified.
Next to me, Hunter was shaking with la
ughter. “I am,” he said, helpful as ever.
I shot him a glare and turned back to the teacher. “Please, I did nothing wrong. I was just trying—”
“Oh, he was totally trying to get into my pants right there.” Hunter cut me off with a grin.
Mrs. Charleston looked like she was close to having a heart attack. “In the detention room after school, both of you! And keep your hands to yourself!” she yelled and stormed back into the school.
“How could you just say that?” I hissed, turning to look at Hunter. “Now I have to go to detention because you made it look like we were making out, even though I would never—”
Hunter, who had finally gotten his laughter under control, just grinned cheekily. “C’mon, sugarpie. I know you want some of this.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“Just give the sketchbook back and leave me alone,” I said, glaring at him.
“Fine…buzzkill.” Hunter tossed it back at me.
I caught it and turned around without so much as looking at him, angrily stomping in the opposite direction.
“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, you won’t be able to resist anymore!” I heard Hunter shouting after me.
I just flipped him off. Something about this boy annoyed me more than anyone ever had. Everything about the way he talked so confidently and always made fun of me made me want to scream. I couldn’t stand him, and after school, I would be stuck with him in detention for something I didn’t even do.
Just great.
In lack of a better place to wait for my friends, I walked back to my car and leaned against it, scanning the parking lot for them. Fortunately, it only took about three minutes until I saw Nate coming towards me on his bike.
“Hey, bro.” He panted as he stopped in front of me.
I looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Nate, the school is literally only ten minutes away from your house. How are you this out of breath?”
“I think I’m going to faint.” He announced dramatically and got off his bike to slump down next to my car, his head resting against the front door.
I shook my head and sat down next to him, my legs stretched out in front of me. Nate stared at me from the side.
Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes Page 3