“Did Diana tell you what I do for a living?”
“Yes, sir,” Teddy replied, proud that his voice was steady, despite the fact that he was decidedly uncomfortable.
“As a homicide detective, I catch murderers every day. I go after some of the worst scum in this city, from drug addicts killing each other for a fix to psychopaths who torture and murder others for fun.”
Teddy tried to smile. “Thank you for keeping us safe, sir.”
John snorted. “The point I’m trying to make is that if you hurt my little girl, they will never find your body,” the older man growled. In that moment, along with the menacing look being thrown his way, Teddy decided that telling the truth would be preferable to spending Thanksgiving weekend being glared at with threatening intent.
“I’m gay, sir,” Teddy said quickly, and then braced for impact. He was expecting a look of disgust. He was expecting a snort of derision. He was expecting to be told to get out of the house because he was “an abomination”. He was expecting anything other than what happened.
“You’re gay?” John Hunter asked, visibly taken aback.
“Yes, sir.”
John quickly went on the offensive again. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”
Teddy opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn’t quite sure what it was going to be when the door opened and Diana’s mother sailed in.
“John Hunter, are you terrorizing the poor boy?”
And Teddy watched in fascination as the towering man who had just a moment before looked ready and able to kill him, turned into a puppy in front of his wife. “Me? Of course not, darling. Teddy and I were just getting better acquainted.”
Lydia glared. “Right. I believe you. Teddy, dearest, why don’t you come with me? I just pulled out a batch of cookies from the oven.”
Teddy looked at John and hesitated. “Oh, don’t mind John. His bark’s worse than his bite.”
The glare John was giving him made Teddy doubt that very much. But thankfully, the decision had been taken out of his hands. Lydia grabbed him by the hand and pulled him after her.
Later that evening, after dinner, they’d sat down to watch a movie. Halfway through, Lydia and Diana had gotten up to make more popcorn.
“So, you’re gay,” John said, looking him up and down.
“Yes, sir,” Teddy had replied defensively. He had been expecting the insults to begin. Instead, he got the shock of his life.
John Hunter had nodded in satisfaction and looked back at the television. “I believe this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he’d said. Teddy’s jaw had fallen open in shock.
“Sir?” he’d asked.
“We’ll talk tomorrow, son, but you and I are going to become great friends because you’ll be looking after my little girl, right?”
Teddy nodded quickly. “I’ve been doing my best, and I always will. She’s my best friend. She’s closer to me than my sisters are.”
“That’s good. That’s very good,” John had said with a pleased smile.
Teddy had relaxed, and things only got better from then on. The following day, Lydia had marched into the kitchen and promptly given him a hug.
“Teddy, you’ll always be welcome here. If you ever need anything, even if it’s just someone to talk to, you call us, you hear?”
Teddy stood there in shock but nodded and thanked her. He’d looked at Diana questioningly. “Dad told her,” she whispered. “Then she asked me why I hadn’t said anything to her, and I might have told her a bit about your issues with your family.”
Teddy groaned, feeling embarrassed. But it wasn’t long before he relaxed into the Hunter family dynamic. They were so close and relaxed with each other that it was a completely new experience for him. And instead of making him feel like an outsider, Lydia went out of her way to make sure he felt like part of the family. It was the first Thanksgiving of his life that he had truly and utterly enjoyed.
The sound of giggling brought him back to the present with a start. Diana was stumbling down the hall with a guy in tow. Teddy got to his feet and glared at the idiot holding on to Diana as they tried to walk. She was swaying and obviously drunk out of her mind.
“Teddy!” she exclaimed happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you, obviously,” he replied.
“Who’s this guy?” the jackass had the audacity to ask.
“Oh, this is Teddy. Teddy, this is…” she trailed off, obviously either not knowing the guy’s name or having forgotten it because of one too many shots.
“Ethan,” the guy slurred. “Why’s he here? Weren’t we gonna have some fun?”
Diana paled. “Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said quickly. “Teddy and I have some things to talk about.”
“What?” the guy snapped at her. He was probably going to say something else, but it never left his lips. Teddy’s hand had snapped out and grabbed him.
“Watch your mouth,” he said.
“Or what?” the guy wheezed. Teddy rolled his eyes.
“Or I’ll rip your arms off and beat you with them,” he growled.
The guy blanched. “Sorry,” he croaked. Teddy nodded.
“If I hear that you’ve been running your mouth off to your friends about her or that you’ve insulted her in any way, I will find you, and I won’t be as nice as I was tonight. Got it?”
“Yes, absolutely.” Teddy let go of him and the guy began backing away. “I swear. Not a word. I’ll forget I even met her.”
“Good.” The guy turned and ran.
Diana chose that moment to snort. “You’ve been hanging out with dad too much.”
“We have to talk,” Teddy said seriously.
She pouted. “I don’t want to. You have that look on your face that says I’m not going to like this talk, so how about we don’t?”
“You don’t have a choice in the matter.”
Diana sighed and turned to unlock the door to her room. She poked her head in and almost swore out loud. Her roommate wasn’t back so she couldn’t use that excuse. She knew precisely what Teddy wanted to talk about, and she wasn’t in the mood. She was still pretty tipsy, and she really didn’t need a lecture on her conduct.
“Teddy,” she whined, “have mercy. I really don’t want to talk now.”
He eyed her for a moment and glared at her. “Fine. But I’m spending the night here, and in the morning we’ll go out for coffee and talk.”
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d spent the night in her dorm room. Her roommate didn’t mind at all. But at the moment, Diana was the one who didn’t like the idea of him spending the night.
“Why don’t you go back to your place, and we’ll just meet up for coffee in the morning.”
Teddy snorted. “Why? So you can ditch me? No thanks. I’ll spend the night.”
Diana turned and stomped into her room. She whirled around quickly and tried to slam the door in Teddy’s face, but she wasn’t fast enough. He caught the door long before she could shut it. And since he was twice her size, she didn’t stand a chance in the brute force department.
Defeated, she threw herself down on her bed. She felt the mattress next to her dip down as Teddy sat down next to her. “Aren’t you going to change out of those clothes?”
“Uh-uh,” she replied, her eyes drifting shut. “Too lazy.”
She could practically feel the disapproval roll off Teddy. With a sigh, he got to his feet. She could hear him rifling through her things and moments later, he dropped her favorite pajamas on the bed next to her.
“Still too lazy,” she mumbled.
“I’ll help you. Now, come on.”
Sure enough, Teddy did help her change into her pajamas, but before she could fall into bed, he stopped her.
“Wait a sec,” he said. He walked into the bathroom and moments later came out with a glass of water. He handed her two pills and the glass of water. “Take these, or you’ll feel terrible
in the morning.”
She nodded and quickly downed the pills. Teddy put the glass on the nightstand, and then tucked her in. He lay down beside her, and that was the last thing she remembered before falling into a very deep sleep.
The following day, Diana woke with a groan. “Come on, sleepy head, it’s almost noon,” she heard Teddy’s much too cheerful voice. She opened one eye and shut it just as quickly.
She pulled a pillow over her head and tried her best to ignore Teddy. “Nope, you’re not getting off that easy.” She lost the grip on her pillow as Teddy pulled it away from her. Then he did the unthinkable. He pulled the covers off her and she was left to shiver on the bed.
“I hate you,” she mumbled.
“I know, but you still need to get up.”
“Don’t wanna,” she whined.
“Don’t care. Now move!”
“Fine,” Diana snapped, rolling over and out of bed. She padded to the bathroom with a glare thrown Teddy’s way. Ten minutes later, she was feeling better, and she knew she had Teddy to thank for that. If he hadn’t given her those aspirins last night, she’d be clutching her head in agony right about now.
“You’re looking better,” Teddy remarked.
“I feel better,” she replied with a small smile. She hesitated for a moment. “Thank you.”
Teddy nodded. “Come on, get dressed. We’ll go get some coffee and talk.”
“Do we really have to?” she asked as she began to discard her pajamas. Teddy, ever dutiful, picked up behind her. She had become a slob recently. Even she had to admit that.
“Yes, we do,” he replied adamantly.
Sighing, she got dressed. “Fine. Let’s go.” She wasn’t looking forward to the lecture she was about to receive, but everything came a distant second behind her priority to get some caffeine into her system.
Fifteen minutes later, they were walking into a small café just off campus, a place they usually went when they wanted to spend some quiet time together. Diana sat down as Teddy went to get their coffee.
A few minutes later, he was placing a long espresso with milk and two sugars in front of her. She leaned over and inhaled. It smelled wonderful. She wrapped her hands around the cup, letting the warmth seep into her skin. Bringing the cup up to her lips, she took a tentative sip and groaned in pleasure as the liquid ran down her throat.
“Ambrosia,” she whispered. She glanced up at Teddy with a smile that faltered when she saw the exasperated and concerned look on his face.
“Diana, what are you doing?” Teddy asked.
She looked up at him in surprise. “I’m pretty sure it should be quite obvious. I’m drinking coffee,” she replied, indicating the cup in her hand.
“Don’t do that. Not with me. You can pretend with everyone else, but I know you too well for that.”
Diana rolled her eyes. “What do you want from me, Teddy?”
“I want to know why you’ve suddenly turned into someone I don’t know. I want to know why you seem so hell bent on destroying yourself.”
“Just because I’m having some fun doesn’t mean I’m trying to destroy myself,” she replied with a huff.
“Really? This is the third time this week you’ve gotten drunk, and it’s not even the weekend yet! And last night, you show up with some dude whose name you didn’t even know.”
“I did know his name. I’d just forgotten it. And anyway, everyone else is doing it so why can’t I?”
“Because you aren’t everyone else,” Teddy snapped. “You are a highly intelligent, beautiful woman who I thought had more respect for herself than to act like a tart.”
Diana froze. “What did you call me?”
Teddy glared at her. “Don’t give me that. I didn’t say you are a tart, just that you’re acting like one. And you know I’m right.” He frowned in frustration. “Do you have any idea what could happen to you at one of these parties? Don’t you watch the news? Don’t you know how many girls get attacked at these things? Especially girls who drink too much. Do you really want to end up like that?”
“So, you’re trying to tell me that if I get into trouble, it’s my fault.”
“Are you insane? I never said that! I am saying that you’ll be a lot safer if you don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
Diana sighed. “Look, Teddy, just drop it. I’m having a great time, and I don’t need you raining on my parade.”
“Are you serious? Diana, don’t shut me out. Tell me what’s going on. Your grades have slipped, and your professors are worried.”
“You’ve been talking to my professors?” Diana snapped.
“Yes, I have. They know we’re friends, and they’re worried about you. So, what is going on?”
Diana snorted. “Like you don’t know. My mother killed herself two months ago, remember? She didn’t think I was important enough to stick around for, and I’m having a bit of a problem dealing with it.”
“And you think that this is the best solution?”
Diana shrugged. “I don’t really care. It makes me feel better, and that’s all that matters.”
He looked at her sadly. “Di, you can’t keep doing this. It won’t solve anything.”
“I don’t care. I just need to forget for a little while. Let me forget, Teddy, please.”
Like her dad, he’d always been a total sucker for that puppy dog look. “Fine, but you aren’t allowed to go out alone anymore. I’m going with you. At least that way I can protect you.”
Diana nodded with a smile. “Okay.”
Two months later, Teddy was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know what to do about Diana anymore. She’d kept her word and hadn’t gone out without him ever since they’d had their talk, but he knew it wasn’t really helping. She was partying hard, and her grades hadn’t picked up any. He needed to get her some help before the situation became irrevocable. He had to call her father. She’d hate him, of course, but he was more interested in making sure she got the help she needed. Hopefully, she’d forgive him. He’d call Mr. Hunter in the morning. He’d know what to do. He’d know how to help Diana.
Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, his phone rang. It was Diana. “Hey, Di, what’s up?” He really hoped she didn’t want to go out because he really wasn’t up to it. She’d already dragged him to two parties that week, and he was exhausted.
“Teddy,” he heard Diana whisper with a sob. He shot bolt upright, instantly on high alert.
“Di, what’s wrong?”
“Teddy, please help me.”
“Where are you? What’s going on?”
“I’m locked in a bathroom. There are two guys trying to get in. Oh God, Teddy, what have I done? Please, you have to help me.”
Teddy was already out the door and running down the hall. “Tell me where you are.”
“At the Alpha Kappa Delta house,” she whispered.
He growled into the phone. The party fraternity of UBC. They were known for throwing the biggest parties on campus and also for being utter and complete jerks. “Stay with me on the phone, I’m on my way there.”
“Okay,” she sniffled.
Before he could say anything else, though, he heard a crash and Diana screamed. “Teddy!” And then the line went dead.
Half an hour later, Teddy was rocking an uninjured but traumatized Diana in his arms. She was crying into his shirt, and he was shaking. He had brought her back to her dorm room, where she could feel safe.
“God, Di, you just took ten years off my life,” he whispered into her hair.
“My hero,” she said, her voice cracking.
He’d gotten to her before anything had happened and had made it extremely clear to her assailants that they had made some very poor decisions. In case the message hadn’t been clear, he’d also given both of them a pummeling they wouldn’t soon forget. When he’d left the frat house with Diana in his arms, the crowd had given him looks ranging from fear to respect. He knew that word would spread quickly
that no one was to mess with Diana or Teddy would come after them. But there was no remorse, not from Teddy. It was the only way to deal with that crowd, in his opinion. The gossip would act as a deterrent to any other idiot who contemplated making such “poor decisions” in the future.
“It’s okay, baby.”
“I know. You’ve got me,” she said as she burrowed deeper into him.
Things couldn’t keep on going like this. They’d been lucky on this occasion. He’d made it in time. But what if it happened again, and he wasn’t close enough? What if he couldn’t find her? No. There would be no next time. Enough was enough. He was going to drive her straight to her dad’s house. If anyone knew how to deal with Diana, it was Mr. Hunter.
He tried to lay her on the bed, but she whimpered, refusing to let go of him. So, he held her until she fell asleep. He then laid her down gently and packed a quick bag for her with some essentials. He sneaked out and brought his car round to the front of her dorm. Going back inside, he picked her up gently, doing his best not to wake her. Ten minutes later, he was driving toward her childhood home.
Despite it being two in the morning, John and Liam were still hard at work, which was why it didn’t take John long to answer the door when the bell rang. When he saw Teddy standing there with a black eye, holding his daughter in his arms, his heart stopped beating.
“What happened?”
John held the door wide and stood back to give Teddy room to carry Diana inside. He had already cataloged every inch of her. She seemed unharmed and apparently asleep.
“Can I take her upstairs, first?” Teddy whispered.
John nodded, though he grit his teeth. His heart was racing, and he felt as if the world was crashing down around him. This was all too much. What had happened to his daughter?
As Teddy climbed the stairs, Liam came out into the hall. “Everything alright?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” John replied.
A few minutes later, Teddy came down the stairs. Liam took one look at him and grunted. “You’re gonna need ice for that.”
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