Accidentally In Love (Peter Hale Fanfiction) ON HOLD

Chapter Four: Lose Yourself

          I sat up in bed with a painful gasp, my heart hammering in my chest and my pulse racing. Whoa. Last night, after kissing Peter in the hallway, I'd dragged him into my apartment and had a heated makeout session that had almost escalated into something more. Despite the fact that I just met him, despite the fact that he was at least eight years older than me, and despite the fact that I knew nothing about him, I found myself craving Peter like a deprived alcoholic. 

Peter's hands cradled my face tenderly, almost questioningly, as his lips ran over mine and my insistent fingers plucked at the buttons on his shirt. I tightened my legs where they were wrapped around his torso, pressing my body more tightly against his and practically rubbing my boobs against the hard muscles of his chest. But Peter was like a teenage boy; hesitant and curious, kissing me slowly and gradually beginning to touch my face and hair with soft, light caresses. 

I let out a frustrated groan as I swung my aching, overheated body out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to wash my face. I'd flung myself at Peter and he'd acted like he was scared to touch me, even though he was surely more experienced than I was. After all, he's a thirty-something drop-dead gorgeous single man; he's bound to have been with tons of women. And ones prettier than me, I might add. Glancing in the mirror at my straggly brown waves and flushed, greasy skin, I scoffed again and tipped my head down to wash the dirt out of my pores. Going through my familiar morning routine after such a wild night felt weird, abnormal, and as I poured coffee into a travel cup and headed to my car to go to work, I tried to shake off the feeling that someone was watching me, that I was on display. 

                 "Charlie, where have you been? The new shipment of Too Faced products just arrived and I need you to sort them and restock the shelves. Didn't you get my text last night?" Annie rattled off to me the instant I stepped over the threshold, and just like that, my day got swallowed up by shimmering powders, dirty counters, and wafer-thin suburban moms who wanted to look like they were twenty-five again. All the while, my mind buzzed around my night with Peter, and what it meant. Did the kiss mean something? Why was he so reluctant to take it further? Why on earth did I throw myself at an older guy? And Derek...oh man. I was just beginning to like Beacon Hills and even make some friends, and then I'd gone and screwed it up by making out with their uncle. Great. 

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                 As I was leaving work that day, I decided I'd treat myself to sushi from a nearby place that I'd discovered while driving around town. It was pretty cheap and I could use some comfort food after my chaotic day; I'd had to deal with Lydia Martin and her friend Allison again, although this time word seemed to have spread that I was friends with Cora and Derek Hale. Needless to say, they'd been more than a little suspicious and judgemental of me, and I'd left the Beauty Bar in a pretty despondent mood. Now however, as I stood in line waiting for my avocado rolls to be made, I mulled over my kiss with Peter again. The feel of his hands, practically trembling where they touched me, had sent shivers down my spine and now made my cheeks heat up as I thought about it. Should I knock on his door and see if he wants to talk? Or maybe I'm better off just sticking to Derek and Cora. After all, they're closer to my age...

               Just as I was starting to talk myself out of paying Peter a visit, a woman to my left let out an ear-shattering scream and jumped backwards, slamming into me and sending us both crashing to the floor. I shrieked too, more out of surprise than fear, but then more and more people in the shop began to cry out until the small sushi restaurant was a cacophony of yelling and pleas for help. What the hell is going on? I thought wildly, rolling out from underneath the blonde lady and scrambling to my feet to get a look at what was scaring the people around me. And then I saw it. The body of a young girl, no older than twelve, whose blonde hair had been ripped out at the roots and whose body was covered in a myriad of cuts and coated in sticky, drying blood, lay sprawled on the floor of the restaurant, surrounded by broken glass as if she'd been tossed through the large display window.