Touch of Hellfire (Original Version)

☕️90☕️

My hip was black and blue after hitting that chair. "I can't believe he actually assaulted you!" Andrea freaked. "This is third degree assault."

"Third degree assault?" I asked her. "Trust me, he won't be going to jail but you could wring some money out of him," Andrea told me.

"My grandparents know the truth and Rory promised me she was going back to Yale, mission accomplished," I smiled.

"Apart from the bruised gash..you were bleeding, you didn't notice until you were in hospital," Andrea told me. "It was a small gash," I told her, holding ice at my side. 

"Does it hurt?" Andrea asked me. "Only when asked," I grumbled. "Why were you taking photos of it?"

"Hello? He committed a crime, he assaulted a minor!" 

"Technically, I'm not a minor," I told her. "Then he assaulted a college student," Andrea muttered.

"Great now I'm in the news," I muttered. "Thank God, Grandma told them to keep my god damn name out of it."

"They just called you an unnamed junior," Andrea looked at the newspaper. "Good, let's keep it that way."

"Wanna watch Doctor Who?"

"Yes please."

I sort of limped to the couch and sit down. The phone started ringing and Andrea answered it. "Hello? Sorry Mrs Gilmore she's sleeping. She says she's fine, she looks better. How much? They're paying her that much just to keep her mouth shut?"

I looked at Andrea. "Heather's not going to be happy, once she wakes up, I'll tell her."

Andrea hung up. "They're paying fifty grand. Fifty grand!"

"The Huntzbergers want to give me fifty thousand dollars, in exchange for not suing them? This is assault!"

"I know but if you take them to court, they're gonna pay people to say you provoked him," Andrea pointed out. 

"Gimme the phone," I requested. I redialled Grandma's. "Hey Grandma, sorry I missed you."

"I can't believe that animal did that!" 

"Neither can I," I mumbled. "But thankfully Rory has made her decision to go back to Yale after the midterm so something good came out of it." 

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Well, Logan insisted that his family cover all the medical bills and are willing to pay fifty thousand dollars in exchange for you not taking them to court for third degree assault." 

"Court is the last thing I need, tell them I won't sue, because I don't want them making my life ten times more difficult than it needs to be. Tell the Huntzbergers I won't take them to court and sue their butts off, despite the fact they deserve it for humiliating Rory and assaulting me, but in order to buy my silence, up it to eighty," I told her.

"Don't worry, I'll juice them like oranges." 

She hung out the phone and I lay down.

***

"Guess who just got eighty thousand dollars," I told Andrea. "You squeezed eighty grand out?!" she gasped. "Yeah, I squeezed it out of them, Logan is my friend, they're lucky I said eighty." 

"Good," Andrea told me. "They're sending the check," I smirked.

"You are a dirty girl," Andrea smacked me on the shoulder. "Ice?"

"Please," I begged her.

She gave me an ice pack and a bowl of ice cream. Four scoops, one mint, one chocolate, one strawberry and one classic vanilla.

"Andrea Swarbrick, you are too good to me," I smiled, taking the ice cream covered in rainbow sprinkles.

The phone started ringing again. "My God, popular!" Andrea sang. "Hello? You've got some nerve. I'll see, hang on."

She looked at me. "Logan."

I held out my hand for the phone. "Hello?"

"Are you okay Thea? I heard that you could've pressed charges or sued my father but you didn't," he said.

"I'm not in the mood to play victim in court, they gave me eighty grand and paid for the medical bills but I'm not gonna forget it," I told him. 

"I'm sorry, I can't believe he did that." 

"It just happened so fast," I mumbled. "Well I hope you're okay," he said genuinely. "Thanks for checking up, see you around."