The Only Exception

three

"Well everyone at school is saying that Hunter had something to do with it. I told you to stay away from him and I really mean it, Drew," Quinn folded her arms as she scolded me.

"You aren't the boss of me, Quinn! You are one year older than I am. Why don't you just focus on your own life, you're really good at that."

I used my finger tips to rub at my temples. All this arguing was giving me a headache and I just wanted her to leave me alone. Regardless if she was mad at me, she knew I was injured and of course she couldn't have waited until I felt a little better to have this conversation.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

I didn't have time to answer because the doorbell rang. It had to be one of Quinn's friends because Hannah was the only one who would come to the house for me and she always went through the window. I let her go answer it and I walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, thankful that something had distracted her from her rampage.

"What are you doing here?!" Quinn yelled immediately after opening the door.

I wasn't expecting her screech and I jumped, causing me to accidentally drop my glass of water onto the floor. The sound of glass shattering pierced my ears and I quickly covered them as water and pieces of the cup went all over the kitchen.

Suddenly, Hunter rushed into my kitchen where I was standing, hands covering my ears, surrounded by my mess. I was shocked to see him, but couldn't move from my spot because I was barefoot and I didn't want to cut up my feet.

"What happened? Are you ok, D?" Hunter wasted no time stepping over the mess and coming over to where I stood. He placed his hands gently on my shoulders and looked me over as if to ensure I hadn't hurt myself further.

Quinn rushed in just to keep screaming, "She's fine! Get out of here, Hunter!"

I closed my eyes and pressed a hand to my head as it continued to pound. "Please Quinn, stop yelling," I begged softly.

Before I could say anything else, Hunter picked me up and carried me out of the kitchen. He set me down at a safe distance away on the carpet of the hall. I barely had time to process the sweet act. Immediately, Hunter grabbed the broom from the small closet in our kitchen and began sweeping up the glass. He had been to our house so many times before, that he knew where everything was still. Quinn continued yelling profanities at him. I crossed my arms over my stomach, unsure of what to do about the chaotic scene happening in front of me.

Hunter didn't respond to her as he dumped the glass into the trash and then put down some towels to soak up the water. I couldn't help but watch him fondly as he cleaned up the mess that I had made and sent a quiet 'thank you' his way.

"I can't believe you had the audacity to show up here after what you did to Drew today!"

That was it, I had had enough. "I already told you, he helped me. Leave him alone!" I yelled out angrily, trying to get Quinn to shut up.

Hunter walked back over to me and Quinn let out a breath of frustration. He still had yet to acknowledge her and if there wasn't so much going on in that moment, I might have laughed.

"You need to stay away from my sister, Hunter, or I will make your life a living hell," Quinn threatened, finally lowering her voice to a normal volume.

"You already do, Quinn," Hunter scoffed. He then turned to me with a small smile before gently taking my hand for the second time that day and leading me to the front door. My stomach fluttered at the sensitive act. It sent me right back to when we were little and he would hold my hand whenever we crossed the street. I realized then that he had always been protective of me, and I had missed it. I put my shoes on, unsure of where we were going.