Hunter Evans has been gone for a year with rumors of him being in prison. On the first day of her junior year, the last thing Drew Carter expects is to see Hunter walking through the doors, let alone falling in love with the boy everyone is terrifie...
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The next day at school, I couldn't escape the stares because of my injury. Quinn was surprisingly a little bit of help that morning because she put some of her makeup on me to try and cover up my bruise a bit. It was moments like that with my sister that I cherished.
Hunter was already sitting at our shared physics table when I walked into class that morning. He sent me a smile that reached his bright eyes, making it impossible not to give one in return.
"Hey," I said shyly before pulling his notebooks out of my bag. "Thanks again for bringing me the work I missed."
"Of course. How's your face feeling today?" He asked as his eyes scanned my face with genuine care.
I shrugged as I pulled out my own Physics notebook, "It's sore, but nothing too bad. I have to go back in 3 days to get the stitches out."
I was lucky that lip lacerations healed quickly and that I didn't have to wait a week. Three days was manageable for the stitches, I just hoped the bruising would let up soon as well because that was the most noticeable part of the injury.
"How often do they do stuff like that to you?" Hunter asked, making me stiffen in my seat. The sincerity in his eyes made my heart drop into my stomach. I didn't like when anybody worried about me, so I usually tried to avoid talking about Nate and Gemma.
"Um- I mean, it's no big deal. They just like to have their fun," I stuttered while looking away from him towards our teacher, hoping he would start the class and put an end to this conversation. It was embarrassing enough to have to endure it, but it was even worse talking about it.
"Drew," Hunter said firmly, getting me to turn back to him, "It's not okay. They're bullying you. Trust me, if I didn't have the reputation I did, I'd be beating their asses on the daily for it. You need to tell someone."
I shook my head rapidly, "Look, everyone already knows. There's no point in making a big deal about it. Plus, Quinn would be furious because she would get in trouble for not sticking up for me. I only have this year and next year left. I would rather suffer through it than draw a bunch of attention to myself."
Hunter shook his head, "Who cares if she gets in trouble? This is about your safety. That's more important."
I could hear my pulse in my ears. "Please," I practically begged as I looked at him with eyes I was sure screamed desperation, "Don't tell anyone. It will just make it worse for me."
His face scrunched up a bit as he thought about what I was asking. I knew he didn't like it one bit, but it wasn't his place to tell. After a minute, he nodded slowly, "Okay, I won't tell, but I'm not letting that happen to you anymore."
Butterflies filled my stomach at the way he spoke. It was like he was making a promise to me and to himself. I didn't get a chance to respond as our teacher finally started his lesson. I just stared at Hunter a little bit longer as he turned his attention to the front of the class. I wasn't sure why he was being so overprotective of me, but I would be lying if I said it didn't feel nice to have him care about me again after all of these years.
