t w e n t y t h r e e ;
The rapid halting of the car in front of them had taken the four boys by surprise and the one that had been gripping Louise's arm let her go abruptly. They all stepped back at the threatening snarl they heard from the person emerging from the car. But Louise still could not open her eyes out of fear. She was in shock to all of it. And he noticed it too when he saw her with her eyes closed, and frozen in place. He then held his hand out for her to take and beckoned her over to him. "Come here, Louise." He said firmly, eyes shooting daggers at her aggressors. He was ready in any case, if he were to need to defend her from them. But there was still a soft undertone for her in his voice, only for her.
Louise finally willed her eyes to flutter open and she took slow steps in his direction, taking his hand in hers when she was finally within his reach. He felt the way she was shaking and her finger tips were cold and clammy. This was new for Louise, someone who was fearless against anyone or anything. But she was right to be afraid. There she was, a seventeen year old girl, beautiful and vulnerable. They were boys much older, much taller, and stronger than her. She could have tried to fight them off, but her efforts would most likely be futile.
As soon as their hands interlocked, he pulled her into his chest, giving her a reassuring hug before pushing her behind him to shield her from view with his own body. But he was far from done with the four boys who were bothering her. He wanted nothing more than to tear their heads off. He knew that if he hadn't gotten there in time, they would have done the unthinkable to her. Then he would have never forgiven himself for not going out to find her when she left him. Louise stood behind his broad frame, allowing herself to be protected just this once, mostly because this time she had been genuinely scared. She had never been in a situation quite so severe before. And she fully trusted him to keep her safe.
"Look man," One of the boys started to defend himself like the situation wasn't even a big deal. "We weren't going to do anything to her. We were just messing around and she got startled--"
But Louise's savior shot them a murderous look that was enough to make him stop talking. He knew perfectly well that he was lying. "Shut the fuck up and get out of here right now. If you stay here another moment longer, I don't know if I will be able to control myself." He said through gritted teeth, and Louise could tell he was being absolutely serious. So much that he had his hand balled up into a fist by his side and it was shaking in anger.
Without another word, the boys scurried off into the night, never to be seen again, and leaving the two alone together. But the memories of that night would surely haunt her for at least a couple of days.
Once he was sure they were gone, he turned to her with softened words and expression. Before he could even say anything though, she threw her arms around him tightly and buried her face in his chest. Even now that she was older, she was still much smaller than him and barely reached his shoulders. Louise didn't even realize she was shedding tears until she felt the way his shirt dampened in front of her.
"Thank you, Logan." She said to him with utmost sincerity, her voice slightly muffled by the material of his shirt. Her eyes were weepy and her voice cracked as she spoke.
She hated the way she sounded when she cried. She felt weak.
She almost didn't want to move because she felt safe and protected in his arms. A part of her feared that if she pulled away, those men would come back to harass her. But no one would dare to do that again as long as Logan was around. He was taller and stronger, and appeared athletic despite being quite lean. He could intimidate anyone and Louise felt like she needed that in a moment when she felt most helpless.
