Chapter three:
The first thing I remember feeling was something cold and wet on my forehead. My eyelids were heavy, and it took some urging on my part to open them. My vision was blurred but I saw the figure of a man over me. I started to panic. My mind told me to run, but my body told my mind to shut up.
Everything hurt. I felt as if I had just came out of a meat grinder, my bones crushed. I blinked a few times and the face hovering above mine was clear: Hunter. Now I was really starting to freak out. With every aching bone in my right arm, I picked it up and tried to slap him, or defend myself, but it fell limply to my side.
"Shh." He said as he gently dabbed a wet towel on my forehead.
I winced, not from pain, but from this monster touching me.
"Stop." I croaked.
He did, his hand in mid air, and started to speak. "Ava, you were brutally beaten an hour ago. You were unconscious on the corner of 7th Ave. Can you hear me?"
I swallowed the knot that was forming in my throat and nodded. I was scared. Terrified of what was going to happen to me. I didn't trust him, or anything he said. I don't care if he was 'helping' me. If he found me on the ground, bloody adn unconscious, why didn't he call 911? Why didn't he at least take me to a hospital? Or call my family, like any decent person would?
The pain in my head, neck, and upper body slowed to a small throbbing and I sat up, trying to get away from him. I was sweating, and my heart was racing out of my chest.
"Get away from me." I said my voice shaking.
"Ava, please listen to me." He said softly.
I shook my head, "I'm not listening to a word you say, you-you monster!
"Hear me out. I didn't do this to you." His face changed, like he realized something. "You can't think I did this?"
"Can you blame me? What kind of innocent person sees an unconscious girl on the floor, and just casually brings her home? No one! Where am I? You know what?" I said and felt my strength back in my legs.
With everything I had in me, I swung my legs and kicked him in the face. He tumbled backwards, and his nose started to bleed.
"Is this what I get for saving you from that psychopath? Won't you at least listen to what I have to say? When I'm done, I promise you, I'll take you home." He said holding his nose.
"No I'm leaving now, I don't care what you say." I told him
"Oh yeah?" He said with this weird smirk on his bloody face that made his bright blue eyes stand out even more in this creepy dark room, "And how exactly are you going to get home? With no metro card, no money, at 1 in the morning?''
"It's 1 am?! My families probably worried sick. Hunter what in the actual heck is wrong with you? By now they probably called the cops and will be searching for me. You have to get me home, NOW." I yelled at him.
"Calm down, do you think I'm stupid?"
"Uh, yeah. I think I made that pretty clear..." I told him.
"I'm choosing to ignore that comment, even though to be fair, it hurt my feelings."
"Yeah, well being knocked out hurt my feelings." I said arms crossed, frustrated with him.
"For the last time, I didn't knock you out! Now I'm going to explain everything and you will listen, Okay?"
I rolled my eyes, "Okay."
"Let me start with tonight, it was Mike. I only saw the end of the fight. I saw him bite you and I snapped. Ever since he first Turned he's been so unstable I knew this was bound to happen. Especially these past few days, he's been acting so strange."
"Turned'? What are you talking about?"I asked confused.
"Werewolves." He said in this dead serious voice.
Even though I was just beaten to a pulp, and I totally didn't trust the guy I was talking to, the fact that he just said werewolves made me crack up.
"Yeah 'werewolves'. Next you're going to tell me there are mermaids in the Hudson River." I said sarcastically.
Miraculously my body wasn't aching as much, and the laughter only stung.
"I know it sounds crazy but please believe me, Mike IS a werewolf and so am I. He bit you deep enough that the venom went into your body. The next full moon is in 2 weeks and you will change into your wolf form. You need to join my pack so we can teach you how to control your inner wolf." he said
Okay it was official, either I was hallucinating or Hunter and his friends are psychopaths that think their werewolves.
"You're right Hunter, it does sound crazy and I don't believe squat of what you're saying. Now take me home, or I swear to you I will call the cops and tell them you harassed me and kept me hostage. Don't test me because I will do it." I said fed up with everything.
He sighed, "Fine, I'll take you home. There's still a lot of stuff I need to explain."
I nodded curtly and tried to walk to the door, but stumbled. I didn't have all my strength back yet, and I got a wicked headache.
"Hey, let me help." He said softly and put his arms on my shoulders helping me walk. This time I didn't refuse.
Maybe I was stupid, maybe I was tired, or maybe I was a mix of both, but I let him lead me into his car.
"So, what are you going to tell your family?" He asked me a few minutes into the drive home.
I honestly had know idea. I was so shaken up about everything that happened, and I thought that if I didn't say it out loud maybe it would mean it never happened.
" I-I don't know. I keep telling myself that I'm fine, and it was all a nightmare but it's not. Some psycho, attacked me and bit me, I don't know what to do." I told him my voice shaking
I was a tough girl and didn't cry over stupid things. The last time I had a good cry was when I found out my friend Tyler's mom died, and even then it was only behind closed doors. I didn't like to show others my weakness, I definetly wasn't going to let Hunter see me cry. I blinked the tears away and said,
" I'll figure something out, just please bring me home."
Hunter nodded and said, "Okay, but we really have to talk about the werewolf venom."
I rolled my eyes, again with the freaking werewolf chiz.
"Listen you're in denial, I totally get it. When I was first bitten I thought the world had completely turned insane. Nobody told me what was going to happen, but on my first full moon after I felt myself Turn. I thought I was going crazy. I ended up running around from place to place. I had no one to guide me or teach me about what I was. I vowed ever since then I would always help others out, I established a small little pack here in New York. Whether you want to believe me or not, you were bitten and in two weeks, your first full moon, you WILL Turn. I want to help you with everything, the things I never had."
I was speechless. Yeah it was a nice little speech, but it was a whole lot of BS. I looked at him flabbergasted and said, "Hunter are you on drugs?"
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.
"No I am not." he said as calmly as he could muster.
I decided I had to tell him nicely to back off with all the werewolf crap.
"Listen Hunter, your a nice guy and I appreciate everything, really..." I started to say.
Sheesh, I sounded like I was breaking up with the guy.
"and you know I have your number if I ever have any questions. I'll call you."
I could tell he wasn't happy by my response, but he realized he had to let it go.
"Okay fine." he said sounding defeated
I looked at myself in the mirror and almost jumped, that's how scary I looked. I seriously looked like poop. I wasn't one of those girls who kept a tube of lip gloss in their back pocket, but how was I going to explain a black eye and a busted lipto my parents? Forget that I had no clue how I was managing to get to my building, let alone my apartment, now I had my face to worry about. I brushed my hair with my fingers and tried as best as I could to cover the bruises. No use, they all stood out like a sore thumb. I hoped, and highly doubted that my parents would still be sleeping. Hunter pulled up in front of my apartment I stumbled out of the car and thanked him,
"Why don't I help you?" he said to me.
I waved him off, "Nah I'm good." I started to walk, and a massive headache washed over me and I lost my balance.
Before I even had a chance to ask for help, he was beside me and leading me to my building.
"I think I'm going to bring you to your apartment, just to make sure you get there alive." He said in the elevator.
"Pfft, I'll make it." I told him.
"Let's be on the safe side, it would be so pointless to save you from Mike the psycho, just to have you die on your way home." He said.
The doors opened and I said, "So this is all about you and being a big hero? I knew you were too cocky for your own good. "
"Hey, I'm just kidding." He said in a voice that finally made me believe him. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
I nodded, "Um, what was Mike's last name?"
"Watson, that's spelled W-A-T-S-O-N, just in case the cops can't spell it." He said figuring out what I was doing.
We made it to my door, and I took a deep breath before I opened it.