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Then it happens. One second, I’m in James’ clutches, about to get raped or worse, and the next, his arms disappear, and my whole body sags to the ground. I fall, landing with a hard thud, but at least I’m not going anywhere with him anymore. My lungs expand, and I suck air in like I haven’t been able to breathe for years.
Gentle hands move over my arms and end up engulfing my shaking hands.
“Are you okay?” A girl’s voice reaches my ears. With my vision still blurred, I glance at her face. It’s hard to make out her features, but I find kind eyes looking at me with nothing but concern. It only takes me a moment to realize that I’ve seen her before. She’s the girl who was standing with Parker earlier.
“I- I think I’m okay,” I say. Even my voice is shaky, and I hate it. I hate being scared and weak and I hate that she’s seen me like this.
“You’ll be okay. He won’t hurt you anymore.” She assures me.
Only then do I hear grunts and fists meeting skin in the background. Turning my head against the grass, I see Parker and…Warren, hovering over James. Warren hits him over and over again, and I wonder if Parker is going to stop him.
“He is out, dude, come on,” Parker puts his hand on Warren’s shoulder, but he just shrugs him off and continues beating James’ face relentlessly.
“Warren, stop,” Willow calls out for him. “Harper needs to see a doctor.”
That gets him to finally stop. Shoving off the grass, he gets up, leaving James’ lifeless body on the ground.
Oh, god, did he… kill him? Just as the question enters my mind, James groans and moves around on the floor, but he seems too out of it to get up. Good.
“What’s wrong with her?” Warren asks bitterly, and walks over to us, his eyes scanning my body from head to toe.
“Her knees and hands look really bad,” Willow explains, making me look down at myself. My jeans are ripped, and my knees are bleeding, and so are my palms. I must have scratched them open pretty good on the rough asphalt.
“She doesn’t need a doctor. I’ll bring her back to my place and clean her up.”
“Are you sure about that?” Parker interjects. “You’re not right in the head at the moment. I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“Shut up,” Warren closes his eyes, and his nostrils flare as he takes a calming breath. I can see the blood on his hands now. The vile violence he oozes makes it hard for me to breathe. I didn’t think he cared about me, but clearly, he does.
“I’m fine,” I whisper quietly, so quietly, I’m surprised he even heard me. “I want to go home with Warren.”
“See, she is fine. I’ll take her back to my house. You do something with him. I don’t give a fuck what it is.” Warren gestures to James’ bloodied body.
Willow shakes her head, clearly not convinced, but she doesn’t say anything and instead shoves up off the grass. Warren moves closer, his hands are on me in the next instant. Warmth courses through my veins at his touch. He picks me up like I weigh nothing and starts carrying me away from the scene.
His familiar scent invades my nostrils, and I suck in a greedy breath. Closing my eyes, I rest my head on Warren’s shoulder and get lost in his presence. Never have I been happier to see him in my life.
13
Warren
Harper is half asleep when I put her on my bed. Part of me wants to cover her up and let her sleep, but I resist, needing to get her cleaned up and taken care of first. Using caution so as not to cause her any more pain, I peel her jeans off and look at her battered knees. That fucking bastard. I grind my teeth together in rage. If I could’ve gotten away with it, I would’ve killed him for touching her.
Her skin is scraped up, but it’s not deep, and nothing she needs to see a doctor for. I just need to clean and wrap it for the night. She’ll have some aches and pains in the morning, but she’s not going to die from her injuries.
“Don’t move, I’m getting a first aid kit,” I tell her as I get up and hurry into the bathroom. Quickly, I wash my hands, letting the fucker’s blood from my knuckles run down the drain. I pull out the kit from underneath the sink and jog back into the room. She hasn’t moved an inch, and I don’t think it’s because I told her to. I think she is still in shock.
Getting out the antiseptic and some cotton, I start cleaning her wounds. I make sure all the dirt is off before rubbing some Neosporin on it and bandage it up. I’m so focused on my task that I don’t realize Harper has been staring at me until I’m done with her knees.
