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“Mathers!” I roar his name.
It only takes me a second to reach them, and when I do, I grab a fistful of his hair and yank him away. His wide eyes meet mine.
“Wha—”
His words are shoved down his throat when my fist crunches against his face. I’m a big guy, with big hands, so coupled with his surprise of my appearance and the force behind my punch, he crumples to the floor. Every muscle in my body is telling me to go at him again. To teach the little bastard a lesson on touching girls when they don’t want to be touched.
But Luna’s yelp has my head turning toward her. She’s huddled against the locker, one hand covering her mouth, with tears streaking down her face. There’s a red mark on her cheek from where it was pressed against the vent slats on the locker.
My anger renews at seeing that mark, but I lock it down.
“Are you okay?” I ask, approaching her slowly.
Her head bobs up and down. “Yes,” she answers shakily. “I think so.”
I let my eyes travel over her body, looking for any signs of other marks. When they fall on the unbuttoned snap on her jeans, my blood boils.
I take a calming breath and rein in the need to decimate the boy currently moaning on the ground.
“Come on.” I pick up the bag she must have dropped when Aaron attacked her. “We’re going to get the coach and report what this asshole did.” I glare down at Aaron.
“No. Please.” I look at Luna, not at all liking her plea. Her hair tumbles around her when she shakes her head. “I don’t want to report it. I just want to forget about it.”
“Luna, the school needs to know about this.”
Her eyes water and her bottom lip trembles. “I would prefer it if they didn’t. I’m sure he would have stopped before it went too far.”
My lips form a straight line. “You don’t know that for sure.”
She looks down at Aaron, who wisely, still hasn’t gotten off the floor. Satisfaction courses through me, seeing the blood dripping between the fingers covering his nose. He deserves worse.
“I don’t,” Luna says, bringing her eyes back to me. Her shoulders go from being hunched to being straight as she strengthens her resolve. “But I’m sure he won’t mess with me anymore. And reporting it will only cause problems.”
I’m torn between doing what she wants and doing what’s right. The school should be informed of Aaron’s behavior. In fact, the police should be called. He needs to be punished for what he did. But I can’t force her to report it. It would be pointless to report it myself if Luna won’t back up my statement, and from the look on her face, she wouldn’t.
“Fine.” I slash my hand through my hair, not liking this one bit. “At least let me get you out of here.”
A small smile of gratitude curves her lips, and she nods. “Okay.”
Before we walk away, I bend down so I’m hovering over Aaron. I keep my voice low when I growl my next words. “You stay the fuck away from her. If I get a hint of you sniffing around her, your broken nose will be the last thing you’re worrying about. And if you report me for hitting you, just remember, there are cameras in the hallways. The staff only checks the feed if something happens, so I can easily give them the time and place to look.”
His eyes, which are already starting to form a dark ring around them, look up at me in defiance.
“You get me?” I ask when he doesn’t answer right away.
“Yes,” he hisses out between clenched teeth.
I stand, tempted to kick him in the ribs for good measure, but Luna grabs my hand and pulls me away.
Whether or not it’s appropriate, I tuck her into my side and lead her down the hallway and out the door right past the boys’ locker room. The sun is starting to set behind the trees, and there’s a cool breeze blowing. Luna shivers beside me, and I want nothing more than to wrap my body around hers to ward off the chill.
“My car’s over there.” She points to a newer model, blue car.
“I’m not letting you drive. I’ll take you home and you can have one of your parents bring you back tomorrow to grab your car,” I tell her and move us toward my truck.
Once I get her situated inside, I round the hood and climb inside. I put her seat warmer on high. I don’t know if she’s actually cold or if her shivers are from what happened. Either way, I’m hoping the warm seat will help.
Before leaving the parking lot, I turn to face her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
