CHAPTER 07

BLAIR’S POV.

"What are you doing here?" Hunter questioned, eyeing me up and down.

"Can I stay for a while? It will only be a moment," I pleaded.

"You just can't stay out of my way, can you?" He stood up, approaching me.

"I will only be here for a moment," I pleaded again.

"I want you out of my space," he said, grabbing my collar and forcefully moving me toward the door.

"I don't want to leave now!" I screamed, struggling to pull away.

"Newsflash, you don't have a choice," he retorted, pulling me closer to the door.

The door swung open, revealing three hefty guys entering the room.

"What is it?" Hunter yelled, clearly annoyed by their abrupt entrance.

"We were looking for Blair," the boy, whom I had kicked in the groin, spoke up first, glaring at me.

Hunter briefly glanced at me before turning his attention back to them. "What for?"

"She disrespected you and us too, so we wanted to teach her a lesson she'll never forget," the boy explained.

"Take her then," he said, shoving me towards them, nearly causing me to trip.

"Hunter, you can't do that! They are trying to violate me!" I screamed, desperately seeking a reaction, but he remained unbothered.

"I don't care," he replied coldly, watching indifferently as they dragged me out of the room.

“Get off me!" I screamed, struggling against their strong grip.

"Shut up, you stupid girl!" one of them yelled, delivering a hard slap to my face.

"Leave me alone!" I cried, kicking my legs in desperation as they carried me toward an unknown destination. The school was vast, and the grim reality set in – no one was coming to save me now.

“You are going to regret this,” I warned.

He gripped my jaw and slammed me against the hard wall. “You still got that fire in you, huh? I would love to see if it’s still here, once we are done with you,” he smirked, trailing his hands down my neck and cupping my breast.

“Son of a b***h,” I said as I spat into his face.

His anger flared, and he slapped me forcefully, sending me sprawling to the ground. The impact caused a tear on my lips, blood gushing out. He loomed over me, ready to unleash more violence when a sudden force yanked him away, flinging him to the other end as if he were made of paper.

Clutching my stinging cheeks, I looked up to witness him being fiercely beaten by my unexpected saviour. It took me a moment to realise it was one of the triplets – Leo.

Leo kept angrily punching his boy in the face and I realised if I didn’t stop him, things could get really ugly. I got up from the ground and walked up to him, immediately I placed my hands on his shoulders. He looked like he was ready to attack me but the moment he caught sight of my face, a sudden softness overcame him.

"It's enough, Leo," I said, pulling him away from the guy whose face was already swollen and almost unrecognisable.

Leo got up and gave me a long hug before inspecting me. "You are bleeding," he said, running his hands over my lips.

"It's just a small cut," I whispered softly.

"Those bastards," he hissed, turning to face them.

"I'm sure they have learned their lesson," I replied, holding his hands back to prevent him from causing more harm.

"If I ever see you near Blair again, I will kill you," Leo warned, the guys nodding in fear.

"It won't happen again," one of them answered.

“Now get out of my sight,” Leo ordered.

As soon as they were gone, Leo cupped my cheek and I stared into his blue eyes. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you,” he apologised.

I nodded, unable to speak, afraid that my voice would give me away.

“Let me take you home," he offered as he guided me toward his car.

"Thanks, but I came with mine," I replied, pointing to my old pickup truck that looked out of place among the other cars. If he noticed how beat-up my car was, he did not show it.

"I insist. I promised I would make sure your car gets to your doorstep in perfect condition. Just let me take you home," he pleaded.

I shook my head slightly. "I will be fine on my own."

He held my hands and locked eyes with me. "Please let me. I will feel better knowing you arrived home safely," he said, making my cheeks turn pink.

I agreed, and he drove me home. We rode in silence, and I stared out of the window. Leo, sensing the awkwardness, decided to break the silence.

"How have you been enjoying our school?" he asked, seemingly desperate to ease the tension.

I stared at him before rolling my eyes. "You should know better than everyone," I answered, still looking out of the window.

"I'm sorry, wrong question. I just wanted to start a conversation," he apologised, scratching his head and giving me a shy smile.

"It's okay. It's just that I hate your brother, Hunter, especially after what he did today," I responded.

“Hunter allowed those boys to treat you like that?” He said clenching his fist.

“Yeah,” I said very matter of factly, “he has always been an asshole since the first days I stepped into his school,”

“I knew he was mean, but I expected more out of him,” his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched together. “He’s going to pay for this,” he hissed.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that, pumpkin," he answered, staring at me before stopping the car. "You are home now."

"Uh..." I wanted to say something, but words eluded me. I did not want to be the reason for strife between the two brothers. "Just don't do anything stupid," I managed to say.

"I just want you to be safe, pumpkin," he answered softly and leaned in closer to me, so closed that I could feel his warm breath on my skin, his eyes slowly fell to my lips and he stared at them like he wanted to devour them and if he did I would let him. I closed my eyes as his lips slowly closed the gap between us, anticipating the moment when his lips would touch mine.

But they never came. I opened my eyes to find that he had leaned in to open my door and was noticed trying to kiss me as I had thought. My face reddened, and I hurriedly unbuckled my seatbelt, getting out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride," I blushed, trying to hide my embarrassment as I hurriedly made my way to my door when Leo called out my name.

"You forgot this," he said, holding out my bag as he walked up to me.

"Thanks," I whispered as I took the bag from him, but he still held it up.

"You also forgot to give me a kiss too," he winked, causing my cheeks to burn even brighter.