Unexpected

Chapter 12

--Xavier's POV--

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was driving through town, trying to make my way to the outskirts of town, to this dive bar I like to chill at sometimes. They've never carded me, and I've gotten to know the owner pretty well. My dad has helped him a few times, so John, that's the owner, thinks he's doing right by my dad by not questioning me.

When I passed by this pharmacy, there she was, Treya. I was getting closer and noticed she wasn't paying attention. I hit my brakes, and she froze, like a deer in headlights. Ironic, considering the situation. She tried to peer in my windshield, but the glare from the sun wouldn't allow her to see me, and of course along with the tinted windows. I, on the other hand, could see her clear as day, along with that gnarly black eye.

I was heated! What person would dare put hands on a woman like that? I knew it couldn't have been a fight with a woman. She may be small and quiet, but I've seen how she can secretly handle herself. Not to mention, the marks on her did not look like something a woman would make unless she was using brass knuckles.

A mark like that had to have come from a man's fist. She was now across the street and heading deeper into the park. I slowly started driving off, but not before I noticed her dip into the tree line of the woods. I knew exactly where she was headed, and I already knew of another way to the hidden pond. When I was younger, my dad, my brother and I would go there to fish. That was when people used to go to the pond and hang out as a family spot. That was all before the suicides occurred at the pond and then they blocked it off to the public.

I drove around the corner to this cul de sac, where it had a trail for bikers and runners, but also lead to the pond up a way. The entrance to the trail is just big enough for my car to fit in it. So, I drove through and parked right next to the pond opening, just hidden away from the public's eyes. The spot I could park was still far enough that Treya could not see me or my car.

I walked up quietly to the pond and stayed just in the shadows of a couple trees and watched her. You can tell she knew of this place well, as she seemed comfortable enough to know no one would come over here and see her stripping off her clothes. What I was met with when she lifted her shirt, was horrific bruises and scars all up and down her front. I would assume her back mimicked the front.

Her beautiful golden colored skin had an old scar, from what I could see, went from somewhere below her pants, just under her navel, and flew across her flat stomach and rounding to the top of her back somewhere. I could only see the front of her, so I didn't know how far up her back the scar went. She also had lots of little scars all over her, none as big as the one across her.

I saw her reach into the bag she must've gotten from the pharmacy and winced when she bent a bit. She quickly grabbed her side near her ribs, and I wondered if she had any broken bones. With as many injuries she has, there is no doubt she didn't escape without severe damage. In fact, as severe as they look, I don't understand why she is not in the hospital being X-rayed.

With every movement she made and would scrunch her face in pain, I too grew angrier, and wanted to kill someone. I didn't understand why I felt so strong over someone I barely knew and didn't care about. I'm not even like this with my brother. Once she was wrapped up, she lifted her head to add ointment to some cuts, and I got a clear shot of her face, now there was no hoodie covering some of it.

Her face looked swollen, and you could see what looked like dried blood in certain spots. She had a cut on her upper lip, which seemed fuller than the last time I saw her. Definitely swollen with a slight bruise to it too. Then there was a cut above her right eyes, even though her black eye was on the left eye. I also noticed she was not wearing her oversized glasses she normally wore.

While watching her, I lost my balance and stepped back to steady myself and snapped a branch. She heard that and swiftly looked right at me. No use hiding anymore. I decided to head over to her to see if she needed any help, however, that may not have been the best idea, as she seemed frantic and tried to move too fast. She immediately clenched in pain and fell over whimpering. Yep, she has something broken.

I swooped her up, before I could register what I was doing, but instead of irritation from her, she was...calm. At first, then she realized I was holding her and she tried to wriggle free, which only caused her more pain. "Relax, my car is just behind those two trees, away from the public." She slumped in my arms, knowing defeat when she saw it.

After discussing what was going to happen next, and a little back and forth, she realized I was not letting her out of my sight. She thought I was really going to buy the whole 'I was accidentally attacked at work' bit. No question, the wounds were from someone beating on her, but not by accident. I could see maybe a cut and a bruise or two, but the damage to her body had looked like she'd been ran through a grinder. The extent of the scars looks like this is normal for her. This, and the fact she didn't seem too concerned with the injuries.

I easily pulled my car off the trail, back onto the road, but I had no idea where I was going. She wouldn't let me take her home, and I couldn't take her to my place, since she believes my room is Jason's room. I don't see her being very comfortable at the dive bar and based on her going to the pharmacy and treating her own injuries, she was not going to the hospital. So that left only one other spot I could think of. The Barn.

The Barn is just that. An old, abandoned barn that sits on a broken-down farm. The owners left this place vacant well over 10 years ago, and now teenagers, preferably, stoners and druggies all use it as a hang out spot. I occasionally go there to get away from everyone else. Dom doesn't like this kind of place and kind of crowd, so he's never been back after the first time he came.

Not everyone is welcomed, unless you come with someone that is already on the 'in'. I know that if Treya had come by herself, they would've turned her around with no hesitation. Some of the people that go there are still in high school, and others either didn't finish high school or really have no ambition to do anything other than what they are doing at the barn.

Because the place is not maintained anymore, the road to get to it is kind of hidden. Again, you really must know someone who knows this place to show you how to get to it. I pulled into this narrow dirt path off the side of the road, Treya immediately went into alert mode.

"Are you going to kill me?" I was surprised she never even asked where we were going to begin with when I started onto the road in the middle of nowhere. I smirked and shook my head. She didn't seem to be convinced.

"Don't worry, everyone out here only cares about one thing. Keep your mouth shut about this place. Can you do that" Right as I said that I pulled up and was presented with Nathan chilling in a chair outside the barn door. He was probably the closest thing you got to security for this place. I'm sure everyone knew of this place, but just didn't know how to find it. Not sure the cops knew where to look. But, nonetheless, they needed to make sure they were discovered accidentally.

Treya strolled around the front of my car, looking at me nervously, and I grabbed her hand to direct her around Nathan. As soon as our hands touched, I was hit with a burst of electrical heat, and I could tell Treya felt it too, because she tried to pull away, but I didn't let her. She looked at me with shock, I assumed for one due to me grabbing her hand, I'm sure she didn't expect that, and two, the feeling that occurred.

As we rounded Nathan, he grinned at Treya, slowly skimming over her body. I had an urge of possessiveness over Treya and could not stand the way he was looking at her. He finally met my eyes, and saw the rage on my face, and he quickly shifted his head away from us, as we entered into the barn.