A light in the darkness

Chapter 24

"Teach me how to fight." said Anna finally and watched Xander's eyes become confused. "Teach me how to defend myself. I hate to be always helpless. I hate to be weak. Help me to become strong and able to defend myself and I will forgive you."

Xander dropped his head. His fine eye was full of guilt and sadness, now understanding the reason behind her request. He closed his eyes and made up his mind, determined to do everything in his power to make her able to defend herself against monsters like him. It was the least he could do for her.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her eyes. "I will." he said firmly. "But first you should talk to Bella and your doctor to make sure our exercises won't tire or harm you in any way."

Anna nodded. "It won't." she said. "I know myself. But we still will talk to Bella so you become sure."

"Shit!" cursed Damien behind them and everyone looked at him. He was scratching the back of his neck while reading something on his phone. He looked up and glanced at everyone. "We should leave. Mason has come to know and wants us back home. All of us." he said and looked at Xander who looked away ashamed.

"Fuck!" said Hunter panicked. "He is going to skin me alive."

"Not only you, all of us." said Damien and looked at Anna quickly who looked nervous. "Of course not you. Please don't panic. The last thing we need is you feeling sick and Mason will surely kill us."

Xander grunted in pain as he stood up. His heart fluttered as Anna quickly grabbed his arm to support him and looked up at him with concerned eyes. "Are you fine?" she asked. "We need to take you to the hospital."

"I will be fine." he answered. "Let's go. We should not keep Mason waiting."

Anna let go of his arm and gulped, looking down. "Okay." she mumbled and watched Damien come and support Xander who was limping badly and they all walked out of the locker room. 

The brothers stood on Anna's sides and back escorting her out of the shitty building. No one dared to even glance in her way and Anna felt oddly safe as they walked outside.

"Anna," called Hunter once outside and patted her shoulder. "Come. Our car is that way."

Anna glanced at Xander and Damien and then looked back at Hunter. Her cheeks were a bit red and she didn't look into Hunter's eyes. "If It's okay, I want to come with Damien and Xander." she said. "Xander is bleeding badly. Someone should make it stop."

Hunter smirked slightly at Xander and nodded while clearing his throat. "I will follow you." he said to Damien and walked away.

"Come, Anna." said Damien and the twins guided her to their car.

Xander's eyes were glued to Anna, thanking God in his mind over and over for giving him a second chance. He couldn't be more grateful. Although his body was aching bad and Mason was going to kill him, he was feeling at peace. A peace that looked extremely satisfying after a week.

"You two sit in the backseat." said Damien as he unlocked his car and walked to the driver's seat. 

Xander opened the backseat door for Anna. She stopped before sitting in the car. "Don't stare." she said sternly. "It's creepy."

Xander quickly dropped his head. "I'm sorry." he mumbled and sat in after her, making sure to keep the most distance possible between them to give her a sense of security, and looked outside of the window. He was nervous around her, afraid that any simple action triggers a panic attack for her.

"Here." said Damien and held a first aid box for Anna. 

"Thanks." said Anna and grabbed the box. Xander's heart began to beat miles in a second as she willingly slid closer to him so their knees were touching. His breathing increased when he felt her small hand was placed delicately on his cheek, turning his face to her.