Tangled Hearts

Chapter#6

As the day drew to a close, Katherine was walking out of the university library when she saw Aiden leaning against a pillar, his eyes fixed on the ground. She rushed towards him, concern etched on her face.

"Aiden, what happened?" she exclaimed, taking in the sight of his battered face and body.

Aiden smiled weakly, wincing in pain. "Just a little run-in with those three," he replied, his voice strained.

Katherine's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, Aiden... thank you for saving me earlier. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."

Aiden shrugged, his eyes closing briefly. "You don't have to thank me, Kat. I just did what needed to be done."

Katherine's expression turned stern. "Aiden, listen to me. You need to take care of yourself. These wounds need dressing, and you need to rest at home. Take a day off tomorrow, okay?"

Aiden nodded slowly, his eyes still closed. "Okay... yeah. I'll do that."

With that, Aiden pushed off from the pillar and began to walk away, his movements slow and labored. Katherine watched him go, her heart heavy with worry. She knew Aiden was tough, but she also knew he wasn't invincible. She hoped he would take her advice and take care of himself.

As Katherine turned around, she collided with a solid mass and fell to the ground. She was wondering how a wall had suddenly appeared in the middle of the university, but as she looked up, she saw Ethan standing over her, a sneer on his face.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, her heart racing. "Watch where you're going," Ethan snarled, his eyes flashing with anger.

But before Katherine could respond, Ethan's head jerked to the side, his eyes fixed on something behind her. "Well, well, well," he said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Look what we have here."

Katherine turned to see Nicholas and Noah standing behind her, their eyes gleaming with malice. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the three of them closed in around her.

" Looks like you're surrounded, babygirl," Ethan sneered. "What are you going to do now?"

Katherine stood her ground, trying to hide the fear that was growing inside her. She knew she had to stay calm, think of a way to get out of this situation. But as she looked around at the three of them, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was in grave danger.

Ethan's grin grew even wider as he laughed. "Friends, meet the little friend of Aiden's who was crying when he was being beaten," he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.

Katherine's face burned with anger and humiliation. "Shut up, Ethan," she spat, her voice trembling with rage.

But Ethan just laughed even harder, his friends joining in. "Oh, look at her, she's so fierce," Nicholas taunted, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"you know you are a bitch who just want to get our attention" noah tuanted

"I'm not you noah" kathrine spat

Ethan become furious and held the kathrine face harshly "you know who are you talking to huh how dare you to speak with us in this tone you little bitch"

Ethan harshly removed his hand from her face
Katherine with tear in her eyes looked at them then turned and walked away, trying to maintain her dignity as the three of them laughed and jeered behind her.

As she disappeared into the crowd, Ethan's laughter grew even louder. "I think we've found Aiden's weakness," he sneered to his friends. "And it's that little girl."

Noah and Nicholas chuckled in agreement, their eyes scanning the crowd for their next target. But Katherine was long gone, her heart still burning with anger and humiliation. She knew she had to stay away from those three, but she also knew that she couldn't let them get away with this. She was going to find a way to stand up to them, no matter what it took.
Katherine was running outside, tears streaming down her face, when she saw Rhea standing by the entrance, her expression turning concerned as she grabbed Katherine's arm, stopping her, and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?" Katherine took a deep breath, recounting her encounter with Ethan, Nicholas, and Noah, and how they had mocked her and Aiden, and Rhea's face darkened with anger, letting out a string of curses, telling her to ignore them, that they were just pathetic bullies. Katherine nodded, feeling a bit better, but the stress of the day still lingered, and when she arrived home, her stepmother was waiting in the living room, a critical look on her face, scolding her on her dressing, and body shaming her, telling her to go shopping and get some decent clothes that fit her properly, making Katherine feel a sting from her words, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she went to her room, feeling upset and humiliated, and lay down on her bed, letting the stress of the day wash over her, thinking about how Aiden had stood up for her, and how she had stood up to those boys, but her stepmother's words still lingered, making her feel worthless, and eventually, she fell asleep, exhausted, with all the stress and emotions of the day still swirling in her head, feeling like she didn't fit in anywhere, like she was just a target for everyone's cruelty, but hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.