Destined For You

Chapter four (Husk)

Snap, slap, crash.

Seven year old Hunter curled up in the corner of his room, his father stood nearby with a belt and a now-broken bottle, a sneer on his face, hatred in those hellish eyes.

"Get up!" He roared, Hunter flinched, holding back tears that pooled in his eyes, threatening to spill.

"Don't make me fucking tell you again!"

He heard the approaching footsteps and used his arms to cover himself, his whole body shaking as he braced himself for more beatings.

He screeched in pain as he felt the leather connect with his skin another four times, each hit harder than the last. He whimpered, he couldn't do anything, he just had to wait until it was over.

His only friend was a small black and white cat, he wasn't sure how old it was but he didn't care. It seemed to like him more than his own family did. During the night, it would cuddle up to him, licking his tears and purring softly. It was the only time Hunter smiled. The only time he let his guard down.

The cat was nearby, it's back arched, hissing and yowling at the man in front of it, Hunter's father took one look and grunted in disgust.

"Fucking rats." He spat at it.

Hunter looked up at his father, hands clenched into shaking fists as he fought back the urge to cry, scream, run away. He was a mistake, they made that clear. They'd never wanted him, never wanted kids, they saw him as a burden, nothing more. The only reason they'd kept him was to gamble him off to be a slave to someone else.

Honestly, Hunter would prefer being a slave to a foreign family than stay here. Maybe then he'd get a chance of a life that wasn't full of abuse, alcohol and a deck of cards.

He finally left and Hunter felt the warm, salty tears trail down his face, one after the other. The black and white cat prowled closer, rubbing its face under Hunter's chin propped up against his chest, it licked his tears as it usually did, which helped comfort the seven year old child.

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"Husker?" Charlie's voice reached Husk's ears and he snapped out of it, shaking his head to rid the last of the memories.

"You've been staring into space for ten minutes." She told him, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

Husk let out a low growl, not the hostile kind, more the exhausted kind. He waved a hand at her with a chuff, a mix between a growl and a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine, princess." He lied. "Just tired."

"Mm." Charlie hummed, face falling slightly with worry. "Alright... just know we care. Even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes."

Husk felt warmth swell in his chest but he didn't let it show. He didn't reply and instead tossed his bottle back, the burn hardly doing a thing to soothe him.

Charlie opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by the main doors swinging open.

"Hey hey hey! What did this beautiful mess miss?"

Angel walked in like he owned the place, that narcissistic, cocky grin spread across his face like a Cheshire Cat. Vaggie, who was nearby, shot him a glare that could curdle blood. Angel just waved her off.

Husk's ears perked up as Angel glanced at him, eyes shimmering.

The spider approached the bar with a few quick strides of his long legs, Husk felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards with a smile but he quickly wiped it away, turning to pour the drink, knowing what Angel wanted without even asking. He knew him by now, he'd be surprised if he was wrong.