His Saving Grace.

Chapter 5.

"H-hunter, what h-happened?" Did I really want to know? "Nothing. I'm fine. Just, go home, it's late," he said gruffly. "No I will not leave you here all alone. Just let me help you up." I said stubbornly.

I held out my hands and he took them hesitantly. Damn, he's heavy. I put my arms around his waist, careful not to hurt him. He held on to me, but I can sense he's trying not to weigh me down.

"Come on, I'll take you to my house." I said, huffing and puffing. What does this guy eat everyday? "No, you don't have to. I can take care of myself just fine. Besides, what would your parents say if they saw me?" he almost looked regretful.

"Sure, I can see that you can take perfect care of yourself." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, my parents are out of town. So, you're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"Fine."

We entered the dark house and I switched on the lights. "Go sit in the living room. I'll be back. I'll just go get the first aid kit," I told him and ran upstairs to my bathroom. When I came back down, he was lying on the couch, eyes closed and breathing heavily. He looks so different, I thought.

I bent down beside him on the floor. "Hey," I whispered. He opened one of his eyes and got up slowly. "Let's get you fixed up, okay."

I held his chin and took a good look at his bruise near his cheekbone. I shuddered visibly. He noticed it and looked away from me, the guilty look back on his face.

I dabbed some alcohol on a cotton ball and gently took his face in my hands. He winced when I cleaned his wounds, but didn't say anything. I noticed a small scar under his left eyebrow but was too scared to ask him about it. Someday, though.

"Do you want to tell me what happened to you?" I asked calmly.

"No!"

"Please? I've helped you enough, so don't you think I deserve to know?" I asked pleadingly.

Suddenly, he looked angry. Uh oh. But his anger wasn't directed at me. He breathed out and slumped down on the couch. It looks like he's having an internal battle with himself.

I sat down next to him and put a reassuring hand on his leg, waiting eagerly for his explanation.

Silence.

"I'm not a good person, Grace," he said suddenly, breaking the painful silence. "Never was, actually. I got into a fight with some guys. Owed those greedy bastards some money. That's all you need to know," he said with a hard look on his face. His jaw clenching and unclenching.

Silence.

"Grace, say something. Please." The look he gave me snapped me back to reality. "I, uh, wow. So those guys, are they like, the mafia or something?" I asked hesitantly, bracing myself for his answer.

Then he laughed. His laughter filled up the entire room and it eased up my nerves a bit. "They're not the mafia, Grace," he said while stifling a laugh, "I can assure you that. They're just some punks who I got involved with a while ago. I'll be fine though," he smiled.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Will they come back to hurt you?"

"Maybe. But, don't worry I'll take care of it," he told me reassuringly.

"How?"

"I have my ways," he winked. "Just, don't get into any more trouble and hurt yourself more, okay? It's not funny," I told him pleadingly.

His eyes softened and he smiled at me, "No promises." Smack. "Ouch, what was that for?" He rubbed his hand, feigning hurt. I raised my hand again but he stopped me. "Okay okay, I'll try. Now, stop hitting me and feed me," he grinned.

I huffed and got up to make us both some dinner. I can hear him switching on the TV as I reached the kitchen. I smiled to myself as I thought about the 'bad boy' in the next room.

I was draining the noodles for my spaghetti and meatballs dinner when a deep voice startled me, "Need some help?" Hunter asked. He came to stand behind me, trapping me between the sink and him.

"I, no, you can, uh--" I stuttured, obviously nervous by the close proximity. I cleared my throat and spoke again, "I just need to put these in with the meatballs and I'm done. So you can, uhm, go back to watching the, uh, TV," I said trying to control my voice.

"Are you sure about that?" He whispered in my ear, sending a chill up my spine. The good kind of chill.

"Y-yeah." He's just teasing you Grace. Play it cool.

Then I felt him lean away from me, but not before placing a small tender kiss under my ear. "I'll be in the living room, if you need anything," he smirked.

Flustered, I just nodded. What in the name of all things sweet just happened?

I turned away before he could see my blush.

15 minutes later, I carried both our dinners to the living room. Hunter was watching some cartoon show and laughing quietly. I smiled at this childish side of him. Who would've thought that the big bad boy watches cartoons? I cleared my throat, obviously still feeling awkward after that weird moment in the kitchen.

"Uh, dinner's ready" I squeaked, not finding my voice. He took the plate from my hand and devoured it. Wow, someone's hungry, I thought.

"You're an amazing cook, you know that," he grinned at me and licking his lips. "Thanks. The secret is in the sauce, it's all about the sauce," I blabbered.

He checked the time on his watch and got up. "It's getting late, I should probably go," he said almost hesitantly.

"Yeah, right. Okay. Let me walk you out." I put down my finished dinner and led Hunter to my front door.

When we got to the front door, I kept my gaze on the floor, not knowing what to do. Two warm fingers pulled my chin, forcing me to stare at the pair of ocean blue eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of me and also, for not judging me when I told you about what happened," he said softly.

I couldn't speak.

Instead, I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him. It took him a second to hug me back. Where did I get the guts to do that?

"I'll see you tomorrow, Grace. Goodnight." I smiled up at him, "Goodnight Hunter. Take care and be safe, please?" He nodded.

I waited till he was out of sight to enter the house. Once I did, my heart was racing a thousand miles per second.

What just happened?

I turned off the lights and climbed upstairs to my bedroom. Taking a quick shower, I then changed into my pink pajamas and went to bed.

My mind couldn't concentrate on getting to sleep, but instead rewinding the events of the evening.

That night, I didn't dream nor did I have any of those terrifying nightmares. The only thing on my mind was Hunter.

Hunter Raines.

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❤Fenny❤