Catch Me

Chapter Thirteen: What Did You Do?

Chapter Thirteen: What Did You Do? 

Haleigh was unsure why this kiss felt so right. She was swooning over the fact that Zander had just kicked some guy's ass for her. Zander's lips were warm and inviting. The spark between them was like nothing she had ever felt before. She was intrigued, and needed more. She wrapped her (good) arm around Zander's neck, running her fingers through his hair. Her tongue collided gently against Zander's, before she pulled away slightly, resting her forehead against his. She could see a smile spread across Zander's lips. He pulled away, and the two began walking toward the dorm building again.

"I've been wanting to do that since the moment I first saw you." Zander's cheesy line was causing Haleigh's heart to swell. The rest of the walk was in silence, until they got to the bottom step of Haleigh's dorm building.

"Thank you... For everything." Haleigh was looking at her feet as she talked to Zander, her shyness was something that was difficult to overcome at times. This was one of those times. She wasn't sure if it was just because he had saved her tonight, or if she really, genuinely, was starting to like this guy, but her heart was racing and she felt the urge to have his lips on hers once more. Zander cleared his throat, and Haleigh was brought back into reality.

"I'm glad you're okay..." Zander's hands were shoved in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Haleigh could see the goose pimples on his bare arms and she was all too aware now that she still had his jacket. But she really didn't want to give it back. She loved the smell of it, and wanted to wear it forever.

"Do you... Do you want to come in?" Haleigh hesitated briefly.

"Sure." Zander shrugged, then followed Haleigh up the stairs and into the building. Haleigh lead the way to her dorm room and swiftly unlocked the door allowing the two to enter. Haleigh made her way over to her bed, and plopped down, pulling one of her pillows into her lap, trying to hide her exposed skin the best she could. Zander sat at the foot of the bed, looking around the room as if he was trying to remember every last detail.

"How's your shoulder?" Zander asked, finally focusing his attention on Haleigh.

"It's okay." She shrugged, smiling shyly. Zander inched his way further up the bed so that his back was leaning comfortably against the wall. He wanted to make sure Haleigh was okay before he returned to the party. An awkward silence fell over the pair, and Zander returned to looking across the room. He wasn't sure what to say to her about the situation.

"How'd you learn to fight like that?" Haleigh wondered, breaking the silence between them. Zander's heart jumped in his throat, he wasn't expecting that question, and wasn't sure if he was quite ready to leak information about his past to this girl yet.

"Let's just say I've been in a lot of fights in my past..." Zander explained vaguely. "Not something I'm proud of."

"I'm glad you were there tonight..." Zander might not be proud of the fights that he had been in in the past, but Haleigh was sure proud of him for kicking Justin's ass tonight.

"I couldn't just sit back and let him hurt you." He explained his actions from earlier in the evening. Haleigh fell silent as she massaged her bruised wrist, it was starting to throb. It was then that Zander caught sight of the bruise that occupied Haleigh's wrist. He gently took her hand, pushing the sleeve of his own jacket up Haleigh's arm, revealing the deep purple skin.

"Did he do this?" His voice had grown angry again, it reminded Haleigh of the rage she had witnessed at the party. Zander released her hand as she nodded, pulling the sleeve back down to cover her wrist.

"I'm gonna kill him." Zander got to his feet quickly, as he paced around the room. He ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated his next move. Haleigh wasn't sure what to do. Why was he getting so angry again? He had already taken care of the jerk. 

"What are you going to do, wander around campus until you find him?" Haleigh's eyebrows furrowed. "You already kicked his ass once tonight."

"He needs to learn that it's not okay to put his hands on a woman." Zander huffed. Haleigh could tell he was having a hard time keeping his anger under control. So she stayed seated on her bed, not wanting to irritate him anymore. "I gotta get some air." Zander said before exiting the dorm room. He didn't bother to grab his jacket from Haleigh. Haleigh had a feeling that 'getting some air' wasn't the only thing Zander planned to do tonight. He was going to try and find Justin. Haleigh's heart pounded in her throat as she scrambled to pull her phone out of her tight jeans pocket and texted Zander.

Haleigh: Please don't do this.

Haleigh: Come back...

Zander never replied. Hours went by and Haleigh was too anxious to fall asleep. She had hung up Zander's jacket on the back of her desk chair, and changed into an oversized t-shirt that she had once stolen from her brother. She sat in the dark, under the covers of her bed, and waited quietly. She had texted Sam a couple of times, but had only received one incoherent text in return. She had tried to call Zander a bunch of times but wasn't surprised when all of her calls had gone straight to voicemail. Shane must have been sleeping because he wasn't answering texts or calls either. Finally at around three o'clock in the morning there was a knock on her door. Haleigh flung the covers off of her, and hopped out of bed, running to answer the door.

Zander stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. His right cheek was swollen and cut open. The knuckles on his left hand was dripping with what Haleigh assumed was a mixture of Zander's blood and Justin's. She couldn't believe the sight that she was seeing. What had Zander done? Why was he being so protective of someone he had only met just a week ago?

"Can I come in?" He gestured inside the room. His voice was shaky, and fragile. Haleigh moved aside, allowing Zander to enter.

"What did you do?" She was starting to get a little freaked out. The intensity that Zander carried himself with, and the protectiveness that he had toward Haleigh was making her feel uneasy. She wasn't ready for this.

"I taught him a lesson." He responded plainly as if it were no big deal. Haleigh couldn't understand why he would do this for her. She made her way over to her desk chair and picked up the leather jacket that Zander had draped around her freezing shoulders just hours before. She slowly handed the jacket over to Zander who looked at it questioningly.

"I think it's time you leave." Haleigh could feel her heart weighing heavily in her chest as she said these words. She really didn't want Zander to leave. She wanted him to stay and talk, she wanted to learn more about him. But she just wasn't sure if she was ready to deal with the drama that Zander brought along with him. He took the jacket from Haleigh.

"Why? I was just defending you." His brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's late, I should go to bed." She lied, not making eye contact.

"Fine..." Zander sighed as he pulled the leather jacket on, he winced as it grazed his injured hand. "I guess I'll see you around..." He said coldly as he turned and left. Haleigh sighed, her heart felt like it was about to explode, and she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was just because she was overtired, or because of the traumatic events she had been through tonight. Whatever the case, Haleigh climbed back into bed, pulling the covers over her head and let the tears fall freely. Eventually the sleep came, taking her to a place that made her feel at ease.