Hunter (Broken Bad Boys 1): A New Adult Bad Boy Romance

by Heart,Skylar

  “Do you want to tell her?” I look at Lizzy. It’s her choice.

  “Hunter made me a dress.”

  “What? When?”

  “A while ago. It’s not important.”

  “Your color tells me differently. Was it pretty?” Lola asks Lizzy, but she looks at me.

  I now also eye Lizzy, curious about her reaction to that. After what happened that day, we never talked about it again.

  “Yes. It was really pretty.” Lizzy’s blush deeps and then she glares at the both of us. “Now, can we talk about something else?”

  I can’t help the huge smile spreading over my face. She liked the dress.

  Lizzy smacks my leg. “Stop grinning like that, or I’ll never say it again.”

  I try to bring my face back to normal, but just her reaction makes it all worth it. God, she makes my heart warm every time she does things like this.

  The mall is busy, which is no wonder on a Saturday, but since I don’t usually spend my weekends here, it does take me a bit off guard. I keep looking for Lola and Lizzy—the twins are sometimes like one mind, and when I don’t keep my eyes on them constantly, they disappear. Like, they’ll be walking in front of me one moment, and then have dived into a store the next moment. How does anyone keep track of that?

  “H!” Lola waves at me from another store and when I look up she shakes her head. As I come closer she looks at me intently. “Where is your head today?”

  I laugh. “You’re asking me? I’m not the one moving at the speed of light.”

  “Hey, we’re trying to let you know where we go.” Lola shrugs as she looks at Lizzy, who is browsing through a rack of clothes.

  “I can’t read your mind, unlike Lizzy.” I bump my shoulder against hers as she starts to frown. “What?”

  “I wish I could read her mind, maybe then I would know what to do. She’s such a puzzle sometimes. I used to know her so well, but these days, I don’t even know.” Lola sighs. “I don’t want to sound so bummed.”

  “If it makes it any better, out of everyone, you seem to be the only one who really gets her. Who can read her moods, even if they’re only small. She actually listens to you.”

  “If I can read her mind so well, then how do I not get what she sees in you?” She keeps her voice light, but there is an edge to it that makes me look at her closer. That hurts. I know she doesn’t approve, but that still hurts.

  “I don’t know either.” I don’t. I wish I did. Maybe it would make talking to her easier.

  “Even though you scared her away, she still talks about you, dreams about you. I’m not sure if it’s stupidity or something else.”

  “Lo.” That is going too far. She’s my friend. She used to be my friend. So why the nasty words? “Don’t.”

  Lola looks up at me, her jaw set, her eyes dark. “I know you. I know the things you got into with Tessa. I can’t have that happen to my sister. I can’t have you put Lizzy in the same dangerous situations. I can’t.”

  “I’m…” I’m not like that any more? Who am I kidding? She’s seen the bruises. And she’s right, I keep doing the same things as I did when I was with Tessa—getting into fights, being stupid. The rock star lifestyle: sex, drugs and rock and roll, or, you know, fights. “I get it.” I get not wanting to lose a sibling. If there is one thing I understand, it’s that.

  “If you do, then why? Why do you do this? Why does she keep doing this?”

  “Because she isn’t scared, she’s not scared of me.” Even though I’m probably the most dangerous person in her life.

  Lola lets out a deep sigh. “Sorry. I—” She shakes her head. “I just don’t want to see her hurt again.”

  The burn scar on Lizzy’s arm suddenly pops into my head. “I’d never hurt her.”

  “No, not on purpose. But that doesn’t mean that she’s safe around you either.” Lola starts walking towards Lizzy and I see her body change as she puts on a happy facade.

  I stay where I am, taken aback by Lola’s words. I don’t even know how to react to that. If I can, or even if I should. I know that Lola is trying to protect her sister, but has she ever wondered if Lizzy needs all that protection?

  “Hunter!” Lizzy comes over, looking at me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” I smile at her, even if that doesn’t make the worry in her eyes go away. “Did you pick something out yet?”

  Lizzy shakes her head. “Help me look?” She touches my hand for a moment, as if she wants to weave her fingers through mine, but then she pulls away and walks in front of me. Being out here, in the open, it scares her to touch me, or maybe it’s just Lola that she is uncertain of. Lizzy looks at me, waiting for me to meet her eyes, then she holds up a pair of black jeans. “I was looking at these.” She holds them in front of her. “What do you think?”

  They’re just another pair of black jeans, basically the same as all the other ones she has shown me today. I know she’s trying, but it’s just too awkward today. But I smile and give comments, compliments. We interact like we’re supposed to be “normal” friends, even when the looks she keeps shooting me tell me something else.

  It’s getting dark, which starts early in November, and when I look at my phone, I realize that it’s almost five o’clock. “Lizzy.”

  She looks up from a bin full of art supplies. “Yeah?”

  “It’s almost five. What time do you need to go back?” I come over and look at the things she has collected in her arms.

  She pulls a face. “I should go back. Lemme find Lola and we’ll get back to the bus.” She dumps a couple of things back into the bin and then starts wandering around. We soon find Lola, looking at fountain pens and ink and notebooks. Because of course. “Lola. Time for the bus.” Lizzy steps next to her sister and puts her head on her shoulder. “What did you get?”

  Lola shrugs and looks up, meeting my eyes. “Not much. What are you getting?”

  Lizzy shows her the pencils and some paints and other things. “Not much.”

  Not much, right. But I know that artists can be very picky about their brands, and I don’t think clinics can stock everything that a true artist would need to work with.

  Lola rolls her eyes. “Right. I’m just gonna get this pen. So let’s get out of here.” We make our way to the till.

  As we walk past the big pieces of paper, I remember something that I forgot to tell Lizzy. “Ah, Lizzy.”

  She looks up at me, waiting in line.

  “We’re paired up for the final project for drawing.”

  She looks surprised by that. “He’ll let me?”

  “It’s mostly an out-of-class project anyway, so as long as we can meet up a couple of times, it’s not that important, I guess.”

  “I guess.” She doesn’t look very convinced though. Hmm. Luckily, we’re saved by the till and she pays for her supplies. I hold my hand out and instead of giving me her bag, she just glares at me. Fine. “I’m not letting you touch my things.”

  “Really?” I can’t help but grin and wink and Lizzy’s eyes go wide, her jaw drops and she colors a dark shade of red. Adorable.

  “Hunter,” she squeaks as she pulls her bag in front of her. “That is…”

  “Reality?” I raise an eyebrow and she flushes even more.

  “No…” She swallows hard, then she looks around. “Where is Lola?”

  “She’s still paying.” I point to behind her and Lizzy looks up. Then she reaches out and touches my hand, sneaking her hand into my grasp.

  My heart starts beating like crazy, and next to me Lizzy’s breath comes out uneven. I carefully squeeze her hand. “Are you doing okay? Is the clinic helping you?” Questions I don’t dare to ask, but now we’re alone, now we’re this close, I’m finally brave enough.

  “Yeah. They’re really good. They’re teaching me a lot about myself, things I’d…” She’s quiet for a moment. “Things I’d denied myself in the past.”

  What? I want to ask her more, but Lizzy pulls her hand from mine an
d as I look up, Lola is coming our way. I guess that’s the end of that conversation. “If you have access to the internet or a phone or whatever, and you want to talk, message me. I’m always there.” I talk quickly, because like our previous conversation, I’m not sure I want Lola to know or hear this. Especially after her cryptic words from earlier on.

  Lola looks us over, but then shrugs. “If we hurry, we can make the bus.” She starts walking in front of us and we follow. I don’t actually need to take the bus, I live close enough that I can just walk home, but I guess that seeing the twins off is better.

  As we’re approaching the buses, someone grabs my arm and turns me around. “Hunter.”

  Oh, crap. It takes me a moment to recognize the guy in front of me. He’s changed his hair, so it’s now the same bright red that Tessa’s was, and his leather jacket never strained against his shoulders like this before. Tessa’s younger brother. “Tyler.” I nod at the guy, not sure what he wants, but there is an anger in his eyes that I don’t want to unleash.

  “You having fun?” He sneers as he takes a step back, but balls his fists at the same time.

  I glance behind me. Lizzy and Lola are watching what is going on. I want to tell them to keep going, but I can’t take my attention away from Tyler. “What are you doing here?”

  He shrugs, pretend-nonchalant. “Spending the day.” As far as I know, he doesn’t live here. Tessa’s family lives about two hours away.

  “Right. Well, have fun. I’m just about to go home.”

  “To fuck your new girlfriend?” His voice reaches a level of danger that makes me cold, not scared, but nearing there.

  “She’s Lola’s sister.” I know she is so much more, but it’s also the truth. This seems the safest way to refer to her right now. And it seems like he’s only after one thing, a fight with me.

  “What, so the other sister almost dying was not enough for you? After Joey and Tessa, you want to have another death on your head?” He raises his voice, baiting me.

  “Shut up.” I’m going cold and at the same time, anger is flaring inside me.

  “What? You don’t want your new girlfriend to know about your past? About how everyone around you dies?” He pulls up his chin, looking straight at me. “Afraid she won’t want you anymore?”

  Like that is an issue. It would be so much easier if Lizzy didn’t want me in the first place. No matter how that would hurt me. “Shut up.”

  “I didn’t think you’d move on so quickly. You’re a lying, cheating bastard. Did my sister mean nothing to you?” The insanity in his eyes rises. “You first ruin my sister. You change her so much that even her own family doesn’t recognize her. She never got in trouble until she met you.”

  “I’m sorry.” I suppress my anger, no matter how much I just want to hit that look off his face.

  “You’re sorry? You think you’re sorry? Because of you, my sister is dead.” His voice peaks. “There is no sorry for that, no apology good enough. There is only one thing that would make it right again…”

  Behind me Lizzy screeches and I swivel to her, then I feel the burning in my arm. It slices through skin and muscles, the fabric of my body giving away to the weapon, the pressure on my arm. And then the warmth flowing down to my hand.

  He stabbed me! I turn to Tyler, but he’s already running away, the knife on the ground before me.

  “Hunter!” Lizzy and Lola run to me. “Oh, my God.”

  I wince as I shrug out of my jacket—if not for the jacket and Lizzy crying out, it might have gone differently. The blood flows down my arm and there is a big gash over my upper arm, one side to the other.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God.” Lizzy looks at it as Lola calls an ambulance. I wrap my good arm around Lizzy, trying to calm her.

  “It’s okay. I’m okay,” I whisper in her hair.

  “You’re not. He stabbed you.” The words are almost too muddled to be understood.

  “If not for you, it might have been worse. So I’m okay. I’m alive. Just hurt.” And in a lot of pain, but I bite it away. Lizzy can’t know that. She can’t stand pain or violence, and I can’t have her freak out on me right now.

  A set of mall security guards comes rushing over. “What happened here?” They eye the knife on the floor and my bleeding arm.

  “A guy stabbed him and ran.” Lola steps in front of me, her back straight.

  Lola… Fuck. She must have heard what Tyler said about her, she can’t not have heard. To have him talk about something so bad, just to hurt me… Fuck.

  “And he didn’t do anything to provoke it?” The man looks at me like he doesn’t believe it.

  “Check your cameras. He didn’t do anything.” Lola can appear quite scary if she wants to, which is a good thing as I’m not sure how much longer I can stand on my feet.

  The ambulance comes over and the irony is not lost on me. Normally they’re around because of me, not for me… Fuck. They start fussing over me, but Lizzy keeps holding my other hand, holding on tight the whole time. I wish I could tell her that everything is okay, just to take that look of panic from her beautiful eyes. But I know it’s not right, not this time.

  Only when they put me in the ambulance do I realize something very significant. Tyler tried to goad me, tried to get me to hit him, attack him. He tried to get me to act first so he could stab me…

  And I didn’t.

  I might not have stayed calm, but I didn’t explode, I didn’t harm him. And if that doesn’t say anything about how I’ve changed… Dammit.

  Chapter 25

  Lizzy

  They let me stay with Hunter as they drove him to the hospital, and I’m not sure if I would have been able to let go, even if they asked me. I feel like I’m outside myself. I saw the glint of the knife as the guy pulled it from his pocket. I couldn’t help but scream. The sound coming out of me—I didn’t recognize it. Pure panic. I don’t care what the guy accused him off, but he was about to stab him. Everything went so fast, Hunter turned to me and then I saw the knife go through his jacket, through his arm, the blood dripping over the jacket, making small rivers go down the leather. The look of pure shock on Hunter’s face…

  I shudder and Hunter squeezes my hand. I look up at him. The nurses cleaned his arm and they’re about to patch him back up.

  “It’s okay.” He tries to smile, but his eyes don’t shine. Instead they’re dark, confused, upset.

  “It’s not.” It’s not okay that he got stabbed.

  “I’m okay. They’ll fix me up.”

  And then what? Will he just wait for the next time this happens? Before this crazy guy comes after him again?

  A doctor comes over. “I’m going to numb the area, and then I’ll put in some stitches. Is that okay?”

  Hunter nods. “Yeah. Thanks.” He doesn’t look very happy with the prospect, but I guess that is normal. He winces and squeezes my hand for a moment as they stick a needle into his arm, and then at another spot, until they’ve surrounded the area with it. I’m both fascinated and repelled by what is going on. It’s… gross. But as they start to stitch the wound, I can’t keep my eyes off it. It’s disjointed, to see the skin and the needle, but at the same time, it looks so similar to trying to sew clothes. I know that there is a difference, and the color kind of gives it away, but still… the similarities are weird. And weirding me out.

  When the doctor has finished, Lola comes in, two cops following her. “These men want to talk to you.”

  Hunter nods. “I’d guessed as much. Thanks.” He doesn’t seem surprised by this. Though I guess that any stabbing would automatically get the police involved. “Lizzy.” He looks at me. “Could you wait outside with Lola?”

  I don’t want to let him go, but I know that I’ll have to now. I nod as I slowly let his hand go and walk over to Lola, who guides me out of the room and closes the door behind us. Then she starts pushing me again, but I stay still. I don’t want to be away from Hunter, not now.

  “We’re just gonna sit down the h
all. They’ll find us again.” She wraps her arm around me, and I follow her slowly. Lola sits me down on some chairs and then sits next to me, her arm around my shoulders. “I called the clinic. They understand why you can’t be in on time for dinner.”

  “Thanks.” The clinic! I hadn’t even thought about that yet. Fuck. Seeing someone getting stabbed was way more important than that.

  “He’ll be fine. He’s strong.” Lola rubs her hand up and down my arm.

  “I know… Just… Why would he hurt Hunter? I though Tessa’s death was an accident?” I don’t get it. Why would he do that?

  “It is. Tessa lost control of her motorbike and crashed. There was no fault on H. Even if he doesn’t believe that himself.” Lola holds me close.

  But it wasn’t just Tessa the guy talked about… He also talked about Hunter’s younger brother, and Lola. “The thing he said about you. Is that true? Did Hunter hurt you?”

  “No!” She shakes her head, her face pale, shocked. “God, no. That had nothing to do with H. We were just friends. And stuff happened, but there was no other connection.”

  “He said that you almost died?” If that was at the same time… then no wonder she looked so upset after seeing Hunter again.

  Lola squeezes her lips together, closing her eyes, a pained look on her face. “I—”

  “I’m sorry. I—” I shouldn’t have just asked that. I wrap my arms around Lola tightly.

  “Yes. I had a brush with death. It wasn’t… It wasn’t anything big, just… medical issues.” She touches my face. “That’s all I can say right now. I don’t talk about it, it hurts.”

  I nod, as tears well up in me and I hold her tighter. Why didn’t I know this before? How can she not have told me? Why? How? “When?” I put my hand over my mouth. She didn’t want to talk about it, I need to respect that.

  “A week before graduation. Mum and Dad came over to support me.”

  Lola’s graduation… I was in the clinic back then. In very bad shape. I never thought anything about Mum and Dad going to visit Lola for a week. I’d assumed that that had always been the plan. Only then does it dawn on me. “Mum and Dad know.”