Sudden Bite

Chapter 17: Uncontrolled rage

Where I expected Alexander to be I found Asher, Max and a couple other guys who are on the same basketball team as them. Even though it had been so long ago now when I saw them I couldn’t help but remember the time Alexander had saved me from their unwanted approaches.

“Hey there Catalina didn’t expect to see you here,” Asher commented as they all noticed me and approached me, getting a little too close for comfort.

“Um, ya Sam asked me to,” I mutter before quickly adding, “Speaking of Sam I’m gonna go find him.” I’ve only taken one step before my arm is roughly grabbed and I’m pulled back.

“Don’t leave just yet sweetheart,” Asher grinned making me feel uneasy. When I tried to pull my arm away from his grasp he simply pushed me against the nearest wall, which just happened to be a couple feet away from my escape – the door – and pinned my wrist to the wall by my head. “Not so fast, can’t we have some fun?” The other guys laughed.

“Asher I’m not sure, remember what Alexander said,” Max reminded him but Asher didn’t seem to care… like at all.

“And do you see him here?” Asher retorted once again inducing laughter from the others. I was constantly fighting against Asher but there was only so much I could do… after all I wasn’t the strongest person when my hobbies included reading and studying. Asher was touching me in ways that made me sick to my stomach and I began to cry desperately as his hands made their way under my short dress; the sound of the other’s around simply laughing and making jokes, egging Asher on, make me feel like filth. I was withering but I couldn’t get away.

Alexander…

“You should listen better next time.” Suddenly Asher was ripped violently from me and thrown to the ground with great force, causing the buff athlete to groan in pain upon impact. His friends instantly became angry that who seemed to be their ‘ring leader’ was taken down. A full blown fight of one against half a dozen broke out and yet Alexander didn’t seem to break a sweat, easily dodging and then landing a hit or kick himself. It was soon a bloody fight and as soon as I saw red I snapped out of it. Hurried off the floor since I had fallen to my knees when Asher had been torn away from me I grabbed Alexander and pulled at me.

“Enough Alexander, enough,” I cried trying to get the furious beast that Alexander had become to stop. He didn’t seem to notice me and as he pulled his arm back to punch one of Asher’s friends he ended up hitting me and causing me to fall back thanks to my lack of balance. The palms of my hands were scratched up but I didn’t care. When he hit me, Alexander finally seemed to snap out of it.

“Kit,” he said looking beyond guilty when he noticed my bleeding hands.

“Alexander!” I suddenly screech in fear when I notice Asher coming up from behind a distracted Alexander, smashing a glass bottle of his head before he can even react. Blood drips from his hairline but he doesn’t react to the pain – he does, however, turn around and punch Asher so hard he falls unconscious. Asher’s black and blue friends abandon him just like that rushing in back into the party to get away from Alexander.

“Alexander,” I began to say, softer this time causing him to snap his head back in my direction. Seeming to remember how he knocked me down his expression instantly changes to one of pain and he runs. He literally starts running, going around the side of the house, over the fence and away from me as if looking at me would kill him.

But I wasn’t going to let him get away just like that. It was an accident and he had saved me… again. Talking off my heels knowing that I can’t run in them I held them in one hand and instantly took after Alexander, going through the fence and finding him already down the block. Carrying myself as fast as I can I eventually catch up to him; gripping onto the back of his shirt to keep him from getting away I bend over and pant out of breath. Running hasn’t been my thing since I was on the track team (once) in the seventh year… six years ago.

“Don’t run,” I tell him still very obviously out of breath.

“I hurt you Kit… I knew that I’d hurt you eventually.”

“Oh bull crap,” I definitely tell him finally standing up straight and coming over to stand in front of him, dropping the heels and his leather jacket on the ground. “It was an accident Alexander, everyone makes mistakes and I’ve not mad.”

He seems to have a hard time swallowing before speaking, “I lost control Kit… I can’t let that happen again.”

“Alexander, listen to me,” I tell him sternly, “I don’t care. You saved me from Asher again and I’m so grateful because unfortunately I’m not strong enough to save myself from that kind of situation. What you did was an accident, I don’t care.” He’s starring at my bloody palms, not that that were even that bloody to begin with, but the guilt wouldn’t leave his face.

So stubborn.

Grabbing him by the shirt and reaching up on the tips of my toes I kiss him. Alexander always kisses me first but not this time. He seems to be holding himself back, stubborn like I said, but then eventually he melts into it and wraps an arm around my waist to pull me close.

“I’m sorry Kit,” he whispers when we pull away, foreheads pressed together.

“I know you are its okay.” I smile slightly before adding; “Now c’mon we both need to get cleaned up.”

“I think they’re a first aid kit in the back of my car,” Alexander explains and I nod before he begins to lead me back to his car; I’m gripping onto the bottom of his shirt between my thumb and pointer finger. Since we hadn’t parked close to the house thanks to all the other cars we aren’t weren’t that far from where we parked and we soon arrived at Alexander’s car. He popped the back open and sitting in there was, just like he said, a first aid kit.

“Alright, you first mister,” I tell him instantly reaching for the kit. My scratches were nothing compared to his head, god he might even need stiches. He sat back on the car as I opened the kit and pull out an alcoholic wipe so I can clean the wound. With the flash light on my phone I moved his hair around to find the cut the glass bottle caused. Much to my relief it didn’t seem deep despite the blood that had come from it so after cleaning it up along with the blood that had run down his face I felt as if I could breathe again. He was extremely lucky if you asked me.

“Your turn,” he announces looking as if he couldn’t hold himself back another second from leaning up my hands to prevent the scraped up skin from getting infected. He held my hands delicately, cleaning them one at a time before wrapping them up – an unnecessary precaution if you ask me but I let Alexander do it anyways since he was fretting so badly. Gently he pressed a kiss against the heels of each of my hands.

“No more parties for us,” I decide out loud making Alexander chuckle. Wrapping his hands around my waist he pulls me closer so I’m standing between his legs – for once I’m taller than him (and I don’t care if it’s only because he’s sitting on his low car it still counts) and my hands fall onto his shoulders.

“I’d rather stay in with you anyways,” he says, bumping his nose up against mine.

“You seem tired are you alright?” I ask as I realize that as the adrenaline seems to wear off the drowsier and slower he becomes.

“Mm, I’m good, don’t worry about me,” he assures me. “C’mon I’ll take you back home.”

“Already?” I pout but move back to let him stand up.

“I mean we could go star gazing if you’d prefer,” he suggests as if he had been waiting for me to ask not to go home yet. That sly mink.

That was how we ended up in my backyard, laying out a blanket I had spread out, staring up at the stars. We laid side by side, shoulders touching, and my far arm was laid across the both of us so he could reach it to play with my fingers absentmindedly.

“Did you know that stars are just balls of gas,” I randomly comment.

“Really?” It didn’t take me longer than a second to realize that he already knew and was playing along with my random fact.

“Sorry… that was… well random.” Alexander chuckles fully before turning his head to kiss the crown of my head.

“It’s beautiful though… balls of gas, something that you can’t hold or even really contain, shinning so brightly,” Alexander thoughtfully commented.

“I used to be such an astrology nerd.”

“Used to be?” He asked curiously.

“Ya in like middle school I studied all the constellations and learnt about the stories behind them and their meanings and all that,” I explain smiling faintly at the memory. I still remembered some of the constellations. “Like that one,” I say pointing up at the sky, slowly tracing a shape from one star to another, “That’s the big dipper and if you look right over there you’ll see the small dipper. They’re the easiest to spot but not really my favorite.”

“Which constellation is your favorite?”

“Well I’m a big book worm as you know so it would have to be Draco, the serpent constellation. Draco in Latin means dragon.”

“Dragons,” Alexander said out of the blue before continuing, “Our short story was about a princess and a dragon. You seem to have a thing for dragons.” I begin to laugh at his last comment.

“Yes well the prince is so mainstream,” I explain only partly joking.

“Couldn’t agree more,” he muttered before switching out position slightly, moving to wrap his arm around my shoulder and pull me even closer. The warmth that radiated off of him made me feel like I could fall asleep right here and as we fell quiet again I almost did.

I watched the stars for god knows how long before realizing that Alexander really did fall asleep and I couldn’t bear to wake him up. I knew that he was tried even if he denied it. In fact… Alexander has seemed a little down in energy the past couple days. I couldn’t help but worry; was he getting enough sleep? Enough food? Curling up even closer to him a placed a kiss on his shoulder by the crook in his neck and closed my eyes. Even though worry was at the edge of my mind I couldn’t help but appreciate the moment. It was quiet and we were lying under the stars, Alexander was asleep and I was almost there myself… falling asleep right now like this didn’t seem so bad.

So that’s exactly what happened. Under the midnight sky, somewhere along the spring time, Alexander and I fell asleep in my back yard, wrapped around each other and sleeping dreamlessly. And man was it a good sleep even if it was on the hard ground.