“I told you to stay away from him,” he grits out.
“You’re hurting me,” I say.
He opens his mouth, but the next few seconds blur together.
His hand vanishes from my arm, and before I can even process what’s happening, Hunter steps in front of me and punches Julian.
Then he does it again.
And again.
By the time I move around him, Julian is already on the ground, blood running from his nose and split lip.
“Hunter, stop!” I say.
He doesn’t hear me, or perhaps he simply can’t.
A sick feeling forms in my stomach as a sense of déjà vu hits me, because I’ve seen this before. In that boxing ring.
It’s like he’s set to kill. He doesn’t have the control to stop. He’s too far gone in his rage to see or hear anything around him.
Me included.
“Who the fuck gave you permission to put your filthy hands on her?” Hunter snarls at Julian. “She said you werehurtingher.”
Another punch lands, followed by another, and it’s obvious Hunter has no intention of stopping.
“Hunter,” I say, louder this time as I place a hand on his shoulder.
His head whips towards me, the next punch forgotten before it can land.
“Stop,” I say.
For a second, he just looks at me before his eyes drop to the man on the ground.
“Is he the one who hurt you?”
I close my eyes briefly and shake my head.
“Hunter, please. Let it go.”
He watches me, his jaw tight. Finally, he gets to his feet and looks down at Julian, who has managed to push himself upright and now sits on the ground with one hand clamped over his bloody nose.
“If I ever see your hands on her again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Julian sends me a look that speaks a thousand words, and I swallow hard.
Everything crashes down on me without warning. It feels as though the ground might open beneath my feet and swallow me whole.
My head hurts.
My chest hurts.
Everythinghurts.
The guilt threatens to suffocate me. So does the anger.
And the helplessness.
