stay with me

Chapter 6

Hunter:

It has been three days since I dropped Grey off at her apartment and she thought I was someone else in her sleep. I haven't seen her since and I tell myself that it is for the best. That is until I see her walking down the street and she's coming towards me. I think about just turning around and avoiding her but my feet don't seem to want to listen to my brain because before I can stop myself I'm walking towards her. She smiles and waves when she sees me and I'm not sure I like the way my heart reacts when I see her smile. As I get closer I notice a bruise on her jaw and it looks like someone punched her. The idea of someone hurting her causes my blood to boil and I try to calm myself down.

"Hey" she says when she reaches me. She smiles shyly and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and it's adorable.

"What happened to your face" I say and I feel bad for ignoring her greeting but until she tells me who gave her that bruise I won't be able to think about anything else.

"Oh this?" she says pointing to her face. "That's nothing."

"Did someone do that to you?" I ask her because I don't like the way she brushes it off like it's nothing and because I want to know whose ass I have to kick.

"Oh no it's not like that" she says as she releases a small laugh. "I take mixed martial arts classes and I took a pretty hard hit on Saturday."

I feel my body relax when I hear her explanation. "Are you okay?" I ask her as I run my thumb along her bruised face. She closes her eyes when I touch her but only for a second and it's like she hasn't been touched in years.

"Oh yea this is nothing" she says again as she pulls back from my touch. "I've survived a lot worse." There is something in her eyes that makes me believe her. We stand there staring at each other for a few moments before she speaks up again. "Hey Hunter?" she says quietly.

"Yea?" I say back.

"Thanks for making sure I got home safely the other night."

And there it is. The topic I was hoping we would avoid, but then again she has no idea what happened so why wouldn't she mention it.

"Don't mention it" I say back to her.

"No really it was really nice of you to do that. We barely know each other and you were kind enough to carry me up the stairs for crying out loud" she says.

"You remember that?" I ask because I wasn't sure how much of that night she remembered.

"Yea but I must have passed out right after you picked me up because I can't seem to remember us ever actually entering my apartment. It's kind of embarrassing actually." She blushes and it's so damn cute.

"Well it was no problem really" I say back to her and I don't dare mention what happened in her room. Part of me wants to ask who Jason is and if he is the reason she is so sad but I don't. I wouldn't want anyone to ask me about her if the situation was reversed.

"Can I buy you a cup of coffee or something as a thank you?" she asks me as we happen to pass by a Starbucks. I fully take in her appearance for the first time and she is wearing a purple long sleeve shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of black combat boots. Her hair is down in loose wavy curls and it reminds me of the night I met her. She is also carrying her back pack so I guess she is either coming from or going to school.

"Sure coffee sounds good" I say after contemplating for a moment. I know I should have said no and walked away but I just couldn't get the words out. I follow her into the coffee shop and as we walk up to the counter one of the baristas notice her and he smiles and waves. I watch as she waves back and it seems like they know each other and from the way he is looking at her I wonder if he is her boyfriend but then I notice that she doesn't return the same kind of look and I feel my body relax. I don't know why I care so much. I shouldn't care at all. Who she dates is none of my damn business.

"What's up Grey?" the barista greets her and I don't like the way he is running his eyes all over her.

"Not much" she says back forcing a small smile. At that moment another barista comes up from the back and she too seems to recognize Grey and she smiles and waves at her.

"Hey Grey" the girl says. "The usual I presume?"

"You got it" Grey says and then she looks over at me with a questioningly look on her face and I guess she is waiting for me to order.

"Black coffee for me" I say after a moment. The girl barista smiles at me and I know what's on her mind from the look she is giving me. I don't smile back. I feel kind of like a jerk but I don't want to give her the wrong idea. I notice at the same time that the guy barista is staring at me and he looks pissed. I wonder if he thinks Grey and I are together.

We get our drink orders a moment later and before I can get my money out Grey is already paying them.

"I told you I was paying" she says when she sees that I'm reaching in my pocket. After she pays them I can't help but notice that she also left them a ten dollar tip. I wonder if she's rich. I mean she must be with the way she throws money around, but then again she doesn't have that entitled stuck up air about her that rich people normally have.

"Thank you" I say as we walk out of the coffee shop and we begin walking down the street side by side. "So do you go there often?" I ask.

"Oh no only about the same time five days a week" she says sarcastically and she releases a shy giggle and I love the sound of it.

"So hardly ever" I say keeping up the charade and she laughs slightly harder and it's beautiful.

"Exactly" she says as her laughter slows. "No I uh go there every day after I get done with my classes" she explains.

"Gotcha" I say nodding. That would explain how the baristas seemed to know her so well and I don't know why but it makes me happy to know she doesn't hang out with that guy on a regular basis. "So you are all done with classes for the day?" I ask.

"Yea" she says nodding slowly. "Unlike most college kids I like taking the early classes and getting them over with so I have the rest of the day to myself. I guess I'm a little strange" she giggles nervously.

"Only a little" I joke as I take a sip of my coffee. She surprises me when she swats my arm playfully and for a moment it's like I'm normal again. It's like I'm a normal guy walking down the street with a beautiful girl and I don't have a care in the world, but then just as quickly as it came the moment is gone and I'm reminded of the useless piece of shit I am.

I'm about to tell her I need to go when all of a sudden I feel rain drops falling on my head and then the next thing I know it's down pouring. We are both standing on the side walk getting soaked so I decide to begin walking again to find some shelter but when I turn around to make sure she is following me she is standing in the same spot staring up at the sky. I watch her for a moment and take in how beautiful she looks right then, but as I look at her more closely I see the look on her face and she looks lost. I run back to her and when I reach her it's like she isn't even there. She has this far away vacant look in her eyes and I wonder where she goes when she does that. I place my hand on her shoulder hoping to bring her back and luckily it works. She blinks at me and I think it takes her a moment to realize where she is. Once she does I take her hand and I tell her to run.