Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,37
a little, trying to gauge just how serious Leo was...as if the warning shot didn’t make it clear enough. But he was so wasted he didn’t seem to be taking anyone’s requests or warnings seriously...especially not mine.
“Get your filthy drunken hands off of her,” he thundered, aiming the barrel directly at Jorge’s head.
“Oh, come on, Leo. We were just messing around…”
Boom! Leo fired another shot into the wall over our heads, only this time it was enough to send Jorge scrambling to get up. He shuffled towards the door with his pants still around his ankles. Leo wrapped his massive hand around his head and practically threw him out the door. He landed on his ass and crawled like a crab backward in the dirt, trying to defend himself to Leo.
“The truck has a flat tire!” he argued. “I have no way to…”
“Walk,” Leo growled, cutting him off cold. “Or better yet...Run.”
He turned back to face me while we listened for the sound of Jorge’s footsteps rustling off through the leaves. The sight of him standing there left me speechless. That and the persistent ringing in my ears from the shots he fired. His dark wavy hair was disheveled and seemed bigger somehow - like his muscles had magically grown since I last saw him. He stood tall and looked especially daunting with the big gun in his hands. I didn’t know if it was the alcohol, the fact that he just saved me, or both. But he looked attractive in a way I had never noticed before...even after we had slept together.
I felt my heart swell in gratitude. I wanted to thank him and tell him how happy I was to see him, but he did not seem to feel the same softness towards me. The blank expression on his face twisted into a hateful scowl. I was half afraid that he was about to turn the gun on me next. All of my thankfulness faded and I quickly remembered why it was I loathed him so much. He was a heartless beast, and I was certain any reason he had for being there had more to do with his ego than it did with me.
“I didn’t need you to save me,” I barked at him and his vicious-looking expression.
“You sure look like you did.” He looked me up and down with disdain.
I realized I was still spread out across the bed with half of my clothes ripped off. I raced to piece them back together enough to cover me and sat up to look less drunk than I actually was. He didn’t look any less angry, and I couldn’t fathom what the hell kind of right he had to be pissed at me in this situation. It was enough to make me not want to be in the same room with him anymore. I pulled myself up from the bed, being careful not to sway too much, and marched forward to go out the door. I’d take my chances with walking if I had to. Anything to get away from him.
But he quickly stepped into my path, blocking the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed.
He didn’t answer. He just kept looking down at me with fury. It reminded me too much of our fight over the fence, and that’s when it dawned on me.
“Do you really think you’re going to recreate whatever happened between us before?” I gasped and pounded a fist to his chest. “After everything you just saw!? You’re disgusting. You’re no better than your sick cousin out there.”
“The one you didn’t need me to save you from?”
I darted to go past him, but he was quick enough to block me again. We did that dance several times before I finally groaned, half screamed, in exasperation, and gave up. But I didn’t back down. I squared up to him and looked him dead in the eye.
“What are you gonna do? Force yourself on me like you did before?”
His eyes sparkled with outrage. “Don’t kid yourself. I would have never done anything you didn’t want me to.”
“Oh yeah,” I scoffed. “I was just begging you for that first kiss.”
“I could tell you wanted me to do it. You never would have let yourself ask for it. Are you really complaining about anything that happened after that!?”
I hated him so much at that moment, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was acutely aware that maybe I was so angry because he was right, but I