But - no. Not Ella. I didn't care to understand the thunder ringing in my ears, but he was not going to be the one to take away her innocence. Not when it was a prized possession for all of one night, forgotten the next day.
"Go hit on some other girl. Have you scoured Raleigh High?" The other high school in the area, notorious for its more relaxed rules, and wilder girls.
Hunter pouted but I could see the fight go out of him. I would have given him a piece of my mind with my fists if he hadn't backed down. "Well, I hope you have a better plan to get her away from this place, if that's what you really want."
I didn't bother replying him. I didn't know what I wanted, not anymore. It was supposed to be straightforward: taunt the girl until she broke and went back to wherever she came from. Now instead, Hans was gone, said girl had gotten under my skin and decided to stay there, and my mind was all kinds of messed up. Heck, I felt guilty for trying to break up my father and Ella's mom, and I hadn't even played much of a role in that - yet. It was as if I had grown a conscience, one that had no right to appear at such a lousy time.
The sigh that escaped me made Sean nudge me with his knee. Glancing up, I looked in the direction he was looking at.
Ella. She was walking towards us with her friend - Jules, I think Jeremy said her name was - looking every bit unsure and wide-eyed. I could feel something stir in my gut. Jules pranced over to Jeremy, giving him a loud smack on the cheek, making even Hunter cringe. Her overly enthusiastic voice carried over to us, and it was all I could do to keep my focus away from that shrill sound.
"Hey." Ella stood in front of me, looking at Jules, realizing she had been abandoned. I made room on the bench next to me and patted the spot. Her gaze flitted towards Jules again, who was now sitting on Jeremy's lap, oblivious to the signals her friend was giving her, and she sat down.
I wordlessly shoved my plate of fries towards her, and watched as she slowly began to put them in her mouth, then steadily work to finish it. It reminded me of that time when she ate my favorite meal with relish, and I inwardly cringed at my reaction then. I watched, fascinated, as she silently dusted off the crumbs, and looked at me gratefully.
"Haven't you had any lunch?" I asked, wondering why she was so hungry. She shook her head. "Jules asked me to stay with her whilst she looked over some photos for the paper."
I decided her friend wasn't much of one, given how she had ignored Ella the moment she found Jeremy.
"Come. Let's go grab some more food. I could use a Coke."
She eyed me curiously, then stood up and walked next to me, and soon piled her tray with some piping hot soup, bread and salad.
I watched as she finished off that second plate. Finally, sated, she turned and looked at me, as if focusing on me for the first time.
"Thanks."
I guessed it was for making sure she ate. I hope she never had to thank me for saving her from the Hunters of this world. I hope she never had to encounter another one of us monsters again. Yeah, she was better off away from Gray Lake, back to that place that let her be the virgin she was. At least, that's what people were saying - that she was a virgin. I wondered if it was something she had told her friend Jules. I hoped Jeremy would get rid of her soon. I guess the good thing that came out of Jules being around was that I now knew Jeremy liked girls.
My head snapped sideways when I heard Monica's voice. "Ella," she said in a flat voice. Ella turned to her and gave her a tentative smile.
"Hey. Um, how are you?" I pretended not to listen, which was hard given how close they both were. Monica, I was sure, came to sniff out her territory again. I was surprised her claws hadn't come out yet.
"Could be better. Listen, can I have some time with Cole, alone?"
It was as surprising as if she had said please. Even Ella knew that, and she quickly wiped the corner of her mouth and stood up with her tray. "Of course. I was just leaving."
I watched as Ella walked away, her curvy backside swaying in that way I knew she didn't realize. Gotta keep on feeding her. The thought jolted me. What was I thinking? I didn't want her to stick around. My thoughts immediately snapped back to where they should be the moment I felt Monica's nails scrape my arm.
"So, Ella, huh?"
I gritted my teeth. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Or maybe, you don't know what you're talking about." She sighed and stepped a few inches away from me before taking the spot Ella just vacated. "Listen. I just wanted to know about the rumors. Is Hans really coming back this week?"
I looked towards the girl I once thought I could care about. Her pretty face was overshadowed by concern - a look I never associated with her. Monica was spunky, and rather than worry, she tended to seize something with both hands and tackle it. Which was why I was attracted to her initially, but was also what made it difficult to get rid of her. "I don't know. He doesn't tell me." Truth. And I wasn't about to volunteer that my own father hadn't spoken to me about it, not
