“Don’t touch me.” I took another step back.
“Penny.” He closed the gap between us.
“She said stop.” Tyler put his hand on Professor Hunter’s chest and lightly shoved him back. I wasn’t sure when he had appeared. I wondered how much of our conversation he had heard.
Professor Hunter looked stunned that Tyler had shoved him. “Tyler,” he said coolly and nodded his head.
“James, is it?” Tyler said sarcastically.
“Look, she’s drunk. I’m just going to take her home.”
“Jesus, I’m not drunk.” Why does everyone keep saying that?
“She can spend the night if she wants to. Don’t worry about it,” Tyler said.
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. Penny, let’s go. Now.” He had talked to me sternly before, but never like this. I swallowed hard. Why was it so hard to resist his authority? It took every ounce of my resolve not to go to him.
Tyler put his arm out in front of me even though I didn’t move. “She’s not going anywhere with you. Why are you even here?”
“Because my girlfriend invited me.”
“She’s definitely not your girlfriend. Get the fuck out of my house.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Professor Hunter looked at me. His expression turned icy.
“You know what it means,” Tyler said.
Shit.
“Tyler. Get out of my way.” Professor Hunter seemed calm, but I could tell he was on the edge.
“Or what?”
Professor Hunter took another step toward me, but Tyler shoved him in the chest again. Harder this time. Professor Hunter took a few steps back to steady himself. He shook his head back and forth.
“Tyler,” I said quietly. I reached out and touched his shoulder. I didn’t want them to fight. They both looked so angry now.
Professor Hunter looked down at my hand on Tyler. He balled his hand into a fist and cocked his arm.
“James!” I screamed.
But he didn’t listen to me. He punched Tyler square in the nose.
Tyler cursed as he stumbled backwards.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” I touched the side of Tyler’s face. His nose started gushing blood. “Oh my God, Tyler.”
He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Hold this for me,” he said and handed me a small wrapped box. My present. I looked back up and saw him charging at Professor Hunter.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I yelled after him.
Tyler dropped his shoulder at the last second, slamming into Professor Hunter’s stomach. They knocked into a few couples dancing as the two of them fell to the floor. They were yelling at each other, but their words were drowned out by the music.
A girl screamed as they rolled over and almost knocked into her. Professor Hunter had blood on his face, and I wasn’t sure if it was because Tyler had hurt him or if Tyler’s bloody nose had just dripped onto Professor Hunter’s face. I looked around for a fire alarm. It was the only thing I could think of to do. But we were in a frat house. There were no fire alarms.
The dance music suddenly stopped.
“I’ll fuck whoever I want to fuck,” Tyler snarled as he landed a punch across Professor Hunter’s face.
Oh my God.
The room was quiet for another second and then people started yelling, “Fight, fight, fight!”
I ran over to them. “Stop it! Both of you, stop!”
I tried to grab Tyler’s arm before he landed another punch on Professor Hunter, but I wasn’t strong enough to hold him back. Professor Hunter grabbed his axe from the floor beside him and whacked Tyler on the side of the head with it.
He grabbed Tyler’s collar and pulled him close to his face. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from her.”
“I can end you.”
“Then do it.” He let go of Tyler’s collar and pushed him back down to the floor.
Professor Hunter stood up. He was starting to get a black eye and there was a cut on his lip. There was blood on his face, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. He gave me a pleading look.
I looked over Professor Hunter’s shoulder as Tyler stood up. “Please stop fighting. James, please just go. We can talk tomorrow, okay? Please.”
“Penny, do not make me carry you out of here,” he said.
“Hey, asshole! She asked you to leave.” Tyler pulled his sword from his belt and chucked it at the back of Professor Hunter’s head.
Professor Hunter stumbled to the side. He rubbed the back of his head. He gave me one last pleading look.
I didn’t know what to do.
“Okay,” Professor Hunter said. “Okay.” He turned away from me and walked toward the stairs.
Melissa came running up to me. She started talking really fast but I couldn’t seem to focus on her words. When Professor Hunter passed by Tyler, Tyler said something to him, but I couldn’t make it out. Professor Hunter’s head snapped to the side and he rammed into Tyler. The two of them fell onto the table that they were using as a bar.
I ran toward them again. “What is wrong with you?!” I screamed, directing it at both of them. I grabbed Professor Hunter’s arm and tried to pull him off. I wasn’t strong enough. I let go of his arm and stood back, screaming at them to stop. Professor Hunter punched Tyler one last time and stood up. I couldn’t see Tyler. Professor Hunter was blocking my view. Is he okay?
Suddenly Professor Hunter stepped to the side. Tyler’s fist landed on my stomach. I tried to breathe but couldn’t. I stepped backwards and slipped on some of the spilled alcohol. I put my hands out to catch myself but my reaction was too slow. My head slammed against the concrete floor.
Saturday
“Penny,” a familiar voice said. “Penny? God, Penny open your eyes.”
I gasped and sat up. The room was so bright. It felt like I was dreaming. I blinked hard as the room came into focus. My head was pounding. I reached up and felt something damp. When I brought my hand down my fingers were covered in blood.
“Penny?”
My eyes focused on Professor Hunter’s face. “I thought you weren’t talking to me?” I mumbled. I reached up and touched my forehead. “What happened?”
“You fell. Don’t you remember?”
“What?” I looked down at Professor Hunter’s hand. He was holding a cloth that was covered in blood. Is all that blood from my head?
“Penny, what is the last thing you remember?” He was standing next to me by the bed I was on. He looked concerned.
“I don’t know.” I felt like I wanted to cry. “You weren’t talking to me.” I looked around at Professor Hunter’s bedroom. “Why am I here? How did I get here?” It had been so long since I had been here. The last time I was in his apartment he had told me to leave.