Lost in the Love Letter

ch. 9 - offense vs defense

ATTENTION: *In this chapter, I think there is a trigger warning for those sensitive to attempted r*pe... sorry if this affects anyone!

The next day, Mandy woke up with a smile, remembering her time with Dom. When getting ready, she wore her hair half up-half down, and put on a white graphic t-shirt of the band Queen paired with black jeans.

*time skip*

After school, she decided to head over to the empty tables that she found last time, hoping she wouldn't be greeted by Hunter. When she got there, just as expected, it was calm, quiet, and empty. She pulled out her laptop and earbuds and began working on homework.

About 30 minutes had passed, and the kid Dom introduced her to, Mason, went up to Mandy. She had him in her math class, but hadn't spoken to him much, other than "hello". He slid onto the table Mandy was at, and started to examine her and her stuff. Mandy took out her earbuds and closed her laptop.

Mandy: "Mason? Can I help you?"

Mason: "Yeah Mandy, you and me, I want it." *another boy she didn't know began to come near her as well*

Mandy immediately stopped what she was doing and stood up. Mason also got up and continued to bring himself closer to her.

Mandy: "Mason, what are you doing?" *a wave of fear ran through her body*

Mason: "What do ya say, babe? I can give you a real good time." *Mandy began backing up into a corner, and Mason and the other guy started cornering her*

Mandy: "No, Mason, I am not interested in that. Don't call me babe, and please get out of my way." *she tried slipping around him, but he didn't let her through*

Mason: "Well, no. You see, I plan on getting what I want, and you're gonna give it to me."

He began to grab her wrist, and the other guy prevented Mandy from getting out of his hold.

Mandy: "Mason, let go of me-"

Mason: "C'mon you know you want to" *he started to grab her shirt*

Mandy: "I SAID LET GO OF ME! GET AWAY."

Mandy quickly grabbed his wrist that was prying at her shirt, and used it to push his body off of hers, while giving him a front kick. Mason fell back, but the other guy tried grabbing her, and she threw a right hook at him. The guy's grip remained tight though and he bumped his fist against her nose, making it bleed.

As things were growing more heated, Mandy saw Hunter running in from the corner of her eye. She'd never been so happy to see him.

Hunter: "HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!"

He immediately sprinted towards the guy, and gave him a swift under-hook to his ribs, and pushed him to the ground. Once freed from his grip, Mandy saw Mason coming back up. Hunter was still hitting the other guy on the ground, but Mason ran at Mandy with a right hook. Before he could make contact, she firmly caught his wrist, turned around, and flipped him over her shoulder. The impact winded him, and she gave one final elbow to his stomach. She leaned down, pinning his arms to the ground, before saying:

"Don't ever lay your grubby little hands on me again, you stupid future gas station attendant."

Mason whispered: "I'm.. sorry" *still not being able to talk very well since his breath was knocked out*

Mason laid on the ground, fatigued... and more than likely passed out. The guy Hunter was beating on finally went unconscious too. Hunter stepped away from him and stood up. Mandy just sat on the grass, next to Mason.

The two were both trying to catch their breath, and took a minute to gather themselves. Mandy finally let out a shaky sigh, and noticed her nose was still bleeding.

She glanced over at Hunter. He looked a little worse. His lip was cut open and he had a slice on his left bicep. The guy he was fighting must have had something sharp.

He slowly walked over to Mandy, and offered his hand to help her up. She took it and pulled herself up, and into his arms. At first he was startled, but then opened to her embrace.

Mandy whispered softly: "Thank you... I don't know what would've happened to me *her eyes welled up with tears* if you weren't here."

He tightened his arms around her.

Hunter (also whispering): "It's okay, it's over now. I'm so sorry this happened."

She finally stepped away from him and examined his wounds. His arm was bleeding a good amount.

Mandy: "Don't move, I have something to help your cuts."

She grabbed her backpack which was still over at the table, and reached to a hidden pocket at the bottom of the bag. She opened the zipper and pulled out a small bag of miscellaneous items, and brought it over to Hunter. They were now sitting on the grass again. First, she grabbed a towel to wipe away any extra blood. Then she brought out a red bandana and began tying it around his bicep.

Mandy: "This will act as a temporary tourniquet to stop the blood. From what I know, I don't think it looks too ba-"

Hunter: "You do realize that I learned this exact same thing, right??" *he laughed*

Mandy paused for a moment and laughed. She remembered they had both learned about dealing with wounds as a student in their MMA training.

Mandy: "Oh, I forgot. My bad."

Hunter: "It's fine, I got my own bandana and little kit in my backpack too."

Mandy: "I never thought I'd have to use it on someone. I never even thought I'd have to use my defense skills either."

Hunter: "Me too."

The two boys who lay defeated on the grass were later suspended, and Hunter and Mandy didn't receive consequences because the schools cameras proved that their actions were solely self defense.