Two years later
"Argh! Go away you freak!" Catrina basically screamed at her stepbrother. "And so help me if you follow me."
She ran up the stairs and already had her phone out of her pocket. Her sweet sixteen was turning into anything but sweet. She had been forced to move back in with her father, who'd moved to Cincinnati, and that meant she had to deal with her stepbrother every other week. He was nineteen and in college she had no idea why he still came to live with them every other week, it was just creepy and weird.
"Jon? What the hell is that noise?" She closed her bedroom door.
"Hey Kitty Cat. Happy birthday!"
She smiled at the sound of his voice. "Sounds like you are partying for me. Are you wasted? Or busy?"
"For you? Never. And no I'm not drinking Les is here tonight. What's up, pup?"
She heard Alex yell and bang on her door. She whispered into the phone. "Can you come get me?"
"What the hell was that? And why are you whispering?"
The banging came again and Catrina made her way to the closet hoping he'd look in her room and see she wasn't there then think she snuck out her window. She gasped in a deep breath when she heard the bedroom door splinter and crack. Alex had kicked at it long and hard enough that when he finally got through it almost came completely apart. She had been able to avoid Alex most of the time she'd known him. He was a total creep who, since she'd grown boobs, had flirted and tried doing things to her and to make matters worse tonight they were alone. Cody, Les, and Jon had all taught her how to fight and handle herself but Alex was huge and outweighed her by more than almost two hundred pounds and she didn't think if he did finally try something more than grabbing her chest that she could fight him off. Catrina could hear Jon calling her name trying to figure out what was happening.
"Just come get…"
Jon's heart stopped when he heard Catrina scream. "Les!" He fought the bile rising in his throat.
He found Cody and Les both talking to the possibly new owner of HWA. Les didn't waste any time Jon never called for him unless he actually needed something. He stood and looked at the younger man. Cody did the same but put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
"What's wrong?"
"You said when you dropped Cat off tonight her stepbrother had opened the door, right?"
Less looked at him strange. "Yeah. So what?"
Jon almost puked right there. "I'll kill him."
"Kill who? Jon, what's going on?" Cody asked.
Jon didn't answer only ran from the office to the locker room and grabbed his hoodie and keys. The whole time ignoring the other guys screaming after him that he had a match. Oh he'd fight tonight alright, if that prick thought he'd touch Catrina he was dead wrong. Dead, in fact that is what Jon wanted to see him as. Cody stepped in his way.
"What the hell?"
They were slowing him down and wasting time. "Cat's in trouble. If you'd like to move you can come with me but if I have to punch you both out then that's fine too."
Les wasted no time hell he was in Jon's car before Jon or Cody and they weren't taking a stroll either. Jon cut off three cars as he sped down the road Catrina's house wasn't far only a few blocks north of the gym but at that moment for all three men it seemed like a life time away. Jon finally threw the car into park and ran for the door when he heard a scream.
Catrina had tried to hide but Alex found her as she had talked to Jon. Now her only hope was that Jon would come save her. She struggled against the larger guy managing to keep her jeans on though undone. Her left eye hurt and she was almost sure the last punch had broken something and not just her lip, which she could feel the blood dripping from as she fought. Jon was big and had only held back so much when they would wrestle but Alex had a good hundred pounds on him and his hits came from drunken anger. Her head snapped to the side and she coughed up blood.
"Alex stop! I'm technically your sister!"
Wham! It was like in the comic books and they draw the stars and birds flying around. She screamed out that time she couldn't help it. It had just slipped out of her. She heard the door and fought to make her way to the hall this gave Alex an idea and he let her get away only to reach and grab the ends of her jeans and pulled she got away but with her only defense now her pink cotton panties. Oh God, she thought when she realized after screaming so loud she couldn't talk, help me. A kick to her middle sent her flying out of her bedroom and she landed hard with a thud and sharp gasps of air breaking free from her body. She laid there at the top of the stairs unmoving.
"Good you finally stopped fighting."
That pissed her off but she literally couldn't do anything about it. Alex took full advantage and straddled her smaller body. She forced herself not to cry and tried to blink back tears as he started to slide her panties to the side. No one was coming to save her, she hadn't heard the door, it was just wishful thinking.
"Get the fuck away from her."
She heard the growl from the bottom of the stairs and tilted her head even though it hurt. Jon! And Cody and Les? Had he brought the whole roster? Jon just looked too piss for words and Cody mirrored him. But Les just looked scared, shocked and another emotion she couldn't describe at the moment. Alex did let go of her but didn't move off her. Catrina couldn't breathe as he leaned in and laid his large body on top of her battered ribs and licked up the side of her face.
"She seems to enjoy that when you do it."
And now you had to ruin it, she thought. Yeah her mind wasn't right at the moment. Before she knew what had happened Jon was up the stairs picking the pervert up and away from her. After giving her a once over he proceeded to beat the holy hell out of Alex. His face bloody and bruising before Les and Cody could get to her. They asked questions she couldn't answer and Les finally told Cody to get Jon before he killed the dumb ass and called for the cops and ambulance.
Catrina woke up in her bed at Les's house and hoped it had all been a dream. When she heard light snoring beside her she knew she was wrong. Catrina turned her head and gasped. Her neck hurt and her head felt like she'd went on a weeklong drinking binge. But she had to smile at the innocent looked face next to her. Jon's hair had fallen into his face and she pushed it back. He would never know how sweet and innocent he looked when he slept. Jon stirred and opened his eyes.
"Hi." He whispered.
"Hi. What happened?" Catrina set up.
Jon cleared his throat and leaned up on his elbow. "He's in the hospital, I managed not to go to jail, and you have a few broken ribs and your jaw and eye socket both have hair line fractures."
"Explains the pain." She almost jumped out of bed. "Jail?! Hospital?!"
"Calm down." Les walked in to the room with a tray. "Here I heard the two of you talking. Coffee, Jon?"
"Yea…"
"…Jail and hospital?" She interrupted their attempt to distract her. Les sighed and Jon groaned as he took the coffee cup. His hands were bruised and cut. "What the hell happened?"
"I'll go start my truck so it'll be warm." Jon said walking from the room.
Les commented on doing the same to his car and followed Jon. She sighed and finally took full account of what had happened. Catrina set back down then curled into a ball on her bed and cried into her pillow. That's how Jon found her, a bawling lump, he sighed and laid down behind her. He held her tight to him, the only time he even loosened his grip was when she wanted to turn toward him. Catrina was almost cried out but just feeling his bruised and cut hand rub her back made her want to cry even more.
"Okay. Enough of this, you're a Thatcher." He had a look that said he was only half serious.
Jon rolled over making her lay on her back and look up at him. She smiled knowing what he was trying to do. Only it was working but she wished he'd kiss her again like he had on her fifteenth birthday, Catrina shook her head to clear the memory and thought. She looked up at the blue eyed blonde and thought his eyes were darker not as bright as they normally were. Was that her fault? Or was he in pain and refused to say anything?
"I guess I better get ready" But she wanted to stay right where she was. Feeling protected and loved next to him.
"One thing first." He kissed her. It wasn't a sloppy hot mess, or even hot, she felt every emotion he had in that moment, she seen a side of him he kept hidden.
She laid there one hand on his upper arm, feeling the strong muscles tense as they held his weight, and the other wrapped around to the back of his neck. Catrina stared up at him wanting to ask for him to kiss her again and the other half wanting to know what the hell it was about her that made guys want to fuck her, but that side was small when it was talking about Jon and she knew she scared after last night and told it to shut up. She needed his strength, needed his hands where they rested on her body. She needed him.
"What was that for?" She said trying not to move closer to him.
"When you called last night I thought I'd be too late and that scared the hell out of me. And then at the hospital waiting to see if you were okay or if I had been too late. Never do that to me again please."
She smiled up at him. She could never tell him how much she did really love him, how much she was in love with him. Jon didn't hang around long after a girl said those words and she didn't plan on being one of girls. She simply raise her head and met his lips briefly. "I promise."
