Chapter 3 Fearless
He called her the next day and told her he wanted her to meet his friends.
Emily left home pretty nervous and when she met him by the pub, so was he.
He didn't know what he was doing here. A week ago nobody told him what to do and he was happy with it. He was fighting and if somebody told him that a woman would ever tame him, he would laugh out loud. Bu there was something in Emily that intrigued him, something that he wanted to be a part of and that's how he realized that under her influence he was getting soft, at least inside. From the moment he spotted her on the platform, terrified and yet looking and him boldly, he knew that she was special and somehow challenging, daring. He just hoped they wouldn't be too hard on her. And on him.
Her heart was hammering like crazy when he awkwardly opened the door for her, apparently dating wasn't the only thing he wasn't used to.
When they got inside, it was as smoky as the last time she was there and all the gang guys were sitting in their corner. Some of them got up at the sight of Daniel not surprised to see her.
"Aye, how is it going?" he shook their hands and another two got up obviously to let them sit.
"Everybody all right?" he led her to the free sofa seats.
"Guys, this is Emily. I told you about her"
He did?
"Tom…"
"Nice to meet you"
"…Dave, Will…"
He was introducing all of them at once and she had already forgotten half of them.
"Hi"
"And the one that's going to puke's Kyle"
She noticed that Kyle did look kindda sick.
"I'm gonna get the drinks" one of them left and came back with a few beers.
She was sitting there silently and wondering why the hell she even came here, while they were talking loudly and laughing about some guy named Kieran.
Suddenly one of them, she guessed it was Dave, looked at her maliciously and grinned.
"So, Dan, you found yourself a new stunner?" he asked as if she wasn't sitting right there.
"I'm sure right now you regret I wasn't the first one" he stared at her confidently "So tell me babe, what do you like more? My pretty face or my sexy body?" she almost chocked at this and saw, that Daniel wanted to say something to this but she forestalled him.
"Definitely your sense of humor" she smiled at him mockingly and thanked silently to all those jerks trying to ask her out.
"Ooh, mate, she bites" Dave took a sip of his beer and added "I like her"
Daniel gave him a killing look and chuckled.
"I don't know why you bother as she's here with me, not you"
Dave nodded and smiled.
"Sure mate, you know I'm only playing"
When they left, Daniel insisted on walking her home again and she didn't really have anything against it.
"You did good there" he said looking at her filled with satisfaction "A usual girl wouldn't know how to deal with them but YOU" he stopped for a short moment "YOU showed them"
***
She was in the kitchen making some tea. It was a chilly October evening and days were getting shorter; therefore tea looked as a perfect solution for a long autumn evening. She turned the light off leaving the faint glow of illumination under the cupboards and a few scented candles in the living room. She liked this magical aura of shadows and secrets, the fairy-tale-like atmosphere when she could finally relax after long and busy days at work with a faint music in the background.
She was about to turn the kettle on when she heard a loud banging on her door. Wandering, who would come by this late and a little bit scared, she looked through the peephole and saw Daniel standing by the door but she noticed that something was wrong.
When she opened the door, a horrible view hit her; he was leaning on the door frame, his face covered in blood, which was also seeping through the fabric of his shirt. He looked at her apologetically and tried to smile but even this caused her pain.
"Jesus, Dan, what happened?" she asked worried when she closed the door behind him and led him to the kitchen.
It was obvious he was very reluctant to tell her the truth.
"I… I didn't know where else to go" he leaned on the kitchen counter.
"You should go to a hospital, you're hurt" she couldn't hide how terrified she was.
"No, no hospitals. I can't talk to the police right now" he jerked his head and looked straight at her.
"Then you came to the right place" she said over her shoulder and went to the bathroom for the first aid kit. When she came back he was standing in the same place but he looked stronger, as if fighting with pain was easing with time.
"You need to take your shirt off, you're bleeding all over your body"
He nodded but when he reached down with one hand he hissed with pain.
"Let me help you" she moved closer to him and when he held his hands up high, she pulled it off him with one swift move and gasped.