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Chapter Twenty-Nine: My Knight in Shining Armor

Seven and a Half Years Earlier. September 2544 - February 2545. Hawk Residence, Emerald Pines. "The Rescue," Planet Mars. William Hawk's Memories

Over the next several months, Willis's younger sister Jamie and Natalie, the girl he'd met that day in the cold rain, became best friends.

And that meant Willis got to see her all the time.

Between occasional greetings at school and the hours Natalie would spend at the Hawk's home hanging out with Jamie, she had quickly befriended Willis, as well. She also enjoyed playing with Matthew, who thought she was the best of all his older siblings' friends.

There was only one thing keeping Willis from being more than the guy Natalie said hi to because he was her friend's brother---and that was Ethan. Willis had taken note that it was not Natalie's parents or Natalie herself that drove up to the Hawk's home, but her boyfriend. He was always there to drop her off and pick her up, and they always spoke in his idling car before she got out. But, again, Willis didn't know Natalie nearly as well as Jamie knew her, and he had had no further contact with Ethan. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything at all suspicious about the things Willis was seeing. He just knew he had this nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Over the course of a few weeks, Willis began noticing that Natalie would keep her words to him---or any other guy she spoke to besides Ethan---at a bare minimum at school. While at his house, she would be courteous and talk to him if he initiated the conversation; for the most part, however, she wouldn't actively seek to interact with him. There were many normal explanations for her behavior, but she certainly wasn't acting like the Natalie he'd met at the school's entrance that day.

Some time later, Willis thought he would ask Jamie about it. When she said she had no idea what he was talking about, Willis decided it must be all in his head. Weeks continued to go by.

Then came the first time he noticed the bruises on her arms and face.

Natalie would later tell him they'd been there since just before they'd met, but Willis had never paid that close attention; she was skilled at hiding them. When he got up the nerve to inquire about them, she had smiled and said, "Oh, you know. Tripped over a hurdle yesterday at track practice. Looks bad, I know, but it didn't really hurt that much."

Willis knew the story didn't match the injuries, but there wasn't much he could do. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by making accusations against people he didn't know that well. So he stayed silent, and pretended nothing weird was happening.

He'd come to deeply regret his decision when Natalie showed up unexpectedly at his doorstep one day.

He was home alone that afternoon. His parents were working, Jamie was at track, and Matthew was at a friend's house. He heard the chime ring and was surprised when the basic house AI informed him that "Cooper, Natalie" was waiting outside. Perplexed, especially since he couldn't see Ethan's car, Willis opened the door. He had no idea what to expect.

"Hey, Natalie. Sorry, but Jamie's at track. Aren't you supposed to be there, too?" Willis asked. It was only when he stopped talking that he realized there were tears coming down her face. As soon as she opened her mouth to reply, she started crying harder.

Caught completely unawares, Willis quickly guided her into the house and had her sit down on the couch in the living room. She continued to cry, and he didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do.

"Natalie?"

"Are your parents here?" she asked a moment later, trying to regain control of her emotions.

"No, everybody's out. What's going on?"

"Willis…"

"What is it?"

"I haven't said a word to anyone. Not Jamie, not my siblings, not even my parents. I have no idea why I'm even here…"

"It's ok. Whatever it is, I won't tell."

"Ethan…" Tears began coming down her face again. "He's been hurting me, Willis."

Willis felt sick inside. He had known something wasn't right, and yet he'd chosen to do nothing about it. Now was the time to change that.

Natalie stayed with Willis for over an hour, explaining everything from the beginning, and described both the physical and verbal abuse she'd been experiencing for months. She ended with telling him about her latest beating the day before, and how she was starting to fear that Ethan's increasingly violent episodes would land her in the hospital.

"You've got to get out of it while you can, Natalie," Willis said when she had finished speaking. "Call the cops, tell your parents. It's only going to get worse, until…" He swallowed. "Just stay away from him. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you know where I am."

Natalie nodded, her tears finally gone after getting it all off her chest. "Thanks, Willis. I think it's about time I get home now."

"Do you want me to walk you there?"

"No, that's ok. I'll get there on my own."

"Are you sure? What if he's---"

"I'll be fine," she insisted.

And with that, she left his house.

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The next time Willis would see Natalie was the next day, when his mother said there was a phone call for him.

"Hello?" Willis said, picking up the call on his datapad.

"Willis, this is Natalie's mother Lisa. Listen, she's in the hospital right now, and she asked me to call you."

Willis went cold. "Is she ok?"

"The doctor said she's stable now, but she would like you to be here."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right over. What happened?"

"She was mugged yesterday. Ethan found her and immediately had an ambulance come get her, but..." He heard Natalie's mother's voice quiver. "She was in such bad shape…"

"I understand. I'll be there." Willis had to concentrate to keep the anger out of his voice. He knew Natalie hadn't been mugged, that it was really Ethan who'd beaten her.

Arriving at the hospital ten minutes later, Willis was finally ushered to Natalie's room by the medical staff. And what he saw he would keep in his memory forever.

Black and swollen sockets surrounded her lovely green eyes. Her lips were cracked with dried blood, one of her wrists was in a cast, and she had nasty bruises on her arms. Willis could only imagine what further injuries lurked beneath her hospital gown.

"Hey," she said weakly, trying to curl her mouth into a smile.

Willis walked slowly up to her bed and, looking back at the door to make sure they were alone, whispered, "Jesus Christ, Natalie. What did he do to you?"

Her smile vanished. "He erupted when he found out I was at your house alone."

Willis could feel the blood leave his face.

Seeing him visibly pale, Natalie reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm all right, Willis. Don't worry about it."

Willis shook his head. "No, you're not all right," he said firmly. "Natalie, this is not all right. You're getting out of this now. He is out of control. Out of control."

Natalie let go of his hand and looked down. "But…" She swallowed hard. "He said he was sorry, Willis."

"Sorry? Natalie, look at what he did to you! You think 'sorry' covers it? He'll only do this again!" Willis was beyond angry, and he realized it was coming out in his words. But, somehow, he got the feeling she knew his anger was directed at Ethan, that he wasn't mad at her. "Please, Natalie," he pleaded, speaking softly this time. "Get yourself out. I can't stand seeing you suffer like this."

Natalie nodded in agreement and looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thanks for being here, Willis."

Despite his initial shock, he gave her a weak smile. "Of course. Where else would I be when you need me?"

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Several days later, Willis got the news that Natalie had finally been released from the hospital. When he saw her at school, she seemed to be doing better and looked much happier. Her eyes lit up when she saw him across the way, and she waved.

"I told them," she said when they reached each other. "I told the doctors, and they told the police. They'll be coming for him today." Her lower lip began to tremble and tears started rolling down her cheeks. "It's finally over."

This time, Willis knew what to do when he saw her crying. Careful not to touch her still-healing bruises, he gently wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his chest.

"You did the right thing, Natalie. He doesn't really love you, no matter what he says. He wouldn't do this to you if he did."

"Hey, asshole! Get your hands off my girlfriend!" an angry voice shouted behind them.

Natalie's face shot up to look in the direction of the voice, and she let out a small gasp when she saw it was Ethan.

Willis, still holding onto her, turned so that he stood between her and the fast-approaching Ethan. Willis glared at the other young man and said, "Who're you calling an asshole, you lunatic! Don't you see what you did to her?"

"She deserved it!" Ethan spat back.

That was when Willis had had enough. He let go of Natalie, stormed the last few steps separating him from Ethan, and punched the other young man in the face.

"No one deserves what you did! You put her in the hospital, for Christ's sake! Why would she want to stay with you when you're nothing but an abusive freak?"

"You stole my girlfriend!" Ethan said, taking a swing at Willis. Willis ducked and drove his fist into Ethan's stomach.

"She came to me for help!" Willis said, standing over Ethan, who crumpled on the ground. "And don't you ever, ever come near her again. Do you understand me?"

Ethan sat up on the grass and held his now-bleeding nose. "This isn't over," he growled.

Five minutes later, he was handcuffed and placed into the back of a police car.