HUNTED - A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance

CHAPTER FOUR - EVELYN

Everything hurt.

My head was pounding and as I twisted to sit up properly, pain flared from everywhere. I hissed with each movement as I dragged myself to get up. Where the hell was I, anyway?

“Hey, lie back down. You’re hurt and we’re going to take you to a doctor.” A voice consoled from beside me. Who the f**k-

“Where am I?” I mumbled. My throat was sore, just like the rest of me. “Who are you?” I struggled to move, my arms gave way, and I collapsed onto the cushioned seats I was lying on.

“You don’t remember? Marco-“

“I heard. Listen, we’re going to help you. I’m Marco and this is my partner Luca. You came to us, hurt, and spoke of something happening in the forest. We’re going to take you to a doctor and then we need to talk about what you saw.” Another voice declared from in front of us. A forest… What on earth was he talking about…

Oh.

It all came crashing back. The bracelet, Poppy’s face. The monsters, the screaming, the running. All of it hit me like one enormous wave. I was wasting time.

“No!”, I managed to pull myself to sit up. The officer beside me helped me up along the way, careful not to injure me any more. For the little time I had spent with these two, Luca seemed the nicest. So I turned my attention to him alone. “I need to go to the station. I need to give my statement. There needs to be a search party sent out or something. People need to be warned about the monsters in there.”

I worried at first that he would not believe me. That he would just throw aside my hysterical babbling and tell me that it was all in my head. But that didn’t happen. Instead, he said nothing, but his eyes spoke for him. He believed every word I said. But he was conflicted, sitting silently for a few moments. Just watching me with pitiful eyes and fidgety hands. Maybe he too had seen those disfigured creatures. Or maybe he was-

“There are no such things as monsters,” the mean one scolded.

“Yes, there are. I saw them. They took my friends!” I cried out, frustrated with how much time I lost.

“Your friends?” Luca replied.

“Yes,” I noticed Marco keeping his gaze on me from the mirror.

“I don’t even know if they’re still alive.” I sniffled out. I f*****g failed them. How could I have been so selfish? Why didn’t I go back for them instead of running out of the forest alone?

I swallowed my annoyance at Marco and looked into the mirror. I wanted to ask him to take me to the station instead of the doctor. I didn’t deserve another moment away from Poppy and Alice.

For a brief second I remembered the colourful eyes of one of my attackers and could have sworn they looked similar to Marco’s but I shook the thought away as Luca placed his hand over mine in comfort and his warm eyes looked over at me. I felt reassured by him, I felt somewhat jumpy with the other.

“I’m so sorry… I haven’t even asked your name.” His brows furrowed at the realisation. He resembled a puppy at that moment as he glanced apologetically at me. I broke out into a smile as he looked pretty adorable.

“Evelyn.” I squeezed his hand a little, grateful for the slight break in the tension.

“Beautiful. Well, Evelyn, we need to have you checked out first. You’re really hurt.” He spoke softly and my eyes lowered to my bloodied clothes. He was right, I was in no fit state to run after the other girls. I’d be completely useless to them.

“Marco will report this incident and make sure that people are stationed outside of the forest and we’ll see about getting your friends out.” With the mention of saving my friends, Marco coughed. I whisked my head to see him and for the first time, since I had woken up, he did not meet eyes. No, I was being ridiculous. Luca said he'd help, and that’s that.

“Now, just relax. We’re almost there.” There, I had assumed, would be a hospital. Or a local doctor’s office. It was neither. It was a house, their house.

My stomach flipped as Luca opened my door, waiting for me to get out. This wasn’t normal, right? The police are supposed to go take me to a professional... Maybe they weren’t cops. Maybe they were the things I was running from. Maybe I was being trafficked. My mind ran a mile a minute, plaguing me with theories, and none put me at ease.

“I know this seems weird, Evelyn. But there is a doctor here who will not only be able to heal you but will understand what happened to you today,” He crouched down, meeting my level, “Without thinking that you’re crazy.” He stood back up and extended his hand out to me.

He was right once again. I needed people to know that I was telling the truth and was not making up stories for attention. For all, I know Poppy and Alice could still be alive and they’ll need me to come searching for them. If I was tossed aside for being ‘fanatical’, I would endanger them further. Besides, I felt safe near Luca. There was something about him that softened the hurt I was in. I knew, though I barely knew him, that he would not put me in harm’s way. However, I was wary of Marco. Apart from his intense staring as if in disbelief, he had not uttered another word, and I’d rather keep it that way.

So, I took his hand, banking my life on his word, and almost doubled over, forgetting the agony my body was in.

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“What’s going on?” A concerned mystery man dropped the book he was holding and rushed to my side.

I was still leaning on Luca heavily as we slowly trudged our way into the large house. I tried to apply less pressure at first, as I felt mortified at how fragile I was. But being the gentleman he was, Luca refused to let me endure any more pain and even offered to carry me the rest of the way. A tempting offer, but the grunt I had heard from Marco made me refuse. He doesn’t like me, and I didn’t need to fuel any more hate. So I swallowed down my retort and just told Luca that it wouldn’t be necessary.

“From what we gathered, she was chased out of the forest. We need you to do your thing and we’ll take a statement later.” Marco announced to the room, though obviously directed at the new guy.

“Chased? By who?” The man placed my arm around his neck and wrapped his arm around my waist. My hair had once again cloaked my face. I should shave it all off. Luca mirrored his actions. With their bodies supporting my own, I was easily escorted to the last room in the hallway.

“That’s all you need to know right now.” Marco’s heavy steps rang behind us. The two men gently lifted me to a hospital bed. Looking around, I realized the entire room was decorated to be a doctor’s office. But why would they need a room like this?

“What’s your name?” The man shuffled around the bed, his hands were moving too fast for me to focus on what he was doing. He was in his own world as he prepared for God knows what, but it was a pleasant sight to see. At least it would be if the shooting pains would cease.

“Her name is Evelyn,” Luca spoke for me. If he were any other person, I’d have snapped at him. They asked me the question, let me f*****g answer it. But I could tell he was genuinely worried as he lingered over me, and his wide eyes sympathetically looked down at my many wounds.

“Alright, you guys can leave. I’ll call you when I’m done.” He sat on an office chair beside my bed and faced Luca, who had not moved at all. Neither had Marco.

“There’s something else you need to know, Trey” Luca lowered his eyes as Marco strode into the room.

“Yes?” Trey said, impatient as neither man spoke. Was it about the creatures? Would Trey believe me?

Marco sighed heavily before marching to the bed, opposite of Luca and Trey. He then, very gently, swept my frizzled mane away from my face. It was such a strange sensation. To have a man like Marco, who has been nothing but rude throughout the car journey here, be so tender with his touch. I wanted to see this side of him more.

“That’s impossible."

Lost to my imaginings of a compassionate Marco, I had not noticed the swift change of suspense in the room. My eyes averted to Trey, who gaped at me with both astonishment and familiarity.

“Your high- “ Trey stood up abruptly and bowed his head before being shoved back by Marco. I strained my neck to see the two as they moved to one corner of the room. Luca’s eyes switched from observing me and checking on the others, undecided where he should be, obvious from the bouncing of his feet. Eventually, he walked over to them.

I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I hated how they spoke lowly as they frequently looked back my way. I hated being the centre of attention and gossip.

“Can you stop talking about me?” Honestly, I felt like I was in high school all over again.

“I apologise. That was rude of us.” Trey made his way back to the bed with an assuring smile on his lips. And just like that, all was forgiven.

“I’m sorry too, Evelyn, We’ll leave this to you, Trey,” Luca spoke up from the end of the room. Marco kept quiet, but once again kept his eyes firmly on me. I returned my gaze to Trey, hoping that I wasn’t blushing from Marco’s scrutiny, and sighed when I heard the faint clicking of the door lock. I was left all alone with the doctor and I didn’t mind it one bit.

“Right,” he wheeled closer to me. “Where do you feel the most pain?”