Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Saturday came. It was the day of Grayson and Abigail’s date. Kendall was standing on the side of the road, holding a bouquet as she waited for a taxi cab. Earlier, Grayson instructed her to buy flowers first before they fetch Abigail.

“Help! My bag! Help me!”

An ear-splitting scream suddenly caught Kendall’s attention. She turned her head, looking for the owner of that voice until her gaze landed on a female student near her. It seemed like she was also waiting for a ride. Then, her eyes transferred to a young man who was running away with a handbag in his arms.

Kendall quickly went to the girl and handed her the flowers.

“Hold this for me,” she told the student.

Although confused, the girl accepted the flowers and stared at Kendall with scared eyes. Without any word, Kendall sprinted in the direction where the snatcher went. The man probably saw Kendall, so he quickened his pace.

‘Damn, he’s a runner!’ Kendall thought to herself before running much faster.

She reckoned that it would be difficult to reach him, so she quickly picked up a stone and chased him again. The man entered an alley. Kendall was able to close their gap, so she forcefully threw the stone toward the man.

Hitting a bullseye, the snatcher groaned and fell to the ground. Kendall quickly dashed toward him before he could even get up.

“You prick!” Kendall said while trying to catch her breath. “You really made me run all the way here? Give me that bag!”

She held out her hand and waited for the man to give her the bag. To her surprise, the snatcher immediately stood up and grinned at her.

“I admire your courage, Miss. I’m honestly impressed by your bravery. Looks like you’re about to meet death,” the man told her before he took out a sharp dagger and aimed at Kendall.

However, Kendall didn’t even seem scared. She smirked at him. “Just give me the bag. You’ll regret it if you hurt me.”

The man chuckled and threw the bag to the side of the alley. Without any warning, he quickly attacked Kendall with the knife but the woman managed to dodge. The snatcher tried to stab her again several times, but Kendall successfully dodged all his attacks. All of a sudden, she kicked the man’s hand, removing the dagger from his grip.

“You don’t want to listen to me? Here,” Kendall said before kicking the snatcher in the face. The man fell to the ground with blood dripping from his mouth. He groaned in pain. He couldn’t help but look at Kendall with awe.

Kendall rolled her eyes before pulling out her badge. The snatcher’s eyes slowly turned wide as he stared at the badge in front of his face.

“Regretting now? Do you want me to escort you to the precinct?”

The man looked horrified. He quickly stood up and stepped away from her. Kendall pretended to pull a gun from her leather jacket. Terrified, the snatcher turned his back and ran for his life.

Chuckling, Kendall walked towards where the bag was. “Good. I’m kind of busy right now, so I don’t have the time to bring you to the police station,” she muttered to herself as she picked up the bag.

After a while, the female student saw Kendall walking toward her. She was holding her handbag. Although she looked a bit tired, Kendall smilingly handed her the bag. The student looked at her in shock. She couldn’t believe that Kendall would really be able to retrieve her bag. She quickly opened her handbag and checked its contents.

“Oh, thank God! My tuition money is still here. Thank you so much, Miss!” she exclaimed.

“It’s alright. Be careful next time, okay? Always be on guard when you notice people wandering around, especially when you’re carrying some cash.”

“I will. Thank you again!”

“You’re welcome. By the way, I need my flowers,” Kendall replied and laughed.

The student handed over the flowers. A few seconds later, a taxi passed by.

“I’ll get this taxi first. I’m a bit of in a hurry,” Kendall said.

The student nodded her head. “It’s okay. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. Be careful.”

The whole time Kendall was inside the cab, all she could think about was the time. She kept on glancing at her wristwatch repeatedly. She thought that Grayson might not be able to wait for her anymore and leave without her. She slightly groaned when she remembered that she left her phone behind because she was in a hurry to leave the house earlier.

After a while, they finally reached their destination. Kendall thanked the driver and rushed to the house immediately. It was already four o’clock when she went to Grayson’s room.

“Hey, Grayson. I’m here!” She announced as she knocked on his door. “Are you still there?”

The door suddenly opened, revealing Grayson’s annoyed expression. He was already dressed and obviously very bored.

“What took you so long?! Abigail is already waiting.”

“Sorry. I was already in the taxi when I realized that the flower shop gave me the wrong bouquet. I had to go back again,” Kendall lied.

“Why didn’t you answer my calls and texts?”

“Well, I left my phone in my room.” Kendall gave him an apologetic smile before showing him the flowers. “Where should I put these flowers?”

Grayson pointed at a random empty vase. “Just put it there.”

Kendall went inside his room and put the flowers in the vase. She glanced at Grayson and spoke. “Give me a minute. I’ll arrange the flowers first before I leave. Don’t worry, this will be fast.”

“Hurry up, Hailey! If Abigail gets upset, it’s your fault.”

“I know! I know! This will be fast.”

It didn’t take her long to finish arranging the flowers. She was about to leave the room when Grayson noticed something.

“Wait. What happened to your clothes? Why is there a cut on your jacket?” Grayson asked, staring at her clothes.

Kendall glanced at her jacket, looking for the tear Grayson was referring to.

“It’s in your upper right arm,” Grayson mentioned. “Wait… Is that a stain or?”

Kendall’s eyes slowly widened when she saw her right arm. She failed to notice it earlier, but the snatcher cut her arm. Her jacket had a tear, and it was stained with blood.

‘This must be the reason why I felt something stinging in my arm earlier,’ she thought. She brushed it off because she thought that it was just from the punches that the snatcher gave her.

She quickly covered it with her palm and chuckled at Grayson. “Oh, shoot! I wore the wrong jacket. This one’s already old.”

Without waiting for his reply, Kendall hurriedly left his room but before she could open the door, Grayson was already blocking her way.

“Remove your hand. Let me see it.”

“Why?” Kendall laughed awkwardly. “This jacket was already torn before. I’ll get dressed first, okay?”

Not convinced, Grayson glared at Kendall before removing her hand that covered her right arm. His eyes immediately widened when he saw the fresh blood on Kendall’s palm.

“Take your jacket off, Hailey,” Grayson commanded in a tight voice.

“N-no need, Grayson. It’s just a small wound. Maybe I hit something sharp outside earlier.”

“Take it off right now!”

Kendall’s shoulders jumped when she heard him yell. Her gaze remained on Grayson’s angry and flustered face. She couldn’t do anything but follow his command. She slowly took her jacket off and once she only had her white sleeveless top on, she and Grayson looked at her arm in shock.

A large, long, and deep cut was bleeding on her arm.

Sighing, Grayson immediately brought her to the bathroom. He gestured for her to sit on the large sink as he carefully washed her wounded arm.

“I can do this on my own, Grayson. You can leave me here,” Kendall softly muttered, remembering that the man was supposed to go on a date now.

However, Grayson just continued cleaning her wound as if he didn’t hear her. His eyes were solely focused on her arm. When her wound stopped bleeding, Grayson wrapped her arm with a clean towel. He opened a cabinet and took out the medicine kit. He gently patted her wound with cotton filled with an antiseptic before putting a bandage around it.

Grayson raised his head and saw Kendall’s grimaced face. His eyes then transferred to the bruise on the side of her forehead.

“Tell me what happened and how you got all these wounds and bruises,” he said while wrapping the bandage around her arm.

“Uh… I don’t know either. I think I bumped into something sharp earlier because I was in a hurry?”

“I don’t buy your excuse, Hailey. Did you engage in a fight again?” he sternly said and looked straight into Kendall’s eyes.

Kendall swallowed a lump in her throat. She wanted to convince him with her lies but when she saw his stern and cold look, she knew that she couldn’t do it.

“I-I just helped a woman. Her bag was snatched so…”

Grayson heaved a deep sigh as he shook his head in disbelief. “You’re truly unbelievable, Hailey. Why are you so obsessed with doing heroic things? Who do you think you are? Wonder Woman? Can’t you even think before doing anything? You’re willing to risk your life for any random person’s well-being!”

Kendall was unable to utter any reply. If only she could tell him the truth about her identity... Maybe she wouldn’t even need to create excuses about a wound she was already used to having because of her job. She even experienced far worse things than this wound. If only she could tell him the threat against his life.

All of a sudden, Grayson’s phone started ringing. It was Abigail calling him again.

“Hey, Abigail,” Grayson greeted. “I’m about to leave now. I just finished something urgent. I’m sorry.”

Grayson covered the phone with his hand before turning to Kendall. “You should change your clothes now, Hailey. You’re still coming with me. I’m not comfortable leaving you all alone here.”

Kendall nodded her head and quietly left the bathroom. She was still stunned by everything that happened. She didn’t expect Grayson to act that way toward her. She couldn’t believe how he was suddenly concerned for her.

A few moments later, both of them were ready to leave the house. Kendall stretched out her hand, waiting for Grayson to give her the car key.

“I’ll drive. Your wound might bleed again,” Grayson said in a dismissive tone.

Kendall frowned and stepped closer to him. “No, I’ll drive. It’s just a wound, Grayson! I won’t die because of it. It’s not like my hand is paralyzed that I won’t be able to drive anymore. Give me the key.”

Kendall despised being treated like a wounded kid. She felt useless. She didn’t need the pity. Especially in her job, she always hated it when her colleagues saw her as a weakling just because she was wounded or shot.

“I said it’s okay, Hailey! Let me drive for today.”

Kendall crossed her arms. “We won’t leave here until you give me the key. If you’re too scared that I’ll crash your car, then you’re wrong. We can even race against each other if you want.”

Grayson sighed heavily, unable to handle Kendall's stubbornness. In the end, Kendall drove his car. From time to time, Grayson would glance at her right arm.

“Aren’t you worried? That wound might leave a scar on your arm,” he suddenly said.

“My wound heals quickly. I don’t really get scars that often. I think I’m a relative of Wolverine or something,” Kendall replied. She said her last statement in a teasing tone.

Grayson laughed sarcastically. “You’re one of the X-men? All this time I thought you were a part of the Avengers.”

Grayson and Abigail went to the South Hills Plaza. Grayson patiently accompanied his girlfriend as she shopped around the stores. Kendall, on the other hand, just quietly tailed behind them.

“Hailey, come here!” Abigail turned to Kendall and smiled. She was holding a few pieces of clothes in a luxury boutique.

Kendall went beside her. “What is it? Do you need anything?”

“I need your opinion. I can’t choose which dress suits me better!” Abigail pouted her lips.

Grayson snorted, making the two women turn to him. “You really think she has taste when it comes to clothing?” he muttered as if he found it really funny.

Abigail rolled her eyes and walked toward Kendall. Her hand innocently touched Kendall’s wounded arm. Grayson immediately noticed it, so he removed his girlfriend’s hand in an instant.

“Don’t touch that arm!” Grayson told her in a raised voice.

Surprised and confused, Abigail looked at Kendall. “Why? What happened to your arm?”

Kendall waved her hand and chuckled. “Nothing! It’s just a small wound.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry, Hailey!”

Kendall looked at Grayson and smiled at him. But when Abigail’s attention turned to the clothes again, Kendall glared at the man as if telling him that he shouldn’t say anything anymore.

“It’s okay, Abigail. It’s a pretty small wound. Your boyfriend’s just overreacting.”

Abigail just shrugged her shoulders.

After a while, Abigail was still busy checking the clothes when Grayson excused himself to buy movie tickets. Right after he left, a group of girls entered the boutique and one of them was Cady.

The shock was evident on Cady’s face when she saw Abigail in the store. With a raised eyebrow, she looked at the woman from head to toe. Similar to her reaction, Abigail was also surprised when she saw her. Annoyed, Abigail tried to evade her.

“Wait for me here, Hailey. I’ll go to the fitting room and try these clothes.”

Kendall nodded. When Abigail was finally out of her sight, Cady immediately went to Kendall.

“I understand now. You’re in her sight, aren’t you? Maybe she wants you to spy on Grayson that’s why you’re always with him,” Cady said.

Kendall sighed but remained silent.

“I want you on my side. I’ll get you whatever you want. Name it,” Cady continued.

Kendall looked at Cady and smirked. “If something is going on between you and Abigail, I’d like to be excluded.”

“Stop lying! I’m sure you’re getting something from the witch, so you’re very adamant to stick up your ass on Grayson!”

“If that’s the idea that makes you sleep at night, then okay.”

Cady’s glaring eyes pierced through Kendall. “You may refuse me now, but I’ll make sure that you’ll be on my side soon,” Cady whispered near her ear, holding her arm tightly.

Kendall gulped and bit her lower lip, trying to suppress a groan even if Cady’s hand was already pressing exactly on her wound.

“What are you doing, Cady?!”

Both of them turned their heads and saw Grayson, who was approaching them with a furious look on his face. He quickly removed Cady’s hand from Kendall’s arm.

“Wow! You’re on this woman’s side, too? I thought you’re annoyed with this clingy witch?” Cady commented.

“Don’t touch her. She has nothing to do with us,” Grayson answered coldly.

Kendall’s eyes traveled from Grayson to Cady. ‘What’s going on with these people?’ she thought to herself.

“I don’t think so, Grayson. She’s acting like your beloved girlfriend’s guardian angel.”

“Because she is my friend! Now, she’s Abigail’s friend, too. She has nothing to do with my relationship with my girlfriend, so drop it.”

Cady let out a dramatic gasp. “Did I just hear you right? She’s your friend now?”

Kendall sighed. She realized that she should stop this now before things might get out of hand.

“Cady? You’re Cady, right?” she started. “I don’t think this is a proper place to argue with Grayson. And, don’t fight because of me. I’m not taking anyone’s side. I don’t even know what’s up with you three.”

Kendall looked at Grayson. “And you, Grayson, stop overreacting. I’m fine. Cady didn’t do anything bad to me.”

The three of them fell silent after that. Not long after, Abigail went out of the fitting room.

“W-what’s going on here?” Abigail asked. The serious expressions of the three people in front of her made her confused.

Cady gave her a sarcastic smile before facing her friends. “Let’s go. This store is suffocating me. I feel so grossed out whenever I see a snatcher!”

Kendall noticed the hurt look on Abigail’s face. She was about to comfort her when Grayson suddenly dragged her out of the boutique.

“Are you okay? I saw your reaction when Cady grabbed your arm.”

“I’m fine. No need to worry.”

Grayson sighed. “Check your wound. It may be bleeding again.”

“Stop worrying! You’re scaring me with your actions, Grayson.” Kendall laughed.

“I’m just concerned because you’re injured, Hailey! Isn’t that a normal person’s reaction?”

“Alright. But stop it, okay? I don’t need your concern. I can handle myself.”

“Really? You can handle yourself?” Grayson replied with a smile. “You can fight a thief, but you can’t even defend yourself from Cady’s antics.”

A smile formed on Kendall’s lips, too. “Does Mr. Grayson think that if I fight back against Cady, something good will happen?”

“I know your capabilities, but you don’t need to pretend that you’re strong all the time. Remember the time when Sandra ganged up on you? Try to defend yourself sometimes, Hailey. Because for me? It looks like you're just being arrogant,” Grayson replied in a cold tone.

Kendall scoffed. “How did I suddenly become the arrogant one?”

“I know what’s running in that mind of yours. I’m way stronger than this bunch of girls! Blah blah! Am I wrong? You’re probably laughing inside.”

Kendall stared at Grayson in disbelief. Anger slowly crawled to her chest. Wanting to teach him a lesson, Kendall was about to say something when Abigail went out of the store.

“Don’t tell me you two are quarreling again?” Abigail looked at both of them.

The two didn’t reply but exchanged some heated gazes. Grayson angrily broke their eye contact and walked toward his girlfriend.

“Let’s go, Abigail. Don’t mind her. She’s too busy thinking about how higher and mightier she is than other people.”

Since the small fight they had at the mall, Grayson and Kendall spent the rest of the day not talking to each other. Abigail and Grayson’s date ended with the two of them wearing grumpy faces.

“Are we going home yet?” Kendall, who was in the driver’s seat, asked stiffly. Grayson’s car was still parked in front of Abigail’s house.

“No. I’m going to see Chester,” Grayson replied. “You can head home first.”

Kendall shook her head. “I’ll accompany you.”

Grayson let out a mocking laugh and glanced at her. “Are you sure? We’re going to a strip club.”

Kendall looked at him and smirked. “Why not? You think I won’t be able to stomach a place like that?”

She shook her head inwardly, trying to recall how many times she actually went to various strip clubs. With the number of times she joined raid operations in such a place, Kendall could vividly imagine what those clubs looked like.

“Fine, you can join us. But only in one condition,” he said. “You have to keep your promises, Hailey.”

“Don’t worry. I’m true to my words,” Kendall answered before adjusting the gear and driving away.

The two of them stopped in front of a private, expensive club. As soon as they stepped inside, the club manager quickly went toward them. He was wearing a huge smile, obviously pleased when he saw Grayson. Kendall noticed the barricades around them.

‘This must be a VIP area,’ she thought while her eyes scanned the place. She even saw a few naked women dancing on the stage.

Meanwhile, Grayson repeatedly glanced at the woman beside him. So far, he didn’t see any strange reaction from Kendall, except that she kept on surveying the area. He was quite surprised that she seemed unfazed by the place.

They entered a large, private room. Kendall quietly sat on the end of the circular-shaped sofas, far away from Grayson’s seat. The room also had a small dancefloor. A floor-to-ceiling pole and a sparkling disco ball were attached in the middle. Kendall quietly gasped, quite bewildered by the trivial luxuries of Grayson’s well-off friends.

After a while, a group of women went inside. The tall woman, whom Grayson specially requested, couldn’t hide her smile when she saw her handsome meal of the night. Obviously, these men were regulars of this club. They even casually called the women darling or sweetie. Kendall carefully observed every woman who would enter the room. She got distracted when Grayson called her name.

“Come here. Sit beside me,” he told her.

Kendall silently stood and sat down next to him.

“Who’s this girl, Grayson?” the tall woman asked.

“Don’t worry. She’s not my girl,” Grayson murmured gently before his lips touched the woman’s neck.

“You want some drinks, Hailey?” Chester suddenly asked.

“Just give her juice, man. She’s driving, so she can’t have any alcohol,” Grayson answered almost immediately.

From time to time, Grayson would secretly steal a glance at Kendall. He wanted to make sure that she would really fulfill her promise. That she wouldn’t interfere in whatever he would do. Kendall, on the other hand, remained quiet and unbothered. Her eyes remained on her phone all the time.

Grayson started kissing the tall woman. Every time he would catch the woman sitting beside him looking at them, he would deepen his kisses. However, Kendall would only look at them with a blank expression before staring at her phone again. Grayson couldn’t help but feel annoyed. It felt like Kendall didn’t care at all.

“You guys want to see some live action?” Chester announced with an evil smile.

“Sure. Dance for us, darling,” Grayson softly asked the tall woman.

All of the women stood up and went to the mini dancefloor. Loud electronic music started to blast in the room. The women started to dance as they slowly removed their skimpy clothes.

Grayson’s eyes traveled to Kendall again. The woman was watching the girls with a poker face. There were no hints of disgust or judgment in her expression. It looked like she was just normally watching the women dance.

After a while, the women started to go to the men’s table. One by one, they started to give each man a lap dance. Grayson shamelessly flirted with the woman dancing in front of him. His hands caressed the woman’s body before looking at the quiet girl beside him again.

Still, there was no reaction. She was busy playing with her phone as she sipped some iced tea.

The night ended after a few hours. They left the club, and Grayson never heard a single complaint from Kendall. Both of them were walking toward the car when Kendall noticed that Grayson stopped walking.

She turned around and looked at him in confusion.

“We’re waiting for someone,” he casually said.

After a few minutes, the tall woman from the club ran toward them. She was smiling as they walked to the car.

Seated in the backseat, Grayson’s eyes met Kendall’s in the rear-view mirror. He noticed the confusion etched on her face.

“We’ll spend the night in a nice motel,” he told Kendall.

Kendall cleared her throat. “I don’t go to that kind of place, so I’m not sure where nice motels are located.”

“Just drive then. I’ll give you directions.”

Kendall quietly nodded. She silently drove, diligently following Grayson’s orders. She would sigh every time she looked at the mirror and saw the two people at the back who seemed to have run out of patience and shamelessly ate each other’s faces despite Kendall’s presence.

When they finally reached an expensive-looking motel, Grayson and the woman immediately climbed out of the car. Kendall quickly followed them.

“Wait,” she coldly said.

Surprised, Grayson immediately turned to her. A grin was already forming on his face but got cut short when Kendall suddenly went to the woman. She took her purse and checked its content.

“Hailey! What are you doing?” he exclaimed and held the woman’s waist.

“I’m trying to fulfill my duties of being your servant. I can also serve as your bodyguard. You two can go inside,” she replied.

Grayson paid for the most expensive room. As soon as he entered, he started kicking every object in his way. He couldn’t fathom if Kendall just couldn’t care less about him or if she was just pretending.

“Aren’t we starting yet, Grayson?” the tall woman asked seductively. She slowly walked and hugged him from behind. Then, she gently licked his neck up to his ear. She started to undress herself when Grayson stopped her.

“There’s no need to do that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked him in a shocked voice.

“I’m not up for any sex anymore.”

The woman laughed incredulously. “Are you kidding me? Then, why did you even bring me here?”

“I’m not doing this because of you.”

The woman stared at him for a long time. Suddenly, a smirk formed on her face. “Oh. Is this because of the woman you’re with earlier?”

“What do you mean?” Grayson replied in a dismissive tone.

“You’re using me to make her jealous, aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about? You’re crazy.”

“Well, let’s just say that I don’t see any other reason why you’re suddenly doing this. You can use me, you know,” the woman answered and approached Grayson again, trying to tease him.

“Come on. Let’s not waste more time here,” she whispered.

“Stop it!”

Grayson removed himself from her and took out his wallet. He grabbed some cash and threw them on the bed.

“Take the money and hail a cab,” he said before storming out of the room.

Meanwhile, Kendall was calmly waiting inside the car. Music was softly blasting from her earphones. It didn’t even take her three songs when Grayson suddenly climbed inside the car. She removed the earphones from her ears and looked at the man’s annoyed expression.

“You’re done? That was fast.”

“Shut up and just drive! I wanna go home now.”

“Huh? But where’s the woman? Why aren’t you with her?”

“She’ll take a cab.”

“Why? Did you fight with her? Did she hurt you, Grayson?” Kendall asked in worry.

Grayson snorted. “Look at you. So now, you’re suddenly worried for me when you didn’t seem to care earlier!”

“Why would I even bother you? And just so you know, I’m not blind or deaf to not see or hear everything you did earlier!”

“Whatever! Just shut up and drive!” Grayson fired back.

Kendall rolled her eyes before starting the engine. “Tsk. Look at this man. You’re still hot-headed as ever.”