Chapter 4 : Punished

Tristan's POV

It was true that I had always loved Amelia. Since the time when Caleb and I were best friends, I used to look after her, care for her, protect her, and help her with her homework. They were an excuse to be near her, to see her and talk to her. The more I interacted with her, the more I fell in love with her. But she was too young and oblivious to my feelings for her. As she grew up, I could sense her attraction to me but I wasn't sure. Caleb was extremely protective of her and I needed to keep my distance from her although I couldn't help or control my growing feelings for her.

On her thirteenth birthday, she looked very alluring in a short red dress that clung to her curves accentuating them, making me want to be near her all the time. With her golden hair cascading down her shoulders, her long creamy white legs inviting me to caress them, her smoky light grey eyes reflecting the lights of the banquet hall, she glided along like a gazelle, while I followed her around like a lost puppy, mesmerized by her. That was the day I lost control and my feelings compelled me to seek her out every time.

Caleb might have sensed my feelings, as we had a huge fight and he warned me of her. I tried ignoring her and tried to befriend other girls, but I missed the innocent friendship that we shared and the sweet interactions we had between us. Nothing seemed to work for me and as the days passed by, I became more and more obsessed with her.

"Tristan, someone's here to see you," said Erik, my kickboxing coach at the club, bringing me out of my reverie. Today, ever since I had spent some time with the sweetest person on earth, Amelia, I hadn't been able to concentrate much on the practice sessions. I was worried for her. The way Brandon dragged her away didn't sit well with me. Was he torturing her? I needed to find out. I was expecting Caleb to come over for a fight with me since obviously, Brandon would never keep it in. Although I had never crossed any boundaries with Amelia, I know that they would make a mountain out of this.

"Yeah, I'll be right back," I told Erik and jogged out of the club. However, to my extreme horror, I found Brandon waiting for me with a furious scowl on his face. The moment he saw me, he stormed toward me determinedly. I am no coward but I didn't want to go against Amelia's brothers. He caught hold of my uniform and shook me to put some sense in my head.

"Stay away from Amy, Tristan. This is the last time I'm warning you nicely. Next time I won't be so nice," he threatened menacingly. I extracted myself from his hold and glared back at him.

"I was just treating her to coffee, that's all," I shrugged to sound casual.

"Whatever it is, just stay away, that's all," he scoffed at me. "This time I just reported you to your dad. Next time I'll report you to my dad and you know the outcome. He'll punish Amy for your faults," growled Brandon and whirled around, and stormed out of the gates. I stood stunned staring after him. Did he really complain about such a petty thing to my dad? I just couldn't believe it!

I knew the outcome of Brandon's complaint, I would be grounded for a week, with no school and no Amelia. It would be the worst punishment of my life. I retraced my steps back to the club to resume my training. However, I couldn't concentrate on the sparring practice and ended up being injured.

When I returned home, I found my dad, Nathaniel Henderson, pacing the floor of the living room. "What's the meaning of all this, Tristan?" he yelled at me. "Caleb's older brother informed me that you had been trying to abuse their sister, who's a minor?" dad growled at me, angrily, with his hands clenched into fists.

"Whoa! Where did that come from? I didn't do anything of the sort, dad. I just took Amelia to a cafe to treat her. They're really making an issue out of nothing," I protested. It was a sort of an underhanded attack. I hadn't expected them to complain to my dad.

"I don't know whom to believe anymore. Why would he lie?" asked dad. Although I had a reputation for always falling into trouble, yet my dad was always patient and understanding with me.

"Because he's a dictator just like his dad," I pointed out the obvious to him, angrily. It seemed as if no one knew what they were really like.

"Language, son. Anyway, you're grounded for a week," said dad, making my jaws drop. As it is I was going through a bad patch and now this?

"But I have school and I'll miss out on so much, dad," I protested but dad just waved me off and walked out of the room, ignoring my pleas. I had no option but to wait impatiently for the week to get over so that I could see Amelia again but I knew that before that I needed to face my best friend, Caleb first. Maybe he would break off our friendship. After all, he was just like Amelia's other brothers! The whole week I waited for some news from Amelia, but strangely all was quiet. It looked like the quietness before a storm. I couldn't wait to return to school and see her sweet face but a strange feeling of dread filled my heart. I wasn't scared for myself but I was scared for Amelia.