With every step I took, another blow landed on me. By the time I reached Valerie’s hospital bed, my body was already covered in injuries.
The moment Valerie saw me, terror flashed across her face.
“Don’t come over!” she screamed.
“Please, Marcus, don’t hurt me! I’m begging you!”
She broke down sobbing and hid beneath the blanket.
“You bastard!” Valerie’s father kicked me, fury blazing across his face.
“Beat him to death!” someone in the crowd shouted.
I did not see who it was, but I recognized the voice.
It was Lucas.
Then I was surrounded and beaten.
If I had wanted to fight back, I could have dropped them one by one with a single punch each.
However, I refrained from doing so, as I sought to understand their motivation for wanting my death.
Just then, Rachelle burst in with several other police officers. She looked at me with a complex expression, regret mingled with disappointment.
“Valerie has your skin tissue under her fingernails,” she said softly. “Marcus Lancaster, you are under arrest.”
I struggled to my feet like a paper figure about to collapse. I staggered forward, then fell straight into her arms.