The Girl With The Limp

*Dante*

The first day of our freshman year in college brought a chaotic sea of faces. Countless girls milled around the campus walkways, laughing and glancing in our direction. Naturally, most of them were practically tripping over themselves to flock toward Cassius and Stavros. I watched my two best friends soak in the attention with effortless ease. I didn’t care about the numbers. I didn't want a fan club. I only needed one. Just one girl who could make me feel entirely complete.

We stood under the sprawling branches of a massive oak tree near the main entrance to our building. The morning air was crisp. Malia and Alison, two upperclassmen, had cornered us for a chat. Malia served on the student council and happened to be Cassius’s cousin, which made her family by extension. Alison, on the other hand, was just a hanger-on. Having her sights firmly set on Cassius, she decided to attach herself to us before classes started.

I tuned out their mindless chatter, letting my gaze drift toward the student parking area. The usual hum of college life filled the air—a loud blend of revving engines, scraping sneakers, and overlapping conversations.

Then, a voice cut straight through the noise.

"Sure, Dad. I'll see you after class. Love you."

It was a sing-song voice. A tone so rare, so beautiful, it sounded like pure music to my ears. My chest tightened. I frantically scanned the moving bodies near the drop-off zone, desperately looking for the source of that sound. My eyes darted past athletes, frat guys, and sorority girls until my line of sight snagged on a lone figure on the campus sidewalk.

It was her. She was awkwardly limping along the concrete, moving at a painstakingly slow pace. She wore a hood pulled up, but the morning light caught the distinct, jagged lines of fresh scars marking her face.

Alison followed my line of sight. She let out a malicious sneer and pointed a manicured finger right at the limping girl.

"Check out Frankenstein," Alison mocked, laughing. "She definitely looks like she got hit by a bus."

Intense, unadulterated rage instantly engulfed me. The heat spiked in my blood, blinding and sudden. I took a menacing step toward Alison, towering over her.

"Alison, you better shut your mouth," I snapped viciously, my voice a low, dangerous growl that wiped the smirk right off her face. "Or I'll make sure you look like you got hit by a bus come tomorrow. Do you understand me?"

Alison stood paralyzed, her mouth hanging open in pure shock. She couldn't believe I had just threatened to physically maim her. I didn’t give a damn about her hurt feelings. I grimaced and roughly pushed the shocked upperclassman aside, clearing my view. She wasn't part of our group anyway. I needed to focus entirely on the limping girl.

As she passed our spot under the tree, she caught the three of us staring. Usually, when a girl noticed our attention, she would blush, duck her head, and quickly look away. Not her. She turned her head and boldly met our gaze directly. Her eyes were a striking mix of blue and green, and they held a silent, unwavering defiance.

The breath vanished from my lungs. For the very first time in my life, I felt incredibly small beneath a woman's stare. She held my eyes for a fraction of a second before turning her attention back to the sidewalk, continuing her agonizingly slow march.

I grabbed Malia’s arm, impatient and wired with an unfamiliar panic. "Malia. What happened to her?" I couldn't believe something terrible could happen to someone with such a pretty voice.

Malia let out a profound, heavy sigh. She watched the girl disappear into the crowd, her expression softening into deep sadness.

"It’s not my place to tell you, but she was assaulted," Malia revealed quietly.

*Assaulted?! What?!* Pure horror washed over my face. I felt physically sick, my stomach plummeting into my shoes.

"What do you mean by assaulted, Malia?" Cassius demanded. His posture shifted instantly. His expression darkened into something distinctly lethal, the predator beneath his skin waking up.

"Cassius, I'm sorry. I told you it's not my place to tell any of you," Malia murmured, looking around nervously.

"Did it happen here?" Stavros pressed, his jaw ticking.

"I don't know, Stavros," Malia answered. "She applied for a scholarship. Because of her horrific ordeal, admissions gave her a full ride. Actually, when she came in for her interview, her facial scars were far worse than that, and she was on crutches. So far, she's healing rather nicely and she can walk on her own now. Guys, if she is in one of your classes, don't say or mention anything about it. I think she and her family are currently in hiding. You know what? Don't do anything stupid either. I'm warning you boys."

A girl in hiding. A brutal assault. Scars that forced her to limp on crutches.

My hands curled into tight fists.

Later, near the classroom, the hallways were packed with students searching for their rooms. Up ahead, Stavros spotted a group of girls whispering near our designated door. Instead of entering, he smoothly walked up to them, flashing his signature charm.

He pointed discreetly through the open doorway toward the far corner of the room. "Hey. Do you know that girl's name?"

"Yeah," one of the girls replied casually. "Sloane Mercer."

Cassius leaned in. "Do any of you know what happened to her?"

"The teaching assistant said she was assaulted," the girl answered, shrugging. "That's all we know. If you want to know more, I guess you have to ask her."

"Thanks," I muttered.

I grabbed Cassius and Stavros by the shoulders and forcefully pulled them into a private huddle off to the side. My blood boiled with absolute fury. The thought of someone breaking her triggered a violent instinct I couldn't suppress.

"Cassius," I commanded, my voice tight with barely controlled anger. "Utilize our underground grapevine. Ask around if they know anything about that girl. If you hunt down the motherfuckers responsible, I want to know. Absolutely nothing goes unpunished."

Cassius stared back at me, his dark eyes calculating. "Will do. What will you do if I ever find the assholes who did this to her?"

I looked at my best friend with terrifying honesty. "I will meticulously break every single bone in their bodies before I put two bullets in their heads."

"Look at her," I continued. "How could anyone do something like that to her?"

Stavros looked through the doorway, studying her from afar. Sloane sat isolated in the far corner, her hood up, staring blankly at the desk.

"I don't know, but it looks like she made someone very angry," Stavros whispered, his voice thick with empathy. "The amount of injuries is tantamount to rage. But look at her eyes. There's a sheer, overwhelming sadness in them. Whatever happened to Sloane Mercer, she didn't deserve it."

"My thoughts exactly," I said, agreeing completely. "I want to know what happened. Let's use all our connections and find out what we can."

"Heads up, guys. Our professor is here," Cassius mumbled, discreetly pointing to a tall man with thinning gray hair and glasses entering the room with a briefcase and coffee.

We followed him inside, pausing to find chairs. As we walked down the aisle, I kept my eyes locked on the corner. When I reached her row, I paused. I turned my head, my gaze cutting straight through the shadows of her hood to lock onto her scarred face.

I offered her a small, gentle smile, desperately hoping to forge a connection. I wanted to show her she was safe. But the moment she saw my face, panic flashed in her eyes. She instantly yanked her head down, hiding her face in fear.

I sighed. I wanted to help her, but I just didn't know how. Stavros nudged my ribs and pointed to the empty seats directly behind her. Things were looking up.

We quickly took our seats. I sat directly behind her, battling a desperate urge to lean forward and introduce myself. But I forced my jaw shut and restrained myself. She was understandably skittish. Who wouldn't be after being hurt like that?

Cassius slouched in the chair next to me, spreading his legs wide like he was airing out his big balls, his knee bumping hard against mine.

"Cassius, will you please stop crowding me," I grumbled, pushing his heavy leg away.

The sudden sound of my masculine growl startled her. She slowly turned her head over her shoulder, her eyes wide with shock as she found the three of us seated directly behind her. I opened my mouth to say hi, but she quickly turned away, sitting rigidly upright. I hoped she would turn around again, but throughout the entire lecture, Sloane completely ignored our existence.

It was my first time ever feeling invisible to a woman, and the rejection hurt like hell. I spent the hour staring at the back of her head, my mind spinning.

After class ended, I sadly watched her pack up and walk away. The limp was pronounced. My chest ached. I was about to follow her when Stavros reached out and physically stopped me.

"Dante, let's give her some space," Stavros advised wisely, his grip firm. "It's only the first day of school. Don't worry, an opportunity will present itself. When she needs us, we'll be there for her. Right now, let's allow her to adjust."

"I agree," Cassius said, stepping beside us. "Let's focus on finding out who did this to her."

He whipped his phone out from his pocket and initiated the hunt. He dialed a number reserved for family business, bypassing standard channels and going straight to our underground mafia network.

"Capo Di Stefano, I need you and the other capos to do some research for me," Cassius ordered, his voice authoritative. "No, it's not for school. Well, it is... sort of. I want you to launch an exhaustive search. Ask around if anyone knows of an assault on an eighteen-year-old girl. Tall and slender with brown hair and blue-green eyes. If you find anything, and I mean anything, you tell me."

Cassius listened for a moment, his eyes flicking to me.

"No, Di Stefano, don't touch the culprits if you find them," Cassius explicitly commanded. "Dante will be the one exclusively in charge of their punishment."

Cassius hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket.

I watched the empty space where Sloane had disappeared. I smiled sinisterly. I would make them pay for what they did to her.