'maybe he probably wants some money' Dexter thought to himself, thinking that the stalker was a robber.
He reached his hand into his back pocket and brought out his wallet so he could give the stalker some cash.
Meanwhile, the strange man started walking fast toward Dexter.
"Yo! take this and leave me alone" Dexter voiced out, handing some cash to the strange man who was now standing close to his face.
His eyes shone when he got to see the strange man's face clearly. The strange man was wearing an eye patch covering his left eye. He had a roman shaped nose and his lips were chapped as if he had never applied lip balm on them. His face had a lot of wrinkles like he has aged a lot whereas he was just in his late twenties.
Dexter withdrew his hand and kept his money back in his pockets. He got the idea that this man wasn't following him for money but for something else.
"What's your problem man?" Dexter asked the strange man with squinted eyes not feeling intimidated by how the man was snarling at him.
"Stay away from Treasure, SHE'S MINE!!!" The strange man yelled and the next thing, he threw a heavy punch at Dexter's jaw.
Dexter staggered backward, holding his jaw. The punch came as a surprise and he was shocked.
"What the hell??" Dexter growled, looking at the strange man with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, the strange man was about to punch Dexter again but Dexter quickly dodged it and threw a punch at the strange man's jaw. After all, it seemed that throwing punches was the only language the strange man understands.
Moreover, the strange man didn't flinch or budge at all when Dexter threw the punch at him. It was as if Dexter's punch was like a breeze to him.
Dexter wiggled his wrist because his hand was hurting from the punch he threw at the strange man's hard face. He was shocked that the strange man didn't react to the punch rather, he was frowning at Dexter like he just added gasoline to a fire.
"Who the fuck are you??" Dexter yelled at the man.
"Stay away from Treasure, SHE'S MINE!!!" The strange man yelled at Dexter and punched him again.
Dexter's lip started bleeding and before he could do anything, the strange man kicked him hard on his stomach and Dexter fell to the ground, coughing out blood.
Dexter tried to speak up but he ended up gasping for air. His stomach was hurting so bad and he knew that there would be no one to help him since it was a quiet road people hardly walk by.
The strange man knelt in between Dexter and gripped his shirt with his left hand and delivered a hard blow to Dexter's temple with his right hand.
Dexter had no power to fight back. Even if he did, he was pretty small compared to this muscular weird guy who looks like he was going to kill Dexter with his bare hand.
"Stay away from Treasure!! She's mine!!!" The strange man yelled at Dexter's face, firmly gripping his jaw. Despite that, Dexter spat at the strange man's face disrespectfully, looking at him with rage in his eyes.
*pow*
Another heavy punch was delivered to Dexter from the strange man. He was so furious at the way Dexter was looking at him like his punches weren't going to change anything. He cleaned off the spit on his face with Dexter's shirt and threw another heavy punch at Dexter's temple and he started bleeding.
The strange man stood up from Dexter's body and started kicking him in the stomach regardless of how Dexter was coughing out blood.
The several punches and kicks Dexter was receiving from the strange man were enough to make Dexter pass out. The pain he felt all over his body was unbearable like he was hit by a bus.
The strange man was just too strong and Dexter was no match compared to him.
The strange man saw that Dexter was weak to the core and he left him lying on the street battered and bruised.
..
***Back to Anne and Carl on the balcony
"You were out of flour? You could've just given me Richie's pizza instead" Carl said to Anne.
"Wow! You're such a kindhearted brother" Anne replied sarcastically.
"YES I AM and I don't see why you're always on Richie's side" Carl rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me you're jealous of me and Richie's friendship" Anne said.
"So what?" Carl rolled his eyes.
Anne mentally chuckled.
She's starting to read Carl like a book and she knew that Carl was taking their playful argument seriously. He's sick of her always siding with Richie and acting more friendly to him.
"Okay, what if I make it up to you?" Anne suggested.
"You'll do that?" Carl asked her feeling skeptical and she nodded.
"Umm… how about instead of giving you a special box of pizza, you and I, attend Mr. Ross's birthday party together pretending like we're a couple," Anne said.
"You want us to pretend like we're a couple?" Carl asked her to be sure because he was surprised at what she had just said. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that.
Nevertheless, pretending to be Anne's boyfriend just for that day is definitely not an issue for Carl. He'll be by her side most of the time and he wouldn't have to pretend much because he loves her genuinely. Who knows, they might be a real couple after that day.
"You don't want that?" Anne asked, hoping for Carl to agree with her plan. She wanted to be close to him throughout the party.
"Yes… yes, I want that" Carl nodded his head and Anne mentally had a sigh of relief.
"It's a ballroom theme party so every man and woman close enough at the party would be labeled as a couple so what's the point of going as just friends?" Carl said, already feeling excited about the idea. He hopelessly can't wait.
"I'm just surprised you want to go with me... why?" He asked her.
"I want us to go together because I am always myself around you. I wouldn't have to fake being elegant to fit in amongst those classy people who would be there," Anne said.
"I'm happy to know that you're yourself when you're with me. It makes me feel so special" Carl smiled and suddenly, Anne's phone rang.
"Umm, just a second..." Anne said, and Carl nodded.
She brought out her phone and saw 'My little devil' on her phone screen calling her. That was Dexter.
"Hello, Dex..." Anne said after answering the call.
"WHAT?!?" Anne exclaimed loudly on the phone and Carl was shocked at Anne's reaction.
He knew something was wrong from the way her body was trembling like she has just heard some bad news.
"Whe… Where are you??... Alright, I'm coming to get you, just stay put okay?" Anne said in a shaky voice with her heart racing. She immediately turned to leave in a hurry without even glancing at Carl.
"Wait!!" Carl pulled her arm and she turned to face him.
"Please tell me what happened..." Carl said in a worried tone.
"My… my brother he.. he got attacked" Anne stuttered, still panicking at what she just heard on the phone.
Carl immediately became worried, he hoped that Dexter was alright. Seeing Anne this worried was troubling him but he has to keep cool.
"I'm coming with you, just let me get my car keys okay?" he said and she nodded.
...…..
At the hospital
Dexter was lying down on the hospital bed with Anne sitting by his side. He was on a drip to boost his strength and he had an adhesive bandage on his temple close to his eyebrows to cover up the wound he sustained from the beating he received from the man who attacked him.
"Luckily there are no internal injuries, he'll be discharged as soon as he completes the dosage of the drip. I have an ointment and prescribed drugs he'll need to take to fully recover" The doctor said positively to Anne and Carl.
"Thank you, Doctor, I'll see you for the drugs in a minute," Anne said to the doctor and he left the ward.
"How did you get beaten up like this? I told you not to take the shortcut home and you didn't listen!!" Anne scolded Dexter who had a nonchalant look on his face.
"Anne, he's already going through pain, and blaming him won't make any difference," Carl said to Anne trying to calm her down.
"mmmm" Dexter groaned trying to sit down erectly.
"No no no, just chill okay, just relax," Carl said gesturing his hands for Dexter to remain still on the bed.
"Prosecutor Carl I'm fine now, I just have a slight headache and my stomach hurts a little" Dexter said in a creaky voice, sitting down erectly.
Anne saw how pathetic her brother looked. His clothes were dirty from lying down on the bare floor of the streets and his jaw was a bit swollen.
Anne felt completely heartbroken seeing her brother in that state. She couldn't bear to see Dexter get hurt because he was the only family she has left and she loved him so much.
"Dexter do you have any idea how worried I was? What if something worse had happened to you huh? Even if you don't care about your well-being, at least think about me your sister who can't stand you being hurt." Anne said in a shaky voice.
Carl saw the pain and worriedness in Anne's eyes toward Dexter and he confirmed that she was an emotional person even though she tries to act tough sometimes. He understood that Anne loves her brother so much and she was only scared of losing him.
"Anne, I'm sorry you got worried okay? I'm fine and that's what matters... Now stop embarrassing me in front of my boss" Dexter said and Carl chuckled.
"Come here" Anne muttered, spreading her arms to hug Dexter and they both hugged.
"I love you so much," She said, hugging Dexter tight.
"Careful!! Ow, my ribs..." Dexter groans softly.
"I'm sorry..." Anne said, pulling from the hug.
"I'm sorry to ruin the beautiful family moment but uh... Dexter, could you tell us how you got attacked and who attacked you?" Carl asked Dexter. He has been wondering to himself who would attack Dexter to the point that he was hospitalized.
"It was a weird-looking man, not too tall but well-built. He was dressed in all black and he was putting on a cap but I still got to see his face clearly. He was wearing an eye patch and gosh he was so hideous…" Dexter said.
"Was he a robber who was after your money or..." Carl said.
"...that's exactly what I thought," Dexter chimed in. "He was stalking me and I had to take the shortcut to avoid him but he followed me still... He walked up to me and started yelling at me and beating me up like a maniac." He sighed.
"He left me almost unconscious and that was when I managed to reach out for my phone to call you" Dexter turned to face Anne who was also paying attention to him.
"You said he was yelling at you, what were the exact things he was saying?" Carl asked Dexter in a serious tone.
Being a prosecutor, Carl knew the key questions to ask a victim that could serve as a clue to tracing a criminal.
"Umm... I don't remember" Dexter lied.
There was no way Dexter forgot what the strange man said because he kept on repeating the words 'stay away from Treasure'.
He lied because he knew that Anne was going to freak out if she found out that he was beaten up badly because of a girl.