Begin Again - Start All Over Differently

She chuckled at his taken aback self. "Just kidding. I told you, I like observing things, so I know."

"Let's head back. It's close to 9," he muttered after several seconds.

She turned her wrist on hearing him and her lavender leather watch showed 8.40 PM leading her to get panicked, almost rushing to the car, asking him to hurry up.

She was about to step in the car when a sharp stone hit her right knee and the force had it bend as she experienced a shooting pain. "Ah," she winced while grabbing the car's door to stabilize herself.

"Evelyn," Evan almost shouted as her pain-stricken face appeared before his eyes. He ran towards her. "What happened?" His gaze went down to the back of her knee that she was holding.

Before she could say anything, fast and unsteady footsteps fell in their ears and their heads automatically shifted to the direction they came from.

Evelyn's face paled as she watched three dogs running with their eyes holding such a prominent terror that her heart raced with them as she watched their white fur turned red with the blood.

A group of six-seven teenagers came following them, hurling abuses, picking stones from the bag one of them carried and hitting the dogs as brutally that it seemed that they intended to murder them.

"Stop." Evelyn limped with her hurt knee and stood in the middle of the road, blocking their way to reach the dogs. Her head turned back once to see the injured dogs who were tired. They fell on the road several steps away from her.

"Get out of the f.u.c.k.i.n.g way." A red-haired guy gritted his teeth as he stood in front of her. If he wanted he could have gone ahead. It was not like one petite girl could block the entire road but it was a matter of ego. How dare anyone stand between him and his prey?

"I won't let you hurt them," she said, glancing back at the dogs once before she faced the group again.

"Keep your f.u.c.k.i.n.g nose out of others' business," he roared, slamming the large wooden stick on the road.

"Are they your pets?" Evelyn asked, getting a hold on her voice that was beginning to get shaky as the timid, innocent dogs flashed in front of her eyes again and again. How could someone so mercilessly hurt innocent animals?

"Are they your pets?" she raised her voice when the other person didn't respond. Anger was rising inside her at the sick humans standing in front of her.

"No. No. No. Okay? Got your answer? Now, step aside." He kept hitting the stick on the ground as his patience was close to ending.

"Back off. Right now. Or else, I am calling the police."

The group looked at each other once they heard Evelyn and their sinister laughs spread in the air.

The guy who was speaking with Evelyn walked forward only to threaten her as he roamed around her in a circle. "Do you know who am I? I am Jack Daniel Armstrong. Do you know Daniel Armstrong? He is the police commissioner. Still wanna try your luck? Go ahead."

Meanwhile, another boy from the group jumped ahead, accompanying his friend in threatening Evelyn. "Are you deaf? Do you want to be one?" He stretched his hand to grab Evelyn and that was when Evan had to intervene.

"Do not dare." Evan's orotund voice had the guy pull his hand back as his attention shifted from Evelyn to Evan.

Evan would have let Evelyn fight what she was standing up for, by herself but just a while of hearing those boys and he knew - he couldn't let her be on her own.

Covering the distance between them, he stood beside Evelyn. He hadn't failed to catch the tiny bit of fear that shone in her eyes when that guy was about to touch her.

"Dude, we intend to cause no trouble to you. Just take your girlfriend away and teach her not to meddle in others' affairs."

Evan clenched his fist as he darted an intense stare at the boy who spoke up. He was the same one who was close to grabbing Evelyn. "Go back," he said in his tightened voice.

None of the boys moved even an inch.

"What did those dogs do to you?" Evan was trying his best to be patient for he wasn't alone. He had Evelyn with him and he didn't want to scare her with his anger, and what he could do if he lost his control.

"These are stray dogs. Keep spoiling the roads with their shits."

Evan let out a bitter chuckle. "So you are out to kill them? What are stray dogs, hmm? Stray dogs do not have homes. Do not have owners to take care of their shits but does that mean they should die? If you were an orphan, had nobody to take care of you, had no place to seek shelter at, and you had ended up spoiling the roads - do you think in that case, you deserved to die?"

"How dare you?" Another furious guy from the bunch stepped up, raising the iron rod in his hand to hit Evan but before it could touch Evan, Evelyn pushed her hand above Evan's head, letting it be the target.

"Ah." A loud shriek escaped her lips as the sharp corner of the rod went slicing the soft skin of her palm.

"Dylan..." Jack yelled as he ran forward and pulled away the rod in his hand.

It happened so quickly that Evan didn't even have time to register when did she put her hand in front of danger to save his head but when he did, he immediately took down her hand and seeing the blood oozing from her hand had him lose every bit of his sanity.

Pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket, he wrapped it around her palm before he turned to deal with the ones who had dared to hurt her.

His fiery gaze spotted the guy. He fisted his collar, clenched his right hand and went berserk as he began continuously punching the guy in his face.

Nobody from the group dared to step in to save their friend as Jack held all of them back.

"Evan," Evelyn called for him but he didn't seem in his senses. Her knee still hurt and she had to reach closer to him while limping.

Evan had lost it. His punches didn't stop. His mouth was quiet but his hands refused to stop. His raging eyes held different fury and aggression altogether.

Evelyn's uninjured hand rose to grab Evan's arm as she tried pulling him from that guy. "Stop it, Evan."

He did stop momentarily, only to glance at her once and when his eyes shifted to her bleeding palm, he was back to that guy with more intense punches.

It wasn't until Evelyn screamed his name and forcefully attempted to get him away, he stilled on his place and shifted his attention to her.

"Stop it." She squeezed his hand, as she dragged him a few steps distant. Her tone had softened and for several long seconds, her eyes were locked with his. Surprisingly, as if she almost hypnotized him, he calmed down.

Jack glared at Dylan before he walked up to Evelyn. Evan stepped in front of her instinctively, standing as a barrier between Evelyn and the supposed harm.

"Look, dude, I apologize on his behalf. We didn't mean to hurt her." Jack held up his hands in the air. He took a moment to look at Evelyn. "Sorry."

"You -" Evan's enraged voice ceased on being interrupted by Evelyn.

"Leave the dogs alone."

Evelyn hadn't expected it to make a real difference to them but once she found Jack nodding silently, she presumed he was genuinely feeling bad for her hand which was why he was choosing to leave. Regardless of the reason, she was glad.

Within the next few seconds, the group disappeared, leaving Evan and Evelyn alone.

"Why did you do that?" Evan turned to confront Evelyn who stood silent watching the way he was hurting from inside.

"I told you, all the stars around the moon might not care for him but some... undoubtedly do."