Hector Read Online Free PDF Page A

years. Any sense of self-worth Walter might have ever had, Hector
had a hand in beating it lifeless. Hector knew he’d never join the jerks he
hung out with in ganging up to beat on someone, but how were Walter and some of
the other weaklings that got picked on regularly supposed to know that? Of
course, they’d never fight back. Who would fight a group of overconfident
bullies that included a trained fighter among them?
    Hector waited for what seemed too long, but hell, he’d waited for
months. He could give this guy a few more minutes. He understood how Walter
could be so stunned. An apology from someone he considered to be one of his
bullies for so many years was probably the last thing Walter thought he’d ever
hear. Of course, he’d been stunned into silence.
    They both looked up as the noise from a public bus that turned
into the college campus parking lot distracted them momentarily. “I gotta go,”
Walter said. “That’s my ride.” He started toward the bus stop a few feet away
from them but stopped just before he got to in and turned to Hector, still
holding his side in obvious pain. “I always knew you weren’t like them.” The
bus pulled up behind Walter, and he began to turn around to get on but stopped
again one last time to face Hector. “Thanks, man.” For the first time that day,
Walter smirked and lifted his chin. “I really didn’t have a plan back there.”
    Hector smiled, laughing softly. “Yeah, I didn’t buy that shit for
a minute.”
    Walter smiled and got on the bus. Hector walked back toward the
main building, flexing his now-aching fist and feeling a bit bittersweet. He
finally got to say he was sorry, and it was good to know Walter never thought Hector
was like his jerk ex-friends. But Hector couldn’t help shake the feeling that
he had done Walter wrong and for way too long.

 

 
    Chapter 2
    More than a week after the whole Walter/Ross incident,
Charlee still couldn’t stop thinking about the guy that saved them. At first,
she kept shuddering at the thought of what might’ve happened if he hadn’t
showed up when he had. Then, as the days went by, she stopped shuddering and
started daydreaming.
    The only information she had on him was what little Walter offered.
His name was Hector, they’d gone to high school together, and he was an amateur
boxer at a boxing gym over in East L.A. That explained how he’d knocked out
Ross so easily. In her daydreams, Hector was now a superhero: a beautifully
tanned, perfectly sculpted specimen of a hero.
    What he said and did to her had become a little more elaborate
with each daydream she had. She figured she’d never see him again, so it didn’t
matter how ridiculous or naughty the dreams became. As far as she or Walter
knew, Hector didn’t attend East Side U. Walter hadn’t asked him, but neither
had he seen him on campus ever since. His being there at all that day was a
mystery to them both. Never in her life had she felt so distracted and all
because of a guy she got the pleasure of being in the presence of for about
five minutes.
    “Hello!” Drew waved her hand in front of Charlee’s face.
    Charlee snapped out of it and smiled sheepishly at her friend,
who held out a can of Red Bull for her. “What’s with you this week, girl?” Drew
smirked at first, and then a look of concern washed over her face. “Are you sure
you’re okay? Ever since what happened with that jerk Ross and his friends,
you’ve been a little weird.”
    Charlee shook her head, taking a sip of the much needed energy
drink. “I’m fine. I’ve just had some stuff on my mind lately: midterms. You
know that and the Jr. World Olympiad are coming up, soon.”
In an effort to avoid her inquisitive best friend asking more questions, she
tried changing the subject. “They’re having a knockout tournament this weekend
to replace Vladimir.” She then frowned, thinking about what she’d just said. “I
don’t think we’re gonna find anyone as good as he