Chapter 203 Invest in Me
On the side of the road, a few folks with wild, colorful hair were chasing someone, swinging iron rods.
Tristan pulled over and caught a glimpse of them vanishing at the end of the alley.
He quickly stopped Katniss, who was about to run after them. "Hold up, don't be rash."
Those guys had weapons. Saving Aaron wouldn't be a walk in the park, and he needed to keep Katniss safe.
"The police station's just around the corner from the school. Go get help now. I'll stay in touch. Just bring them over." He said calmly, already sharing his location with Katniss on his phone.
Seeing her hesitate, he barked, "What are you waiting for? Go, now!"
"Okay." Katniss instinctively followed his orders, sprinting towards the school. It took her almost two minutes to get there, even though it was just a short drive away.
She flagged down a few on-duty cops, explaining the situation as she ran. A group of them hurriedly crossed two streets and stopped at the alley entrance.
"The police are here, stop!" Katniss's heart was pounding, her mind racing with images of Tristan fighting off a gang to protect Aaron.
She couldn't help but worry that Tristan might have gotten hurt.
But when she looked closer, she saw a bunch of people sprawled out in the alley and Tristan leaning against the wall, smoking.
His shirt was a bit dirty, but it didn't take away from his commanding presence. Next to him stood a shaken Aaron.
Hearing the commotion, both of them looked up. Tristan took one last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out, and tossed it into a trash can before walking over to Katniss.
The cop behind Katniss asked, "Miss, which one of these people do you want to report?"
The officers' eyes were on the group lying on the ground—they didn't look like the good guys.
But the look in their eyes said it all: those thugs had been beaten badly, and the man walking towards them was even more intimidating.
"I..." Katniss pointed to the people on the ground. "They were beating up my student. My boyfriend was rescuing him, don't get the wrong idea."
As she spoke, Tristan had already reached her side. She leaned in and whispered, "If you could handle it, why did you make me call the cops?"
"I can handle it when you're not here. When you are, it's a different story." Tristan said seriously, "We're not in the wrong. What are you afraid of?"
If any thug had laid a hand on Katniss, it would have been like hitting his weak spot.
Seeing Katniss's sour expression, Tristan raised an eyebrow and started explaining the situation to the cops.
Katniss wasn't worried about being in trouble; she just felt tense around the police since she'd been dealing with them a lot lately.
With Tristan handling the cops, she turned her attention to Aaron.
She hadn't seen him in a week. His hair was longer, he was filthy, and his usually handsome face was bruised and dirty.
"What happened to you?" Katniss pulled a wet wipe from her bag and started cleaning his face. He winced when she touched a wound.
Finally, Aaron couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the wipe, cleaning his face himself. He glared at Katniss, annoyed. "It's all because you came too late!"
She seemed to get it, but the police needed Aaron to give a statement, so she and Tristan had to take him to the station.
By the time they left, it was past 1 p.m. Tristan took Katniss and Aaron to a restaurant for lunch.
He focused on taking care of Katniss, ordering all her favorite dishes.
Meanwhile, Katniss was trying to figure out how to talk to Aaron.
But Aaron beat her to it.
"Did you come here to find me?" Aaron asked.
Katniss nodded, "Yeah, we were about to leave when we didn't see you at the school gate."
As soon as she finished, Aaron got furious. "Donna saw me here on Monday. It's already Friday, and you're just now coming to find me! Don't you think it's too late?"
"Too late?" Tristan's voice was cold and sharp. "You're not dead yet, are you?"
His icy tone, mixed with irritation, made Aaron realize that arguing with Katniss in front of Tristan was a bad idea.
"You showed up at the school gate, letting Donna see you, knowing I'd come to find you?" Katniss asked Aaron.
Aaron looked uneasy, avoiding Tristan's gaze. He turned his head and said, "I didn't plan it, but when I left home, I had two choices: a dead end or waiting for you to come find me and take me home."
"Take you home?" Katniss's voice rose. She glanced at Tristan, who narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow at Aaron.
"You're not going back to your sister's place, so what home are you talking about with us?" Tristan said sternly.
Aaron replied without hesitation, "She's not my sister. I've cut ties with her!"
His firm tone made the atmosphere in the room instantly awkward.
The waiter brought the dishes, set them on the table, and left, closing the door behind him. Aaron, starving, didn't bother with manners and started devouring the food with his knife and fork.
"Slow down," Katniss handed him a napkin but didn't push the topic of Aaron wanting to go home with her.
With Eudora as his sister, it wasn't really Katniss's place to take Aaron in.
She had come today to persuade Aaron to return to Eudora, but his words left her unsure of what to say next.
"Have some soup," Tristan served her a bowl and also dished out some food for her, signaling her to eat.
Katniss sipped the soup slowly, thinking about how to continue the conversation with Aaron.
The only sounds in the room were the clinking of bowls and spoons. Tristan finished eating first and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, lighting a cigarette.
A gentle breeze blew in through the half-open window. Katniss put down her knife and fork and casually tied her long hair with the hair tie on her wrist.
Then she spoke, "Legally, Eudora is your sister. In reality, she's your only blood relative. She might be ambitious or have a bad temper, but she won't harm you. It's not right for you to come home with me."
"Then I won't go home with you," Aaron said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and looking at her seriously. "You don't need to persuade me. I won't go back to her."
"Then what do you plan to do?" Tristan turned his head, his gaze fixed on Aaron. "Keep drifting aimlessly until who knows when?"
Aaron was silent for a moment, his face a mask of uncertainty. "Would you consider investing in me?"
Katniss and Tristan responded with silence, waiting for him to elaborate because "investing" was too vague.
"Give me a place to stay, tutor me daily, and get me into the best high school. Invest in me for three years, I will repay you back once I'm in college!" Aaron's beautiful eyes looked at them earnestly.
He still wanted to study. Katniss was relieved and even more determined to steer him back on the right path.
But if Aaron were alone, she would have agreed to this kind of investment without hesitation.
"I have no sibling relationship with Eudora; we're worse than strangers. If you don't want to waste your time and energy on me, that's fine. We have no relationship anyway, and I won't blame you. But don't think about reconciling me with her." Aaron put one foot on the chair leg, speaking nonchalantly with his head down. "I don't have much time. Think it over. If you agree, I'll go with you. If not, I'll leave, and you won't have to look for me again."
"Stop playing the victim," Katniss saw through his attempt to gain sympathy, though he didn't show it too obviously.
Aaron looked sullen and cautiously glanced at Tristan. He knew Katniss was soft-hearted, but Tristan was a 'tough guy.'
He was intimidated by Tristan, who stood motionless, seemingly unaffected by his words, making Aaron feel increasingly dejected.
Katniss stood up and said, "Whether it's right or wrong, taking you home without permission is inappropriate. You can come with me, but I will definitely inform Eudora that you're with me. If she comes looking for you, how you handle your relationship with her is entirely up to you."
As she finished speaking, Aaron smiled, "Okay, I'll handle things with Eudora myself."
Finally, both of them looked at Tristan. Katniss was asking: She had accepted him, but where would he stay?
Would Tristan mind if he stayed at Whispering Pines Estate?
Aaron worried that Tristan would outright refuse. He quickly said, "I'll stay anywhere! Don't you have a storage room at Whispering Pines Estate? I promise to stay out of your way as much as possible, especially at night."
"Get lost," Tristan cursed angrily, stubbing out his cigarette and tossing it into the trash can. He glanced at Aaron, something flickering in his eyes.
"The house is spacious enough; there's no need to rent a place. Whether he can repay us in the future is uncertain." With that, he walked over to Katniss, holding her bag. "I'll take you to the education center first, then take him home."
Katniss had been very busy with work lately, and any delay now would mean getting home later in the evening.
Aaron quickly stood up and followed them, grinning when they couldn't see.
It was past lunchtime, the nearly empty restaurant entrance made the three of them, especially the filthy Aaron, stand out as they walked out. Eudora, sitting in her car, spotted them immediately, her eyes darkening as she watched them leave.
She pursed her lips and, after a long while, made a phone call. "I'll send you an address. You can find my brother there. If he owes you money, you can ask the people there for it."
"Your brother got several of my guys arrested. How do I know you're not setting me up with the cops?" The person on the other end sounded angry.
Eudora's voice was icy. "I'm not as bad as you think. After all, he owes you money. Do as I say, and even if the police show up, they won't be able to do anything to you."
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