Page 20 of Hatter

Despite my words, I had to admit his gesture left me feeling deeply touched. No one had done anything like this for me before.

“Consider it a gift,” he replied simply, his voice low but warm. “I noticed you borrowed some books from Absolem and didn’t seem to like them much. I thought this way you could download as many as you wanted of your favorite authors or genres. They also said you could download some basic art programs to it.”

“Thank you,” I said genuinely, feeling a flutter in my chest. Hatter’s protective nature had always been apparent, but this act of kindness went beyond that -- it showed he truly cared about my happiness and well-being. When he did things like this, I fell for him a little more. He’d mentioned before that he wanted me to be his. It still felt like maybe it was too soon, and yet, the longer I was here, the more I was tempted to say yes.

“Anything for you, Jo.” The intensity of his gaze sent shivers down my spine, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to belong to him in every way. My cheeks warmed at the thought. Yeah, I had a feeling I’d be giving in to him soon. He’d been so patient and understanding.

“Hey, Hatter! You going to join our drawing session?” Rabbit asked, breaking the spell between us.

“Maybe next time,” Hatter replied, his eyes never leaving mine. With a final nod, he turned and walked away, leaving me with my new tablet and a racing heart.

In the other room, I could hear the low hum of voices. I knew they were discussing Eddie, my abusive ex-boyfriend, and how to handle him for good. Hatter had been careful to keep me out of it, shielding me from the danger of my past that followed me like a shadow. Instead of feeling offended, I was grateful to him. I knew he wasn’t keeping me in the dark because he thought I couldn’t handle it, but simply because he wanted to be my knight in shining armor. Some women would be offended by his behavior. I wasn’t.

I sat at the kitchen table, trying to focus on the sketch in front of me -- a mouse bathing in a cup of hot tea -- instead of the tension that seemed to cling to every corner of the clubhouse right now. My hand moved with deliberate precision as I captured the delicate details of the mouse’s fur and the steam rising from the tea. The world around me faded away, replaced by the strokes of my pencil.

“What are you working on there, Jo?” Rabbit’s voice pulled me back into reality.

“Nothing important,” I said, glancing up at him briefly before refocusing on my drawing. Truth be told, everything I’d drawn had been related to Underland in some way. Take this mouse, for instance… I wouldn’t exactly say it was the dormouse, but it could be.

“Looks pretty damn good to me,” Rabbit commented, peering over at my sketch. “You’ve got talent.”

“Thanks.” I felt like I was being rude. Normally, I’d have talked more. Right now, I was more worried about my growing feelings for Hatter, and how I should handle them.

“Hey, don’t worry about them,” Rabbit said softly, following my gaze toward the door. “Hatter knows what he’s doing.”

I nodded, letting him think that’s what I was worried about. Better than admitting I was terrified of falling in love with his club president.

“Trust me. We’ve all got each other’s backs here. No one goes down without a fight,” Rabbit added, patting my shoulder reassuringly.

“Thanks, Rabbit,” I said, forcing a small smile. I hoped he’d drop it, since he wasn’t even on the right path. Just the same, I wasn’t ready to admit I had feelings for Hatter. I barely wanted to acknowledge it myself. The thought of taking a chance again terrified me. Deep down, I knew he was nothing like Eddie. But then the little voice in my head would whisper, reminding me how nice Eddie had been in the beginning too, until I’d agreed to be his girlfriend. It was wrong to paint Hatter with the same brush, and I knew it, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to be overly cautious.

Returning to my drawing, I lost myself once more in the intricate details of the mouse and the cup of tea. The pencil scratched against the paper, lines forming and melding together, creating a world where danger and pain were far away. Not to mention my love life, or lack thereof.

My pencil glided effortlessly across the paper, capturing the whimsical characteristics of the tiny mouse. As an afterthought, I included a small top hat for him. Now he really looked like he belonged at the Mad Hatter’s tea party!

“Hey,” Hatter said, entering the room again. Was his meeting already over? He leaned down and stared at my page. “That’s really good, Jo.”

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I studied the page, looking for flaws, or spots I could have put in more detail or shading.

“What inspired you to draw that?” Hatter asked, nodding toward the sketch.

I hesitated for a moment before answering. “Well, I was thinking about the club and how it’s called Underland MC. It reminded me of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, so I thought I’d do something whimsical like this.” My voice trailed off as I glanced back down at the drawing, feeling a little self-conscious. He hadn’t seen all my drawings. This mouse was only one of many. I’d drawn the Cheshire cat up in a tree. The caterpillar Absolem smoking on top of a mushroom. The Mad Hatter and March Hare having tea. I’d even made a drawing of the Red Queen and the Knave of Hearts. Although, the club didn’t have a Red Queen, and I certainly didn’t fit the description.

“Ah, I see. We named it Underland because we all felt like we fell down a rabbit hole after becoming civilians again. Except, unlike Alice, I wasn’t sure we’d have a lot of good times and adventures ahead of us. Time has proven me wrong.”

The dim kitchen light cast shadows on the walls as I leaned back in my chair, my eyes locked with Hatter’s. The air between us seemed to thicken, charged with an intensity that made it hard to breathe.

“Jo,” Hatter began quietly, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my composure as my heart raced in anticipation.

“Ever since you came here,” he said, his eyes searching mine for any sign of discomfort, “I’ve been drawn to you. There was something about your spirit and your strength that called to me. I knew we both carried our own scars, but I couldn’t help but want to be there for you -- to protect you and care for you.”

His words stirred something deep within me, awakening a longing I had buried beneath layers of pain and fear. I hesitated, unsure of how to respond, yet feeling an undeniable pull toward him.

“Your desire to watch over me meant so much, Hatter,” I admitted softly, feeling vulnerable under his intense gaze. “And I… I felt drawn to you too. There was a connection between us that I couldn’t explain, but it scared me because I didn’t know what it meant.”

“Neither did I,” Hatter confessed, his hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair from my face. “But I’m willing to explore it with you if you’d let me.”

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