If Rhett pissed off the wrong guy with Raquel here, I swear to God…
He grew nervous. “Some douche dressed like he just left an Abercrombie shoot. A few friends. They have a bat.”
My jaw clenched.
He was sweating now. “Said he wanted the ‘Pierce pricks’ to meet him in the front yard?”
Aiden.
Ryder cursed. He suddenly looked very sober. “Christ, Roman. Who did you two piss off now?”
My brows shot up. “Why is it automatically me?”
He laughed, amused as he looked around. “Like someone is looking for me. It’s you two, it’s always you two!”
He was standing dangerously close to me for him. Because he knew I could easily take him. And I was feeling murderous tonight knowing Raquel’s ex was at my house. Don’t push it, brother.
“Back the fuck up, Ryder.” I shoved him back. Not hard, but enough to know I was serious. “Save it for the guy out there.”
I grabbed Raquel’s hand again. Her eyes were wild, dancing across my face. “Go up to my room. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Like hell,” she started off before me. “There’s a guy out there with a bat, and I have a feeling I know who.”
I ran a hand down my face, watching her storm off into enemy lines.
I fucking hate parties.
I crossed through the gate on the side of the garage, not slowing down when I heard Roman call after me. If Aiden is here to hurt Roman, because of me, he’s going to be met by my wrath.
As I hooked a right, nearing the front yard, my blood boiled.
There stood my dickhead of an ex-boyfriend, a guy I once thought was a decent person, surrounded by his football friends. My eyes narrowed in on the guy to his left, gripping a bat in his hand.
Aiden saw me, his eyes widened, lips pressed in a thin line. His head dropped, and after shaking it a few times, he lifted it and met my glare.
A stranger was standing in front of me now.
I smirked.
There he was. The angry boy I’d seen last time at Roman’s. Not the guy he’d been pretending to be his whole life.
“He sent you out here for him?” Aiden grinned, looking back at his friends for support. An awkward chorus of laughter filled the space between us.
I closed the gap, standing only a foot away from him now. The boy I grew up with. What a fucking waste.
I wanted to roll my eyes at that comment. Did he seriously think Roman was scared of him?
“No one sent me out here. I wanted to see you for myself,” I sneered.
He scoffed. “This is payback.” He looked over my shoulder, nodding his head in the direction he was looking. I didn’t need to turn to know Roman was standing right behind me. “He started it.”
I shook my head, angrily. I saw red. “You came here first, Aiden. You were an asshole to me. You tried to fight him. And then all the shit with Emily? You’re really going to stand here and tell me you didn’t start this?”
His grin vanished. “He really got to you, didn’t he?”
“This isn’t about him. This is about you.” I closed the gap between us. My hands balled into fists, clenching, and unclenching at my side. “You were supposed to be good. But you’re not now, you’re different.”
I blinked back tears as I looked up at him, trying to see the old him in there. He was out of my life for good after this, but I needed to know that one day, he’d be okay. He’d be the guy I thought I knew.
But instead, I saw a blank face. Anger flared behind his eyes.
He leaned in, six inches from my face now. I could hear his heartbeat, or maybe that way mine, fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird.
“And you weren’t supposed to be a whore.”
The crowd hushed.
I reacted.
Before I could think, I sent my fist flying. When it connected to his face, he looked more stunned than hurt.
I kept on.
Fuck him.
He deserved anything I gave him.
I shoved his chest and he stumbled back.
“You came here for a fight. Let’s go, Aiden.” I pushed him again, each time he stumbled back, I went with him.
His guys had parted, letting him pass. Unsure of what to do.
“Did you think I’d lay down and take it?” I screamed at him.
He glanced behind me, and I knew what that meant. This was my only chance. I rushed forward, slamming my shoulder into his stomach. I didn’t stop until he was on the ground.
I was throwing a punch at him.
Someone was screaming.
I was lifted off of Aiden, kicking and yelling, and was thrown over someone’s shoulder as they stalked in the direction of the side yard by the garage.
I was placed down, and I immediately tried to run again. But a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, holding me back.
“Breathe.”
Roman.
Jesus.
Fuck.
I couldn’t focus on anything. Just the blaring anger that took root in my head, blinding my reasoning.
I brought my hands to my face, burrowing into them.
“Breathe,” he repeated.
I did. I was fucking breathing. Hard and fast. Maybe that was the problem, I didn’t want to breathe anymore.
Tears streamed down my face, but I refused to show him.
Aiden. My chest constricted. A thousand fists clenched my heart and bled it dry.
I thought we would be friends again one day. He used to be so important to me. Did I do that to him? Or was he always that way?
Another panic shot through me.
I punched him.
No, I attacked him.
In front of people.
“Raquel, breathe.”
“I don’t want to,” I choked out a sob.
He pulled my hands away from my face. “What he did isn’t on you. Don’t let your head go there.”
“Isn’t it?” I sniffled.
He shook his head, his jaw clenched tighter. “You’re good, Raquel.”
“I was horrible to him.”
His hands were cupping my face now, forcing me to look at him.
I mean, I wasn’t protesting. With those full lips, strong jawline, chiseled cheekbones, and smoldering eyes, it’s not like my eyeballs were dying to stare at anything else.
But I was stripped bare. He could see every square inch of my soul, and I didn’t know if he’d like what he found there.
“You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction.”
My eyes clamped shut. “And I just attacked him.”
He tapped my cheek and I looked up at him. His lips curved into a smile. “Not yours. His. There is nothing in this world that you could do to me to get me to speak to you like that. I may show up to your ex’s house because he hurt you. I’ll probably do a lot of dumb shit,” his smile was sad. “But I promise you, if you end it with me, my ego won’t be bruised. Not like that asshat. I’ll think ‘good for her, she finally realized she was better than me.” He laughed.
He stroked my cheek, swiping another tear that fell.
“Then why did you pull me off of him?”
His face grew serious again. “If he’d touched you, even trying to get you to stop hitting him, I would’ve killed him on my front lawn with a bunch of assholes videoing it.”
It felt like I’d swallowed a rock.
I hated that I was the center of this drama. When we went back to school on Monday, I’d be the girl that swung on her ex-boyfriend because he showed up at the current guy’s house.
Shit. Maybe Aiden was right.
What have I done?
I leaned up, and his hands dropped to my knees. I’d been gripping my legs so tight; I was sure I’d have a bruise.
Someone cleared their throat. We jerked our heads in unison. Roman was poised and ready to strike anyone who interrupted us.
/> I squinted. That face is familiar.
“Hi, uh,” she said, looking behind her before swinging her gaze back to us. “So, it’s kind of getting bad out there and that guy wants you. I can sit with Raquel for a minute?”
She was looking at Roman for an answer.
But he looked at me.
I just nodded.
He pressed a kiss on my forehead, lingering for a beat. “I’ll be back. Please stay here.”
“I will. Promise.”
And then he was off. He stared at the girl for a second before he turned the corner. She looked frazzled, but she brushed it off and crouched beside me.
“I’m Poppy. I don’t know if you remember. I see you all the time at school, and ran into you today,” she explained.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“I’m so sorry,” she looked uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I knew he wouldn’t leave you, and that guy wasn’t going anywhere until he saw Roman, so I thought this was a good idea.”
She was word vomiting. Awkward. I spoke that language sometimes.
“Thank you.”
I stared into space, dissecting her words in my scattered brain.
“Is he going to be okay out there?” I asked, looking at her.
“Oh, yeah there’s a ton of guys here for Roman, and” she looked over her shoulder before leaning in. “Someone called Rhett.”
Oh no.
On cue, tires screeched, and headlights spilled into the yard.
I stood up, shielding my eyes from the lights.
The door to an expensive sports car popped open, and the oldest of the Pierce boys stepped out. I shivered as I took in his scowl, even from yards away. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of that.
He wore all black, and when he reached behind his back, someone had knocked the air out of my lungs.
The shiny revolver glinted in the moonlight, and a hush fell over the party.
“You fuckers have exactly three seconds to scatter before I start shooting,” Rhett yelled.
And all hell broke loose. Everyone was shouting at once.
“He wouldn’t actually do that, would he?”
“Do you want to find out?”
“RUN!”
Poppy and I shared a look. She didn’t look at all surprised, which didn’t relax the knot in my stomach.
“They’re running,” she said, sighing a breath of relief. “He’s gonna shoot.”
My eyebrow arched.
Slow down. What?
Does he usually shoot? Had she seen this? I didn’t have time to answer because a shadow danced across the yard as someone came closer. I snapped my head to attention.
Roman was jogging over to me now. He was favoring a hand, I glanced down, seeing split knuckles, and I decided not to ask. A person could only see so much before they passed out. I think I was nearing that limit.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
Rhett was walking up; I could see him over Roman’s shoulder. I tensed, bracing for whatever was about to come out of this mouth.
I haven’t seen him since he practically force fed a Molly down my throat.
“You think you can have a party and not invite me?” He laughed, clapping Roman’s shoulder.
The cavalry had arrived.
And I guess I was just thankful his gun was hidden now.
Raquel wasn’t okay. I guess I’d be more concerned if she was though. There were only a few people left now. A gun tends to run people off.
One of those people was that Poppy chick from school. I knew of her, but nothing stood out. She wasn’t in sports; she wasn’t super smart. I don’t even know if she had friends. I did know she wasn’t an asshole and that’s why I was okay with leaving Raquel with her.
After a few minutes of small talk, I told everyone we were going to my room. She hadn’t said a word. Just followed behind me.
In fact, I don’t think she’s said anything the entire time we were downstairs. I pulled her in my lap, and she listened as everyone spoke around her. My eyes were glued to her, trying to dissect the silence.
It was nights like this, and the one I’d told her we were in a stolen car, and she had a panic attack, that I remembered she wasn’t used to this world.
It might make me an asshole, but I’m too selfish to let her walk away.
When she fell on my bed and crawled up to rest against my headboard, I took a seat on the edge giving her the space I thought she needed.
All night, I had kept calm. I didn’t even confront Rhett like I wanted to when I saw him again. I didn’t bring the incident up because I didn’t want to trigger her, but now I was dying to know what was going on in her head.
“Tell me what you’re thinking?” I demanded of her.
Her eyes seared into mine. “I hate that I’m the cause of all this.”
She had to be insane to think that. Every bad thing that happened since she’d come into my life had been my fault. I leaned closer to her, hoping to drive the point home.
“No. Don’t think like that.”
Her head fell back against the headboard, and she stared into space. “You don’t have to protect my feelings. I’m the common denominator here. If I wouldn’t have been at your house, Aiden wouldn’t have showed up, and you would’ve never met.”
I shook my head. “After he pulled that shit with Emily, I would’ve found him.”
“That would’ve still been on me,” her voice was void of every emotion. She was just blank.
I slid up next to her, leaning against the headboard too. I took her hand in mine and laced our fingers together.
“When are you going to get it through your head? Your shit is mine now. I won’t let you go through it alone. Whether that’s Aiden or anyone else, they have to get through me first.”
She looked at me, her eyes searching my face. “Why?”
“Fuck if I know,” I said, honestly. “The world is less shitty when you’re around.”
Her lips turned up in a small smile. “It’s the same for me, too.”
She rested her head on my shoulder, letting out a deep sigh, she shifted and let all her weight fall on me.
Whatever this thing was between us, it was heavy. I’d never had a girlfriend; I had never cared to. I know Raquel was with that douche, but it was different with me. I could tell. Even when she didn’t say anything.
And I didn’t want to ruin whatever we had by putting it into words. So, I just tried to show her, and I hoped like hell one day it would be enough. Because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell her how I feel about her. Not when I don’t understand it myself.
When she hurts, I’m raging, determined to stop the source of her pain.
If a guy is around her, I want to yank her up and claim her as my own.
I want to spend every fucking second with her. Buried in her.
I demand to have all of her laughs, to make her enemies pay, and fuck, I just want her.
Yeah, I can’t tell her that.
We’d been quietly sitting next to each other, both trapped in our brains, when her breathing evened out. I might regret it later if her grandma shows up at my doorstep, but I tucked my arms under her hand and the back of her knees and slid her further into my bed. Where she belonged.
I climbed in next to her, throwing my arm around her waist, I pulled her close. Tomorrow, I’d apologize for my asshole of a brother, my clusterfuck of a life, and reassure her that her ex wasn’t her issue. Hell, I’d deal with her family if they gave her shit.
But for tonight, I’m just going to hold this girl. Because I think I like her more than I want to let myself admit.
My alarm was blaring in the distance, I started slapping around beside me, waiting to find the source.
My hand connected to skin, and my lips tugged in a smile.
Raquel.
“Roman! Come on, we’re gonna be late.”
I cracked an eye open. She was crossing the room, still in last night’s clothes. The walk of shame, without anything shameful happening. My lips twitched, but I pushed up.
I tugged a pair of jeans on, found a shirt, and some converse before jogging after her. She was down the stairs, so I took them two by two, trying to keep up with her.
She entered the kitchen a few steps ahead of me. I was scanning the house, making sure we didn’t have any stragglers left behind from last night. No one; I relaxed a little.
“Hey Rocki!” Ryder said in an annoying ass accent. I cringed, knowing that name had extra push to send her over, and I really didn’t want to bring up the fight until she did.
Raquel stopped in front of the Keurig, popping a pod inside, she shoved a mug under and pushed the button.
“I loathe that name,” she clipped out.
Ryder’s gaze swung to me, and I shook my head. “You’d probably kick his ass anyway,” he said, throwing her a smile.
“This has been weird,” she said, looking at me again. “I need to change clothes.”
Patting down my pockets, I found the fob to the Rover and tossed them at her. “Ryder will drop me off.”
“You sure?”
Her brows were knitted together, staring between me and the key as if I’d grown another head.
“Yeah. Want your coffee?” I asked, nodding to the Keurig.
“Shit,” she brought her hand to her forehead. “To go cup?”
I reached in the cabinet, finding an insulated cup. I pulled the lid off, poured the coffee in and added a creamer before handing it to her.
Her hand lingered on mine when she took it. Her eyes were swimming as a smile formed on her face. “Thank you.”
I didn’t ask, and I sure as fuck didn’t care if my brother was there, before I planted a kiss on her lips.
I wrapped my hand around her waist, pulling her closer. Her mouth opened, and my tongue teased hers. She stepped back, breaking the kiss. The blood rushing to her cheeks was a dead giveaway that it had affected her.
“Call if you need me?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
“See you at school.”
She took a few steps back, shooting a wave at Ryder before being swallowed into the gigantic house.
Dare Me: The Pierce Boys of Georgia, Book One Page 16