by Eden O'Neill
“No, son. No.” He put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing. “I told you. I would have—”
“But you left the decision up to me!” I forced his hand off me. I put mine to my chest. “I would have made the call. I would have killed my own mom and thought I was saving her by taking her out of that fucking darkness she’s been in for over half my life.”
More emotion, more fear in his eyes. His swallow was hard. “Knight—”
“I can’t believe Greer was right.”
“Greer? Greer who? Greer Michaelson? That little girl whose mother used to work for us? What does she have to do with anything—”
“Stop the car!” I cut him off when I rose my hand, the car still moving. “Stop the fucking car or I’m getting out in the middle of traffic.”
“Stop the car, Nigel. Damn you.” It screeched to a stop after my grandpa’s call, and upon me getting out, Grandfather opened his door as well.
I looked back, and I saw him standing by the sedan, starting to come after me along the side of the street. We’d stopped in the middle of city traffic, cars honking around us, but my attention was divided, on my phone. I was getting my legal shit together like Royal said. I needed to get my mom completely out of my grandpa’s fucking care.
“Knight!”
I turned back, and I saw his hand on his chest, no longer able to come after me. Nigel hurried to him, but Grandfather pushed him off him. “I’m fine, Nigel. Knight, come back. Please! You have to understand, son. I did what I thought was best for you!”
Well, his best wasn’t mine, his best put me in a category of a lot of shit I tried so fucking hard not to be. Greer was right about something else in the end. I’d failed my father…
But I’d failed my mom worse.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Greer
I sat on the kitchen counter at Mom and Ben’s house, peering on while Mom cooked dinner for Ben and me. We weren’t able to do any of our takeout nights recently due to both Ben and her being out of work, and though they did both get severance pay, it’d only last so long. Ben was currently out on interviews now for police work in other counties. Either way, we’d all probably have to move after term completed for me. My housing package throughout the rest of the year wouldn’t mean much if I couldn’t pay for school, and though I’d looked into scholarships and grants, those wouldn’t be divvied out until the next academic year. Knight and his bullshit had screwed both my family and me again, and not only had I let him do it, I’d been the reason why. He’d been mad at me, me and my meddling that probably hadn’t even been valid. He knew his mom’s situation far greater than I did, so what gall did I have to actually get involved? Not much, and a career in anything that currently involved a degree seemed to be pretty damn far out of reach these days.
Mom frowned at me from the skillet, and because I knew she didn’t like when I sat on the counter, I got off, lounging a hip against the kitchen counter instead to shuck corn. I tossed the husk in the trash. “This is a mess. You can’t fight this?”
I’d more than explained how screwed up it’d been to not only fire them both, but on such late notice. They’d had jobs one day, then the next—gone, and that was completely fucked. The university had no right do that.
“Tides change, bug. You move with them or get crushed by the waves.” Mom pressed the three burgers with her spatula, way too calm about Ben’s and her current situation. She shook her head. “What’s done is done.”
I wanted her to fight for herself, do something, but what right did I have to demand that? I’d gotten them both fired in the first place, something I’d kept close to the cuff due to nothing but my own guilt. Even still, the fact couldn’t be denied that the Reeds felt they were gods when they came to our lives. Had for a decade now. “Knight and his grandfather are assholes.”
The university had told Mom and Ben they’d been let go due to budget cuts, but I knew the truth and I did tell him the Reeds had pulled their funding. Mom and Ben, of course, had passed that off, saying there was no direct correlation, but of course, I knew the truth.
Mom tsked. “When will you stop blaming that boy for getting your stepdad and me fired? And what happened? I thought you two…”
Her words drifted off, and I swallowed. The moment Knight and his grandpa’s role in their firing came out my mouth Mom knew something was up, up between Knight and me…
She’d just been too nice to ask about it.
She’d at least put two and two together that absolutely nothing was going on between Knight Reed and me. At least not anymore.
“It doesn’t matter what the Reeds do with their money,” Mom continued. “And even if that was the reason, what the university does is on the university. I don’t blame the Reeds, and if I could blame them, I wouldn’t. It’s their money to do with what they wish, and I’d have no right.”
How could she stand there and say that? How could she keep defending the Reeds time and time again? I didn’t understand—at all. Knight sat at her table, ate her and Ben’s food, and still, she wasn’t upset.
“That’s all a joke.”
“What is?”
Fuck, she’d heard me. I’d meant to say it under my breath. I shook my head. “Nothing, Mom.”
“No ‘nothing, Mom.’” She flipped the burgers, stepping away from the skillet, then wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “What is a joke?”
“It’s just like, the Reeds can do no wrong in your eyes. Knight can do no wrong.”
“Why would you say that? Is this about all that stuff when you guys were kids?” Sighing, she pulled a veil of her hair out of her face. “That boy is not at fault for me losing my job.”
“How so?” I dropped corn in a bowl. “The guy goes crazy, kills a dog at like eleven. I mean, who does that? He’s crazy. Even then. Then there’s Mr. Reed. He swept what happened under the rug to save face for what his crazy grandson did.” I groaned. “He kicked us out, tossed us out on the street, and we lived in our car, Mom!”
“That’s not what happened, and yes, we lived in our car but that was not an eleven-year-old boy’s fault, and he’s not crazy. Don’t call him that.”
“What else could explain it? Kids don’t kill dogs—”
“Well, that kid did for you.”
She froze me where I stood with her words. Releasing a breath, she pressed palms to her face, and I pushed off the counter. I frowned. “What do you mean he did for me?”
“Like I said, he did for you.” Then reaching over, she lifted my pant leg. “Or did you forget how you got that scar?”
I stared down at the faded bite mark. Of course I hadn’t forgotten. I mean, I got bit by a dog. “No, I didn’t forget.”
Mom let go, sighing. “That boy hunted down that dog and killed it for you. He saw it follow you. Went after it himself with that friend he had. I forget his name.”
“Royal Prinze?” My mouth was dry, and Mom nodded.
“Yes, him. Knight heard you screaming. Terrified.” Her eyes lifted. “So pardon me if I’m not mad at the boy who saved my daughter. That dog had been an absolute terror in the neighborhood. An absolute terror and clearly, the adults weren’t doing anything about it. Mr. Peabody, Knight’s neighbor, was a very powerful man too, just like the Reeds, and damn if the city officials would take his dog away from him. Knight ended up doing what no one else could. He took matters into his own hands, even then, and saved you.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Knight went after a dog for me? No way. I shook my head. “How do you know he went after it for me specifically?” That dog had chased everyone, not just me, and for all I knew, he and Royal had been trying to save themselves. That dog had chased me for what felt like miles that day.
Mom pulled her hair out of her face again before turning off the burner. “He told his grandfather the whole thing. That he went after that dog for you, and after hearing that, yes, I was let go. Part of the reason was because yeah, the Reeds like as little drama as pos
sible in their lives, but the main one did have to do with you.”
“Me?”
She frowned. “His grandson was willing to kill a dog for you, honey bug, so no, I don’t blame Mr. Reed. I mean, that’s really intense. Like you said, Knight was just a kid, and he did that. Needless to say, it was clear a little Knight Reed obviously cared about you. Still cares about you judging by what I saw when we had him over for dinner. I saw him here with you.” She smiled. “It’s like you were never out of his eye, not for a moment, honey bug. It was all still so very intense. Just like when you guys were kids.”
I couldn’t breathe, shuddering. She had to have gotten the facts wrong. No way did Knight Reed care about anyone but himself.
“And his grandfather didn’t let me go empty-handed,” Mom continued. “He provided a handsome final paycheck. I just couldn’t get us stable, a job and housing, before the funds ran out. So none of that is the Reeds’ fault either. That was me and my irresponsibility.”
I palmed my eyes, barely listening at this point, and Mom took my hand.
“I’m sure Knight’s not perfect, bug. But really, who is? That boy has really been dealt a shitty deck of cards in life, and his grandfather was no help. He always treated him like a little adult. I joked about it a bit with you and Ben, but really, it was sad every day I saw it. It was like his granddad matured him up just so hard. I mean, I get it. His mom’s accident? His dad dying right in front of him before that…”
My lips parted. “What?”
Her gaze found mine, her expression even sadder. “It was obviously before you and I came, but prior to his mom’s accident his dad died. Mr. Reed explained everything to me when I was hired so I was in the know when it came to Knight. He had some really rough years before our arrival, acting out, and yes, a little violent. Got in fights all the time at school—”
“What happened, Mom?” I moved in and she peered away.
“It was a riding accident,” she said. “Horseback riding. He and his dad went out. His dad got bucked. Horse trampled him. The man broke his neck.”
My heart twisted. “In front of him?”
She sighed. “In front of him. Couldn’t have been more than eight.”
Nine actually. He’d told me his dad died right before his mom went into the coma.
Christ.
Mom squeezed my shoulders, pulling me into her. “It just shows me how lucky I am. We are? I couldn’t imagine leaving you by yourself. Especially that young. Your father was a deadbeat, and before Ben, you were all I had. I needed to take care of you.”
And I needed to take care of her, my arms pulling around her. She kissed the top of my head, and when she moved to let go, I didn’t. She was right, we were lucky.
I mean, how easily could something like this be taken away?
*
Greer
I thought a lot on the bus ride that night on my way back to the dorm, a lot about Knight. I’d had no freaking idea he’d done all that for me. Obviously, just thinking he’d gone crazy.
Chills lining my skin, I sat up as I got closer to my stop. I tugged the cord to be let off a couple blocks from the dorm, the closest I could get on that route. Hitting the ground, I was in a blind stupor as I left the bus and started walking under the street lights to head home. If it was fact what my mom said tonight, that explained a lot, a lot about Knight’s character and who he’d obviously become as a man. He was very intense, aggressive to the point of being scary, and though I sympathized with him, he had scared me in the past. Frankly, he was terrifying sometimes, so hot and cold. And now what he’d done recently? Hurting Ben and Mom just to get to me?
I shook my head, all this terribly complicated. He obviously had a lot of pain in his life, but that didn’t excuse all the things he’d done since he’d returned to mine. He’d hurt me, repeatedly, and when my phone buzzed on my final block home, I seriously thought I was haunted by a ghost. Knight’s name appeared on my phone screen, and I’d just been thinking about him.
Knight: Hey. Where are you?
My heart squeezed. He had no right to ask me where I was, but even still, I decided to answer.
Me: Walking home from the bus stop. Why?
The text pinged quick.
Knight: Are you by yourself?
Me: Yeah. About a block from the dorm. Why?
Knight: What street crossing?
Me: Fifth and Main. Why???
Knight: Don’t fucking move. I’m coming—
Grabbed, instantly, and my phone fell as I was shoved against the ground. Two guys were on top of me, one holding down my arms while the other attempted to rip my bag off my arm. They were wearing black masks, dark hoodies and slacks, and the one on my back forced my face into the ground, cutting off a scream. I bucked. “Take it! I don’t fucking care. Just get off me!”
They took the bag easily, but I noticed the one on my back didn’t get off me. His hand encased my throat, squeezing all air from my lungs. He leaned in. “We’ll take something else if you don’t mind, sweetness.” The one on my back slapped the other against his chest, easily both guys with their sizes. “Who knew we’d be going after such a sweet piece of ass.”
The other laughed, my scream cut off again when the guy on my back pushed his knee between my legs. “Relax, sweetness. It won’t hurt. Much.”
The guy on my back started to grab my leg, but the other held his shoulder. He shook his head. “Bro, we were just paid to mess with her.”
“And we are,” said who was clearly the leader. He glanced around the area, the world dark, and sickness rose at how incredibly alone I was in this situation. It was just me and these guys, these two who’d obviously intended to hurt me. The guy on my back honed in, smelling starkly of alcohol. “But since no one’s around, how about we play with her a little bit.”
The other guy curled a finger against my face, obviously agreeing, but while they were debating whatever sick and twisted shit they planned, I was balling my fist.
I twisted beneath the guy on my back, swinging and socking the fucker right in his throat.
He gasped, falling off me and grabbing his windpipe. The other asked him if he was okay, and I grabbed his shoulders, kneeing him in his balls.
He shot off a curse immediately, falling to the ground, and scraping from between the two of them, I got my bearings, getting the fuck out of there. I’d never been so fucking happy for those moves my stepdad cop taught me.
“Fucking get her!”
In turning back to see who said that, I crashed into a wall, immediately embraced by a sturdy set of arms.
“Greer? What the fuck?” Eyes wild, Knight grappled me, pulling me up by the arms. “You okay? Where are those fuckers who came after you?”
He knew I’d been attacked? Panicking from a near assault, I couldn’t formulate words, but it turned out, I didn’t need to. Knight’s gaze passed clear over me to the guys who were still reeling from being kicked in the balls and punched in the throat. The assholes were quite literally on their backsides, and seeing that, Knight’s eyes twitched wide. He faced me. “Did you do that?”
Fuck yeah, I had. I nodded. “Ben showed me some stuff. He said just in case.” And thank God he had.
Knight’s hand moved over my face and outlining my mouth, he chuckled. “I’ve never been more grateful for that fight and mouth.”
He let me go after that, told me to stay where I was and call the cops. Before I knew it, he was going over to both of the guys, picking them up by the scruffs of their shirts like they were freakin’ toddlers.
One flailed. “Hey, man. What the fuck—”
A jab to the face of one, followed by a boot to the stomach once he hit the ground. After Knight got that one down, he started in on the other, repeated jabs over and over again to the face. “You a big tough guy, huh?” He growled, another hit. “Messing with girls? You want to hit someone? Fucking hit me.”
No one was getting any hits in, not with Knight repeatedly going back a
nd forth between the two. Upon finding my phone, I called the police and told them what was up quickly. After, I ran over to Knight. “Stop. They’re down, okay?”
He wouldn’t stop, a blind rage and probably would have continued if not for the sirens. Before I knew it, a few armed officers were getting out of their squad cars, Knight barely able to be peeled away so they could do their jobs. The cops started to go for Knight too until I cut in. “No. It was just those masked guys. Knight was helping me.”
I put my hand on his chest, his heart beating a mile a minute inside his mighty chest. Staring at me, he looped an arm around my waist and grabbed hold of my bib overalls, like he needed a hold of me just to stay stable. He didn’t let up until both guys were arrested, and even then, it was only to take my hand. He placed it right on mine…
The one on top of his heart.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Knight
After the police settled things down and took our statements, Greer and I went back to her apartment. I refused to let her walk the rest of the way by herself, and to my surprise, she actually invited me upstairs after I walked her.
“Want something to drink?” she asked me, her roommates not in. Though since she texted them right after we got in, I could imagine they’d be here soon. They’d been blowing up her phone with texts even more than her Mom had. Greer called her at the scene, and both her mom and her stepdad had quite reasonably freaked out. The thing had been a fucking mess, but eventually, Greer had been able to talk them both down. They almost came, but Greer told them she had me to walk her back to the dorm, the only reason they let her.
I refused the drink, taking the couch, but noticing me clench and unclench my hand, Greer asked me to spread my fingers.
“It’s nothing,” I said, but I showed her, my knuckles split and cracked in several places. The burning in my bones might have told me I’d done more damage than just that, but I didn’t fucking care. I wasn’t going to any hospital. When it came to doctors these days, needless to say, I had my reservations.