the guy crumpled to the ground.
Fuck. This wasn’t good. I briefly wondered if I had made a mistake calling Kai.
“Chase!” Kai yelled while heading toward the back door. Luckily, Celeste was no longer crying at the kitchen table. Kai’s anger was growing by the second, and he didn’t need to see the evidence of what Chase had done. I followed Kai outside where the party was gearing up. Loud music greeted us, and Kai looked at the ground, finding where the giant speaker system was plugged into the wall. He ripped the extension cord out, effectively cutting off the music. The entire party seemed to stop.
“What the fuck, dude?” a girl sitting on the deck with a bottle of beer in her lap screamed.
“Party is over!” Kai screamed.
“Fuck off!” a familiar, slurred voice yelled. Oh shit. Found Chase. I kind of regretted inviting Kai here, but it was too late now. Chase started stumbling through the sand. Kai didn’t waste a single second. The two of them collided. Kai had his chest puffed out, and Chase swayed. They looked close enough to kiss, a precious distance reserved for boxers and lovers.
“Who the fuck invited you?” Chase asked while poking Kai’s chest.
“Breeze did. She said you’ve lost your fucking mind. You like choking innocent girls, Chase? Maybe the police got it all wrong. Maybe you killed Violet!”
A low murmur and a few shocked gasps washed over the crowd. I could hear accusatory whispers all around me. Chase didn’t seem bothered, though. He just grinned playfully.
“Breeze called you, huh? Breezy Baby, I thought you had higher standards. If you wanted someone’s face to ride, you know my—” Chase didn’t even get to finish his drunken statement, because Kai had reared back and slammed his fist into his jaw.
Chase fell backward onto the sand. Girls screamed. Guys started forming a circle around the two of them. I had to push through the growing crowd to see. Kai got on top of Chase and started landing punch after punch.
“Stop! Stop!” I screamed. “Please stop!” I ran closer to them, not sure what the hell I was going to do.
Chase managed to get a hit in, but his movements were slow from all the alcohol. Blood dripped from Kai’s lip, and Chase had sand covering his sweaty face.
“Stop!” I screamed again before reaching for Kai. I grabbed his arm and yanked. “Get off of him.”
“Police!” someone in the crowd yelled. Suddenly, all this felt all too familiar. My breathing became shallow. People started running around me. Drinks spilled. Teens screamed. It was just like before.
“Go outside. Find Kai. He’ll take you home. I have to stay here.”
“Come with me!” I pleaded. There was no way in hell I was leaving her here.
“Chase is here. Can’t let the asshole get in trouble without me,” she grinned mischievously.
“I’ll help you find him,” I offered.
“I don’t have time. Please.” She pushed at my shoulders. “Go. I’ll call you.”
I nodded my head and squeezed her hand. “Be safe.”
The panic hit me hard and fast. I clutched my chest, stuck in a memory I hadn’t processed yet. She died after a party like this. Violet was dead. I sucked in air, but it felt like my lungs couldn’t expand. No, no, no. Not again. Never again.
“Breeze?” A warm voice was calling to me. “Breeze!”
I covered my ears with my hands. No. No. No. Muscular arms picked me up, and I was soon cradled against a hard chest. Kai. “Let’s go, Little Whisper.”
Chase
Shit.
I really fucked up last night. I lost control. Again. I don’t even know what happened. One moment I was balls deep in Celeste, and the next my hands were around her neck, squeezing. Celeste and I usually got a little rough; it’s why the chemistry was off the charts. She liked her tight little ass spanked, and I was more than happy to oblige. But last night went too far. Breeze called that fuckwit, Kai. But I guess that was better than her calling the police. Not that it mattered, someone else did while he was beating the shit out of my stoned ass.
They brought me down to the station and questioned me. Of course, they had to throw me in the drunk tank for a few hours to sober up enough before I could answer them coherently. But, by some miracle, they let me off with a warning. They probably felt sorry for me. Nobody at the party seemed interested in sticking around to talk to the