Fight, Jamiee - Ellie R. Hunter Page 0,10

ways to get rid of her. But we got to talking, and she was sober. I don’t know how it happened. One minute, we were watching the fireworks on my balcony, and then we were kissing. I knew then and there it was different—she was different.”

Damon’s jaw tenses, but he stays quiet.

“It all happened so fast. One thing led to another, and before we knew it, we were taking every opportunity to see each other. I fell in love with her by the time the sun came up that first morning.”

It’s true. She was just baby Coleman, Damon’s little sister, and then she was all I could think about. One kiss changed everything about us and the way we saw each other.

“You were sneaking around with her behind my back? For how long? She’s been with that asshole for a couple of years now,” he questions, trying to keep his shit together.

“A few months.” I sit forward on the couch, resting my arms on my thighs. “You remember when I came to you and told you I’d met someone?” Mulling it over, he nods as the memory hits him, and his eyes widen. “I was going to tell you then, but you kept telling me it would never work because of who we were and how we lived. You said we sing about love, but we don’t get to have it.”

“So you broke my sister’s heart because I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about?”

“Not just hers. I never moved on from her, and when you came back with Alice, and engaged, I was pissed that I’d listened to you. You’d gone back on everything you said. You had it all, and you left me with nothing.”

River looks at me. “This is why you’ve been such an asshole?”

I simply nod. I own it.

Damon roars, “Fuck!” and Alice slides down onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him. “You should never have gone there, Fred. She’s my sister.”

He moves Alice off his lap and stands. I prepare myself for whatever’s coming, but he crosses the room and grabs a beer from the bar. He doesn’t lunge for me. He does nothing but get himself a beer. Alice has changed him a lot more than I thought.

“If you want to fight this out, don’t hold back,” I tell him.

“The only reason I’m holding back is because of what you did for Jamiee last night. I saw you run out after she called without hesitating. And you kicked that prick’s ass tonight. Maybe tomorrow I’ll kick yours, but right now, I’m more concerned with speaking to my sister.”

Taking a swig of his beer, he digs his phone out of his pocket and turns his back on me as he makes his call, growling when he gets her voicemail. It’s the same thing I’ve gotten all day.

I know my friend, my brother, wants to vent his frustrations by throwing his cell, but because of Alice, he won’t.

Our phones start going off at the same time. Digging mine out of my pocket, I click on the link and see a video of me attacking Deacon. Shit’s going viral, with all the blogs showing it on repeat. Then the phone calls start to come in. I ignore Slate’s call, but answer quickly when I see it’s Jamiee as I head into my room.

“Why, Freddie?” She’s sobbing, and it hurts more than the air hitting my busted knuckles. “I didn’t ask you to do that for me.”

I try to soothe her. “You didn’t have to. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“It’s all over the internet. You’re going to be arrested for this!” she cries.

“And I’ll deal with it. Seriously, I’m not worried.”

“It looks bad.”

“Not as bad as your face,” I huff.

“Is that my sister?” Damon asks from over my shoulder.

She hears him and ends the call, leaving me listening to air.

“She hung up.”

“She calls you, but won’t pick up my calls?” he snaps.

“Damon, we need to focus on damage control, because this video clip is going viral. Freddie’s in big trouble,” River interjects, but Damon’s having none of it.

“Right now, I don’t give a shit,” he barks.

And that’s the story of my life. I’m always the one left in the shit while everyone else moves on around me.

“You should! Regardless of what we’ve heard tonight, Freddie’s still your oldest friend. He’s going to need our help.”

“Riv, you don’t need to defend me,” I argue.

“I’m not defending you. I’m reminding him we all have each