face, the heavy burdens we all carry, and even Ash can’t argue with that anymore. He might be a stubborn asshole, and not want to admit it yet, but he’s watching her. It’s both a good and bad thing. I want him to ease up on her.
I don’t want him to fall for her.
Going up against Morrison is bad enough. The way she looks at him when she’s sure he won’t notice… fuck, my gut churns just thinking about it. I don’t know if she turned him down over the kiss because she didn’t want him or because of all of the extra bullshit she’s dealing with, and the not knowing is killing me.
So I’m a grumpy fuck about it.
The grumpiest fuck, which is saying something because Ash exists.
I’m beating the ever-loving fuck out of three of the most pretentious, arrogant fuckwit seniors when I get the text from Avery.
911. Meet at my room now. Lips was jumped by Devon.
My heart just fucking stops.
I’m about as far away from the girls’ room as fucking possible, out behind the gym where there’s no cameras and very little teacher monitoring, and there’s blood down my shirt from Theo’s nose exploding all the fuck over my fist.
He’s unconscious on the ground. Ryan is groaning and wheezing next to him and Dean is swaying where he’s kneeling, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. I barely think about consequences or not breaking his fucking neck, I just grab Dean by the back of his head and smash his face into my knee, knocking him out cold.
I leave without another word.
Also a mistake.
What’s the point of beating them up if they don’t know for-fucking-sure who to stay clear of? I mean, they know. Everyone knows. There isn’t a kid at this school who isn’t flinching away from me in the hallways, all of them fucking terrified because each one of them has done something to her.
Gossip, bets, beatings—they’re all fucking guilty.
I have enough functioning brain cells to wipe my hands and button my jacket up, covering most of the mess. My pants are wrecked but the charcoal color helps to hide that shit a bit and the fact that no one wants to look at me helps too.
Jumped.
That’s not enough fucking information, not even close. Was she hurt? Did she kill him? Which part of this is the 911 because if she’s hurt, I’m burning this place to the fucking ground.
I fucking sprint up to the girls’ dorm.
Running isn’t my thing and I’m nowhere near as quick as my cousin but I make it in a decent clip, shoving the door open and inadvertently taking Morrison out at the same time.
“What the fuck happened!?”
Lips is sitting on her bed, tugging her shoes off, and I can’t see any damage to her but that shit is beside the fucking point. There’s a whole lot of skin under her clothes that could be damaged.
Avery huffs at me from the kitchen, wiping down the counter without a word, and I’m about to call her the fuck out about it when Morrison holds up a hand like an offering.
“When I got out of the shower I heard Devon threatening someone. Then I heard him mention Joey and the bet I realized he was talking to the Mounty and I came out to find him pinning her to a wall by her throat.”
I see red. There’s no other way to describe the pure, unadulterated rage that enters my body. “What?! He had his hand around your throat? I’ll gut him.”
Blaise smirks back at me. “Oh, don’t you worry, the Mounty was going to. Pretty sure he’ll end up with a nasty scar. Really, I saved his life with the beating I gave him.”
That’s my girl.
That’s my fucking girl.
Ash startles and jerks around to look at her, underestimating her to the bitter fucking end. She raises an eyebrow at him. “What? He’s twice the size of me and grabbed me from behind like a little bitch. He deserves to lose his intestines.”
Avery starts to straighten up the coffee mugs, compulsively and without even fucking looking because she’s done it so often that it’s all muscle memory at this point. “I think I should get one of those knives too.”
Fuck.
I’ve never heard a better fucking plan than that.
Lips nods emphatically. “I’ll get you one and teach you how to use it.”
Ash grabs her hand to distract her away from her ritual, tugging her until she’s standing with him. “Agreed.”
She smiles at