comes rushing toward me.
He looks me right in the eye and says, “So I guess you found Mallory, huh?”
“Okay, man,” I say, starting away from the group; this isn’t going to end well for anyone. He comes charging again and pushes me into the Waffle House window.
“Just a friend, right?” he says.
“Will, stop.” Mallory grabs him by the arm, but he only gets in my face closer, louder.
“I was trying to help her out,” I say. “I told you to leave her alone for the night.”
“So you can make your move? Right.” He looks at Mallory and says, “Is this why you did it?”
When I try to slip away from him, he pushes me back into the glass, harder this time. Behind me, I can feel the people in the Waffle House staring at us. I swallow my own anger, the desire to push him back.
“Is he why you did it?” Will asks Mallory again, louder this time. He turns back to me, finger in my face. “You were probably in on it the whole time. You’re a fucking coward, Thomas.”
I don’t really see what happens next, but Will goes flying backward. Jake falls on top of him and starts yelling about respect and how Will doesn’t know the first thing about honor or courage. Will keeps trying to turn away from Jake—his eyes wide with fear—but Jake grabs his chin and forces him to make eye contact.
“Call my brother a coward? The night before he goes in? Are you fucking crazy? I’d kill you for less.”
Will looks terrified as Jake pins him harder against the ground. And he should be worried. I’ve never seen Jake so—so out of control.
“Thomas, do something!” Mallory screams, pushing me toward Jake. But how do I stop this? How can I do anything for Jake? I try to pull him off, but Jake shoves me away.
“Hell, no, Thomas. He can’t do this, not after everything I’ve tried to do to keep you safe.”
I don’t have a chance to figure out what Jake has done for me; how he could possibly think he’s kept me safe.
“Let him go,” Mallory yells, trying to pull Jake off Will. But he’s on a mission, singular in his focus.
“You’re going to apologize,” Jake tells Will, raising a fist. Mallory screams again, and Will starts talking fast.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But what do you expect me to do? She’s out with him all night, and I don’t even get a reason.” Will turns his head to face me, pleading. “We’re supposed to get married tomorrow, man. And then she tells me it’s not happening; just like that, it’s over. And then she spends all night with you.”
Time—the world—stops moving. Even Jake looks at me. Mallory’s face is as blank with shock.
“What was I supposed to do?” he says.
Jake returns his focus to Will. “That doesn’t excuse shit.”
He puts his fist in the air, and Will closes his eyes, bracing for the impact. Before he can throw a punch, Wayne tackles Jake, followed by Sinclair. I’m still trying to process everything as Jake brushes them aside and starts back at Will.
Wayne yells my name, waking me up. “Get Jake the hell out of here. Now!”
Jake picks Will up off the concrete, both fists in his shirt as he pushes him against the window. Will keeps repeating the same word—please —over and over again. Mallory runs to Jake, trying to get Will loose, but he ignores her, too.
“Jake,” I say. Then again, louder. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he spins around with his fist raised.
“Leave him alone,” I say.
“Hell, no. This doesn’t happen,” he says. “Not tonight. Not right before you go in. Not when I haven’t taken care of this.”
He shakes his backpack in my face, as if proving a point. When he turns back to Will, I grab the backpack off his shoulder.
“What the hell is this?” When I go to open it, he spins around and pushes me hard.
“Drop it!” His eyes go from anger to panic, and when I don’t answer him, when I start to open the backpack, he hits me. One shot to my eye, like a strike of lightning.
Will bolts away from the restaurant, grabbing Mallory and making a run for the church van. When he gets the van started, they peel out of the small parking lot. I expect Jake to chase them onto the highway, into the night. Instead, he spits, picks up the backpack, and then walks inside the