Rebel at Spruce High (Spruce Texas Romance #5) - Daryl Banner Page 0,121

out Hoyt as he joins Benji in holding me back. Julio continues to smirk superiorly at me, enjoying the rage.

Until Benji and Hoyt topple over, unable to restrain me any longer. The next moment, I’m upon Julio, and after one missed swing of my fist, the pair of us tumble to the ground in a fit of limbs, sticky punch stains, and armor.

When I wind back my fist again for a second shot, someone’s taken hold of it, and I’m peeled off of Julio at once. I throw my elbow trying to free myself, then am spun around by a muscular set of arms, which pin me in place against the nearby wall. It’s Coach Strong, who now stands like a brick barrier between his three jocks and me. “Stop it!” he orders us all, turning his head back and forth between us. “That’s enough, all of you!”

By now, the entire kitchen and half the living room have gone silent. Only a thumping, Halloweeny soundtrack from the stereo system fills the room, which I didn’t even know was playing. All eyes are on us and the scene we’ve caused.

“It was a damned accident,” states Julio.

“Like hell it was,” I spit back, pushing against Coach Strong’s hand, but he holds me in place even still. “You tossed that punch bowl over and ruined Toby’s costumes.”

“I said it was an accident!” he shouts out, doubling down.

Hoyt comes around Coach Strong, hands lifted in surrender in the same way he approached me in the locker room. “Vann, calm down. Julio’s a fairly big guy. He bumped into the table. Totally innocent. Why would we want to ruin y’all’s pretty costumes?”

‘Pretty’. More mockery. I slip out from the coach’s grip and put my face an inch before Hoyt’s. “Or maybe the truce is off and it doesn’t matter who the hell hears what I gotta say about you.”

“Vann.”

It’s Toby. Anger pumping through my veins, I peel my eyes off Hoyt’s and find Toby still standing there on the other side of the table drenched in sticky red punch. In his eyes, all I see is pain and fear. Why is he afraid? Doesn’t he realize I can protect him from these guys? Doesn’t he want me to?

“Just let it go,” Toby tells me. “It’s done. It was an accident.”

Now he’s saying it’s an accident? “Toby, this wasn’t any damn accident and you know it. These guys—”

“Vann, please.”

My angered gaze flits between each of the jocks, from Julio’s smug face to Benji’s frozen-laugh face to Hoyt’s stoic one. After a glance at Coach Strong, who’s eyes are hardened, yet with a hint of uncertainty, likely worried about my next reaction, I suddenly realize I had it all wrong. I don’t need to prove anything to these people. I don’t need to get soft with Mrs. Strong by telling her nice things and getting her to like me. Why should I bother with any of these people if I’m just going to be the enemy in the end?

“Fine.” I step away from Hoyt, from Coach Strong, from all of them. “Let’s get out of here,” I tell Toby across the table. After he gives a moment’s consideration to everyone, he slowly follows me out of the silent, tension-filled house.

As we descend the porch and cross the gravel heading to my bike, I can’t stop fuming. “Who needs them? I sure don’t.” I scoff with frustration. “You see how they look at me? You see how even your precious Jimmy’s brother looks at me, like I’m the one who magically spilled the punch, like it’s me who’s the bad guy when I’m just standing up for my boyfriend? It’s bullshit. All of it. They all deserve each other.”

“Vann …”

“Don’t worry about it. When we’re back at my house, we are gonna wash your costume and get the punch out. Maybe we can hit up one of those other things you said is going on around town. Where’s that haunted house you mentioned earlier?”

“Vann, I’m not going.”

I stop in my tracks and turn to him. Toby’s eyes reflect the same fear they did in the house. He doesn’t seem able to look at me, staring off, rubbing his arm self-consciously.

My tone softens at once. “Toby? What’s … What’s going on …? What do you mean you’re not going?”

“I … I want to stay.” He clears his throat, kicks at something on the ground, and continues to avert his eyes. “I think it really was an accident. And—”

“Are you