And hope it was loud enough to pass through Julian and Matt’s always closed bedroom door.
David’s body pressed harder against him, the hot breath hitching by his ear as a growing hardness pushed against his leg. He tried and failed to bite at David’s palm against his mouth. He tilted his head upward, glancing at his hands being held above his head near the headboard. He jerked his hands upward, knocking them hard against the wood.
Once, twice, three times.
Bruised knuckles be damned. His legs were locked in place by David’s unexpected strength. Gritting his teeth, Ben pulled his head back as far as he could to gain a little space, then pushed his head forward to headbutt David.
The pain was instant.
It looked much easier in the movies.
Black and white spots dotted his vision. The grip on his hands tightened and his fingers numbed. He slammed his hands against the headboard again and rocked his body up and down on the bed, forcing it to move. Bile rose as he pushed against David, but he hoped the bed creaked or made some sound against the wooden floor.
He pushed and knocked, kicked and yelled.
The lack of circulation to his digits lessened the pain he would otherwise feel.
Another twist of his body granted him a tiny scrap of space. Just enough. He bent his leg as much as he could and channeled all his strength, thrusting his knee forward into David’s groin. David instantly curled into himself, rolling onto his side. Gritting his teeth, Ben jammed his feet against David’s shoulders and kicked him off the bed with force.
He winced at the flash of light. Eyes still adjusting to the sudden brightness, he caught sight of Julian, yanking David up off the floor and thrusting him up against the wall, pinning him in place with a wooden bat pushed up against David’s throat.
Ben quickly crab-walked backward on the bed, stopping against the headboard. He swiped at his mouth with his forearm and rubbed his wrists. His hands shook. His fingers tingled and ached. He splayed, then fisted his hands, willing the circulation to return to his numb and pained fingers.
Calvin appeared in the doorway, freezing mid-step with his hair tousled. One glance at Julian and David, his next to Matt standing by the door as he spoke into the phone.
His housemate stepped inside the room, standing in Ben’s line of sight, blocking his view of Julian and David. He waved his hand, gaining Ben’s attention.
“Lookame. Notem.”
Ben screwed his eyes shut. Covering his face, he shook his head. That didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. Every second replayed in his mind. Over and over again. Each breath came in short pulses as his thoughts spun inside his throbbing head, spinning with what-if scenarios of what could have happened if Julian hadn’t walked in.
A small weight pressed against his foot. He kicked away the unwelcome touch, once, twice, and a third time just to be sure. His eyes sprung open as he gasped each breath.
Calvin held his hands up in surrender, his attention solely targeted on Ben. He turned his phone and held it toward Ben, keeping as much distance between them as he could.
Ben hesitantly inched forward, just enough to read the message. The throb of his head drummed louder, deeper. He blinked repeatedly, needing to read the tiny line of text on the phone’s display.
Look at me. Not them.
Ben glanced up at those piercing green eyes. Calvin immediately pulled his phone back and quickly typed out a new message. He held out his phone again toward Ben. Let’s go downstairs. Away from them. So we can look at your hands.
He looked down at himself, his chest suddenly heaving with each rapid breath. The blood from his knuckles had spread all over his hands and clothes. Turning, he saw some smeared blood on the headboard and bedsheets. Another light tap to his foot, this one less shocking. He glanced at the screen of Calvin’s phone to read the message. Where’s your phone?
Ben turned and reached under his pillow, grabbing his phone still safely tucked away.
Calvin motioned with his hand, encouraging Ben out of bed. He stood like a guardian at his side, blocking sight of Julian and David still against the wall, frozen in the same position as they had been since the moment Julian appeared. Matt paced the hallway, concern evident in his expression but controlled anger in every other inch of his body