82. willow
CHAPTER 82
WILLOW
MISSING TOOTH, OPEN PALM
The party swelled like a living, breathing thing, and I was shoved outside with June. Hockey players poured out of the house, everyone shouting at each other, and my stomach clenched so bad I bent over the garden and threw up on the flowers.
More hockey players pushed through, propping up Elijah, who was spitting blood. The breath left my body looking at him, but I needed to see King. I tried to shove through the current, but Denali grabbed my arms and forced me away.
"Stay here, there’s glass everywhere," he barked.
My knees were shaking so much, it felt wrong to stand but I needed to find King.
"June!" Bear shouted. "Get Willow!"
An arm wrapped around my shoulder when I stumbled inside, and I almost threw up again. There was so much blood, how could that much blood fit in a person? A hand went over my eyes and I was led down the hall.
"It’s okay," June assured me. "I’m so sorry—it’s okay?—"
"Oh my god," I blurted out, and when the hand disappeared, I threw up again in a decorative bowl.
"Willow—"
"Where’s King?"
"They’re taking him to a hospital."
"Oh my god—oh my god—oh my god?—"
June wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me tight while I shook against her, shocked beyond belief. I saw Elijah grab the bottle by the neck. It was horrible. It was the most horrible thing I’d ever seen.
"I—I need to go get him," I stammered, barely able to force out the words. "I don’t believe it, I don’t believe any of it?—"
"Willow." June cupped my face and drew back, so pale, it made my heart hurt to look at her. "It’s all true."
"What?"
"All of it."
"No, it’s not."
"Yes, it is. It’s all true." She helped me to the bed, and I sat on the edge while she wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. "King had a game in Humble when he was in high school?—"
"His dad hurt his mom," I finished, my voice faint.
"Hurt is—oh my god—an understatement. It was really, really bad," June whispered. "King went after his dad but his family was hiding him, so he hunted his dad down but he—he had to go through his family first to find him."
I stared at June, shocked.
"The sixteen-year-old was his cousin," she admitted, her voice small. "Brandon."
"Does—does Lawson know?"
"We all know."
" What? "
"Everyone in our group." June nodded. "The fake relationship was supposed to end our sophomore year, but a retired cop came and threatened to expose everything. Lawson helped cover it up. They wanted to really sell that King was reformed if anything came out, that’s why the fake relationship kept going."
It was so quiet, the only thing I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I squeezed the blankets.
"I don't want you to think he's taken any of this lightly," she said softly. "This is something that’s weighed heavily on him. Like, as long as I’ve known him."
My eyes met hers and I pushed from the bed. From the bedroom to the living room, it felt like I was floating. I didn’t stop until I came to Denali, talking urgently with a few other hockey players. "Denali?"
"Hey." He glanced back, a twisted expression on his face. "We’re checking everyone's phones for pictures?—"
"What hospital did they take King to?"
"Uh…nobody took him, he refused the ride."
" What? "
One of the other players walked up. "Goddamn, Elijah lost a tooth."
"What do you mean King refused the ride?" I repeated. "Where is he, Denali?"
"He left."
"He left? "
"King drove off," another one confirmed.
"He’s bleeding from his head and you let him drive off?! "
Denali stared. "Willow, you know how big he is, we couldn’t force him into a car?—"
"Get out of my way," I snapped. It was more than anger laced in every word, I was horrified I was the one to bring King, to do this to him. I stumbled outside, blanket still wrapped around my shoulders, and saw the empty place where his truck had been.
King was gone.
I whipped out my phone.
Me
I’m so sorry
Text me what hospital
Once I was done though, the swirling feeling inside me was impossible to ignore. Just like the soft sounds of Sloane, kneeling over Elijah, whispering while she cleaned up his battered face. The look of adoration he had…
How fucking dare he?
I shoved my phone in my back pocket. The blanket fell to the grass.
"Pruitt," Elijah said when he saw me. "I told you, I told you he was dangerous, and you didn’t listen to me?—"
"Which side did you lose the tooth?"
He opened his mouth a little with a wince, motioning towards the right. "He got me good. First tooth I’ve lost. I can't believe it’s not from hockey?—"
I slapped him hard across the face.
" Fuck! " He shouted, grabbing his jaw. "Fucking shit—fuck— fuck, Pruitt, what the fuck?! "
"Fuck you," I snarled. Denali locked an arm around my shoulders, yanking me back.