Elite - Chapter 31
Saturday
I would have blamed the kiss on the fact that James was drunk.
A lot of things James did could be blamed on that.
But he didn’t taste like alcohol as his tongue traced my lips.
And I didn’t smell any smoke on him either.
He was sober. He knew what he was doing.
He knew exactly the reaction he would get.
I heard the gasps around us.
Part of me wanted to open my mouth to James. How could Matt walk in here with James’ girlfriend on his arm? How could Matt pretend he was still interested in me, making me promise him a dance? How could he be so cruel? I didn’t even recognize this version of him.
James’ hand tightened on my waist.
But I recognized this feeling. The want. It’s how Matt used to kiss me. And I knew I’d kind of dated Felix. And I was kind of seeing Miller too. But I never did any of it to intentionally hurt Matt. I did it because all he ever did was hurt me.
Maybe James was right. Maybe revenge would make us both feel better. After all, he was an expert in this area, not me. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kiss him back. It felt wrong. This wasn’t me.
James moved his free hand to the back of my head, locking me in place.
“Kiss me back, Brooklyn,” he whispered against my lips. “Hurt him back. Let him know how much it fucking hurts.”
It was wrong. All of it was wrong. It was like I was literally staring sin in the face. And hatred. And sadness. James was in pain. I knew it, because I felt it too. I was freaking drowning in it.
“Please,” he whispered. “Do it for me.”
I put my hand on his chest like I was going to shove him away. But instead my hand froze there. When I first saw James, all I could see was the sadness behind his eyes. I wasn’t attracted to him because we were both drowning. But maybe he understood me better than anyone else here.
James looked down at my hand and then back at my face.
It was like the permission he needed. This time when he lowered his mouth back to mine, I parted my lips for him.
I let him use me just this once. Because Matt fucking deserved it.
He was a terrible friend. It was as if Matt’s favorite pastime was ripping out people’s hearts and stomping on them for fun.
And I was so tired of all the games. I was just so freaking tired.
So for just a second, I wasn’t drowning alone.
I was drowning with the saddest boy at Empire High.
And maybe doing this favor for him would make him feel better. Even it was for just a few seconds.
“What the fuck, James?” Matt was pulling James off of me. He shoved James hard in the chest and James’ crown toppled off his head.
“What?” James said with a smile. “I thought you liked to share.”
Matt took a swing but James ducked.
I realized that maybe James was sober for the first time in weeks because he had been hoping for this fight. Planning it. Using me. I’d already known it, but I still felt cheap.
“Enjoying my sloppy seconds?” James asked. “You can keep Rachel. I’m pretty sure I like Brooklyn better anyway. Finders keepers, if you know what I mean.”
“James, stop,” Rachel said. “Please just talk to me for five seconds so I can explain. You owe me at least that.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” James said. “Besides, I’m busy. I was just about to take Brooklyn to my suite. Right, babe?” he said to me with a wink. “She promised I could be her first.”
God. It was the absolute worst thing he could possibly say.
Not just because it was horribly embarrassing.
And untrue. But because Matt was convinced that he’d be all my firsts.
My whole body felt hot as everyone’s eyes turned to me.
Couldn’t James see that he was making everything a thousand times worse?
I shouldn’t have listened to him. Revenge didn’t make anything better.
And I didn’t realize that James had a death wish.
This time Matt’s fist collided hard with the side of James’ jaw.
It was like James wanted to be hit. Like he was craving the taste of blood. Because all he did was laugh and wipe the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. “That’s all you got, Caldwell?” he asked. “You hit like a little bitch.”
Matt took another swing, hitting James’ jaw in the same spot.
James spat blood out on the dance floor and laughed again. “I gave you two shots because you’re two years younger.” He tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck. “But now you fucking die.” He lowered his shoulder and rammed into Matt.
The two of them fell to the floor.
“Stop it!” Rachel screamed. “We didn’t do anything! I didn’t sleep with him! James, I swear I didn’t!”
I heard the sickening crunch of bone on bone.
Rachel started sobbing, but all I could focus on was the fact that James’ hands were wrapped around Matt’s throat. Matt was bigger than James. But apparently James had a lot of pent up rage and a perfect target to unleash it on.
“James!” I grabbed his arm but he didn’t let go. “James!” I yelled louder.
Matt pulled up his knee, slamming it hard into James’ groin.
“Fuck,” James said and toppled over, grabbing his junk.
I moved out of the way just in time so that I didn’t end up falling to the floor too. Everyone around us stepped back, creating a circle around us. It was like they’d created a little fighting ring.
“Someone do something,” I said. There were plenty of guys just watching.
Why weren’t they breaking this up? But no one listened to me.
Apparently I was back to being invisible at the worst possible time.
I looked around to see if I could find Miller in the crowd.
Oh God, if he was here then he’d seen the kiss.
What the hell had I been thinking? But I shoved the thought aside.
Miller could stop this. He’d broken up a fight that Matt was in before.
But everyone was towering over us. I couldn’t see a single chaperone.
“Of course you’d take a cheap shot,” James said, pulling my attention back down to them.
“I didn’t sleep with your girlfriend, you idiot.” Matt stood up. “And if you’d get your head out of your ass and listen to me, you’d know the truth. I was trying to fix your relationship, not ruin it. Why don’t you believe me?”
James' face was still twisted with pain, but he grabbed Matt’s ankle, knocking him to the floor again. “Because you’re a liar,” James said with a wince as he continued to hold his injured bits.
“What the hell?” Rob said and kicked Matt’s ankle out of James’ hand. “Can’t you go two minutes without trying to ruin my brother’s life?” Rob helped James to his feet.
“Me?” Matt said. “I’m trying to fix it.” He grabbed his wrist like it had hurt to take so many swings at his friend’s face.
“Like you were fixed on having your dick in my brother’s girlfriend?” Rob said.
Matt lunged at Rob, knocking him to the floor too. “Why the hell won’t either of you listen to me?!” yelled Matt.
“Stop it!” I screamed. “All of you, stop it!” God, where were all the grown-ups?
For the first time in my life I actually wanted Mr. Hill to appear.
I needed someone, anyone to help me break this up.
I reached out again, this time to grab Matt’s arm, hoping I could pull him away. But he was as solid as rock.
“James, if you’d just…” Matt started.
Rob slammed his elbow into Matt’s throat like he was literally trying to silence him. Matt’s arm fell out of my grip. James seemed to finally be able to breathe again after being hit in the nuts and he had the audacity to wink at me like he thought everything was going according to plan.
And then Mason came out of nowhere and rammed into Rob’s side, knocking him to the floor. They rolled over, running into James who fell back down on the ground too.
Mason punched Rob. Rob hit Matt. James kicked Mason. And Matt kneed James.
Rachel was sobbing uncontrollably. Someone screamed at the top of their lungs. I would have sworn it was Justin from how high-pitched it was, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t here.
“Stop it!” I yelled. I tried to step in to pull Rob away and had to dodge an elbow. “All of you stop it!”
The music came to an abrupt stop, as if the DJ thought I was begging him to stop. Someone started chanting “fight.” Soon everyone was chanting it. And all I could see were fists flying and blood. There was so much freaking blood.
What the hell had I done?
“I didn’t sleep with Rachel!” Matt yelled. “She kissed me and I pushed her…”
His words were drowned out when James punched him in the side of the mouth.
“You pushed her right onto your lap?” James said. He somehow got free of Mason’s grip on his legs, stood up, and did what I could only describe as a body slam on top of Matt.
Matt grunted like all the wind had left his lungs.
“Brooklyn’s a great kisser,” James said with a smile, blood dribbling down the side of his mouth. “I bet the rest of her tastes just as sweet.”
Mason grabbed the back of James’ tux, tearing the fancy fabric as he shoved him off of Matt.
“That’s enough,” Mr. Hill said as he walked in between the flying fists. I was wrong before, it wasn’t James with a death wish. It was Mr. Hill.
But all four of them froze.
“Rob, James…why don’t you cool off outside for a minute. Matt and Mason, go get a drink and clear your heads. This is a dance not a street fight.”
“James, I’m sorry, I…” Matt started.
“Don’t even try to explain it again,” Mason said and helped his younger brother up. “Clearly the Hunters’ ears are too clogged to hear.”
“Fuck off, Mason,” James said. “Don’t you have some stupid blonde you need to give an STD to?”
“I don’t have any STDs.” It looked like that was the most insulting thing Mason had ever heard in his life. Mason took a step forward, but Matt grabbed his arm.
Rob laughed and elbowed James in the side like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
“We’re done,” Mason said. “With both of you.”
“Great,” Rob said. “Because we’re done with both of you. Why’d the music stop?” he yelled and turned to the DJ. “Turn it the fuck up. This is a party.” He threw his hands into the air.
“Rob,” Mr. Hill said. “Language.” As if that was the worst thing that had happened here tonight.
The DJ was standing there completely stunned. But it was like Rob’s words had pulled him out of a trance. He turned the volume up even louder than before so I couldn’t hear what else Mr. Hill yelled at the Hunters and Caldwells.
Rachel was sobbing harder, making it even more impossible to hear Mr. Hill. I would have tried to console her…but I didn’t know who was telling the truth and who was lying.
So I just stood there completely stunned.
The Untouchables slowly separated. James and Rob went for the doors. And Mason and Matt made their way to the bar.
I didn’t understand why they weren’t being kicked out of the dance. But then I remembered how Isabella hadn’t gotten detention even though I had. They were all allowed to do whatever they wanted, including beating each other up in the middle of homecoming. They could get away with anything.
Kennedy appeared at my side. “I think you just broke the Untouchables,” she said.
But I barely heard her because Isabella had just stepped into the circle where the Untouchables had been fighting.
She leaned down and lifted James’ crown off the floor.
She wiped off some of the blood that had splattered on the crown.
Her eyes locked with mine and I felt more hatred than the Hunters had for the Caldwells.
Or vice versa. I wasn’t sure who hated who more right now.
But none of it compared to how much Isabella hated me.
James had kissed me. If all those rumors were true about her being betrothed to James, I’d just touched what was hers. I’d crossed the line.
She’s going to kill me.