Chapter 31
My knuckles are covered in blood, mine and theirs, but no pain registers. I take another hit to my stomach. It should wind me, it should slow me down, but nothing stops me, and I continue to throw punches like a wild animal.
Carl is in a heap behind me. Steven has grabbed my shirt and ripped the top, whilst Harry throws a rogue fist which connects with my jaw, making my head snap to the side.
I spit blood to the floor as Jamie screams behind me.
I pull my arm back and throw a perfect right hook with every ounce of strength I have and catch Steven in the temple. He’s out cold before his body even hits the floor.
“Just you and me now, Harry.” I spit again. “Not so tough now that your fucking minions are out cold.” I wipe the blood from my lip, grinning, as Carl grumbles beside us.
“Help, I need help!” Jamie screams as I dive into Harry, and we both fall into his bedroom. He manages to land on top, where he punches me repeatedly in the face.
“You thought you’d win again. It’s been fucking years, you twat. You think I’ve not learnt how fucked up you are?” he sneers.
I block my face from his punches. Unable to hit my face, he turns his attention to my ribs. I tense my stomach and fold inwards, trying to prepare for the onslaught.
“Your whore of a sister sucked it really fucking good. What are you more jealous of? The fact that she willingly did it? Or the fact that it was my cock, not yours?”
I can’t reply, as in that moment he has the upper hand and I need to think about how to get this fucker off me, before I walk out with long-lasting scars like he did last time we fought.
I twist my pelvis and quickly move my body. I swivel my leg, wrapping it round his torso, and push him off me. It’s a quick move, where you use their weight against them, and now it’s me who’s on top.
“What were you saying?” I grin through blood encased teeth, the metallic taste rich in my mouth. “She wanted it, did she?”
Punch.
“Begged for it?”
Punch.
“Except you and I both know that’s a lie!”
Punch.
I sense more people coming into the room. It‘s chaos, screams, shouts, arms pulling at me, wrestling me off Harry, who is now so bloody you can barely see his face.
“Fucking hell, Owen, get the fuck off of him!” Billy shouts, gripping his arms under my armpits. The irony isn’t missed on me that history has repeated itself.
He pulls me to him, and we fall backwards, both of us heaving as I take in the three unmoving bodies of Carl, Steven and Harry.
“What have you done?” Her voice breaks through the red haze.
My head whips to the doorway where Lucy stands, her hands over her mouth, her blue eyes meeting mine. Tears jump to them, and she looks back at Harry who is unmoving, where Jamie is kneeling next to him.
“Someone call an ambulance!” Jamie shouts.
My head whips back to Lucy, who is slowly backing out of the room, shaking her head.
“Lucy,” I call, but she’s frightened, she’s scared.
She’s scared of me.
She isn’t seeing Harry on the floor.
No, she’s seeing my broken body. While at the same time, she looks at me and sees James.
I’ve become the very thing that scares her the most.
The monster.