Chapter 2
Lainey
A crowd has gathered around us to watch the violence unfolding. People cheer, while some others look horrified. Ellie cries harder as she watches Holland pound the shit out of Danny.
I hold her to me for comfort as her small body shakes.
“Holland! Holland, stop!”
she yells, but he doesn’t stop. It’s like he doesn’t even hear her. He’s in a blind rage. If it were anyone else, I’d probably find this extremely attractive, but it’s Holland.
“What’s going on?”
I hear a familiar voice call over the chatter. Logan Steele and Mason Howard rush into the small space, grabbing Holland and pulling him off of Danny, who is lying in a bloody heap on the floor.
Holland looks feral as the two guys pull him away. His knuckles are bloody and busted, his hair falls in his face, and a bead of sweat drips down his face as his chest heaves.
“What the fuck, man?”
Logan asks, sounding completely lost. Logan is a good guy, nicer than his brother. Ryker was moody and unpredictable. Logan is the complete opposite.
Logan is calm, cool, and collected like ninety-nine percent of the time. He’s rational, and he always tries to see the good in people.
We didn’t really know him until he started actually hanging around us more when Ryker left. I don’t think they fully get along, but I think they’re working on it. A lot happened in the spring semester. Their family is kind of messed up, much like all of ours are.
“I know he’s a dick, but why are you attacking Larson?”
Mason questions Holland who is still seething with anger. His nostrils flare as a few of the hockey guys help Danny to his feet.
Danny swipes the back of his hand under his bloody nose while staring at Holland with disgust.
“He tried to touch Ellie,”
Holland grits out. Mason and Logan share a quick glance before looking over to Ellie and me. Their faces shift once they realize the tears on Ellie’s face.
Logan rolls his eyes, his head falling forward as if he’s contemplating his next move. Mason’s face gets red as he glares at Danny. All three of these guys can kick some serious ass, but we don’t need that right now.
Right now, I need to get Ellie out of here.
Danny scoffs.
“She wanted it. That’s why she came out there. She knew I was out-,”
Holland lunges for Danny but before he can get to him, Mason and Logan are tugging him back.
“You son of a bitch,”
Holland yells. Danny’s lips turn into a smirk, and my body shivers. I don’t really know the guy, but I’ve heard enough to know that he’s a sleaze ball. If I wasn’t trying to comfort Ellie right now, my knee would hit his balls so hard they’d pop out of his mouth.
“Holland, let it go. I’m taking her home,”
I tell him, hoping that my words will bring him down a bit. Holland doesn’t get mad often. He’s the kind of guy that lets most things roll off his shoulder.
Not when it comes to the people he loves though. He’ll do anything to protect them. That I’ve learned first-hand throughout the years I’ve known him.
Holland’s body visibly relaxes, and Mason and Logan let him go. He straightens out and looks Danny dead in the eye.
“Don’t ever look at my sister again, you got that?”
Before Danny can answer, Holland pushes his way through the crowd of onlookers and heads for the front door. Ellie and I follow closely behind while Mason and Logan stay behind to help remedy the party.
The chill in the air feels good against my clammy skin as we walk across the street to our house. Holland doesn’t say much as we approach.
“I’m going to go in and take a shower. Thank you for making sure I was alright, Laine. Holland, I appreciate that you didn’t kill Danny so I didn’t need to bail you out of jail,”
Ellie teases. Holland shrugs his shoulders casually, as if he didn’t just beat the shit out of someone.
“I do what I can,”
Holland smirks, his hands in his pockets. I roll my eyes at his very ‘Holland’ response.
When the door clicks shut after Ellie disappears inside, I take a deep breath and look at the black sky. No stars tonight, only a crescent moon and a few streetlamps lighting the small street.
“This is not how I thought this night would end,”
I chuckle to myself.
“Yeah, seems like you expected to be getting railed by some guy tonight, aye Barkley?”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Yeah, I was… And?”
Holland holds both hands up in surrender.
“Nothing, nothing. Good for you,”
he says as he shoves his hands into his pockets. I give a curt nod and begin to turn toward my front door.
“It’s just…”
Holland continues. My head falls back in annoyance. Of course he has more to say. When doesn’t he? “I thought you had standards, Laine.”
God, he’s the worst.
Placing my hands on my hips, I look him up and down.
“I do. I’ve never slept with you.”
Holland smirks, not at all offended by my comment.
“Not yet,”
he winks, and I gag.
“That is never going to happen, Monroe. Nice try,”
I sling back, whipping around to walk into the house.
“Whatever you say, Bug.”
Slamming the door in Holland’s face before I strangle his cocky ass, I shudder at the nickname. He only calls me that when he’s trying to get a rise out of me.
He doesn’t need to call me a nickname to do that though. His existence does it naturally. I wonder if Ellie would be heartbroken if her brother disappeared off the face of the planet?
Fights like the one that just happened never surprise me, really. The Elites are always finding new ways to get into some trouble. Holland was never really a hot head until last year when everything went down with his dad.
Ryker, Logan, Holland, Mason, and their friend Patrick took down their father’s empire. I don’t know all of the details, but apparently their dads were doing all kinds of illegal shit with their business.
When the guys found out, they confronted them and forced them all to step down. Since Ryker graduated in the Spring, he took over his father’s position as CEO of the company.
Holland has a share of the company too, as well as Pat and Mason. But Mason and Holland decided to finish school before they took their official positions.
It amazes me that Ellie, Haley, and I had no idea any of this was happening right under our noses. But Gwen kept it pretty hush hush for Ryker’s sake.
Their fathers were all part of the Ellington Elite when they attended Ellington University. The guys are what they call “legacies”. Born into a life of wealth and popularity.
The Elite is the most powerful group on campus. Everyone knows they hold a lot of power here, and that means people fear them. Although not all the girls got the memo.
Women are constantly throwing themselves at them. I wonder if they know they’re wasting their time.