26. Twenty-Six #3
The boat dock has several arms, mostly to allow for as many boats as possible in the water at once.
As we got closer, it became clear which boat the sounds were coming from.
It was that giant high-speed monstrosity that looked so out of place amongst the canoes, kayaks, and sailboats.
It was tied to the very last anchor point on the dock, so Toni swam for one of the other arms and I followed.
My hands slipped between the planks on the side of the floating pieces.
Toni’s did, too. We hung in place, each taking turns to pull ourselves up enough to sneak a peek at the other boat.
After a couple of attempts, Toni mouthed to me, “I can’t see anything.” I shook my head, because neither could I. She pointed towards the boat itself. And now I mouthed, “No!”
Before I could stop her, she started to swim.
I wasn’t about to let her out of my sight, so I followed.
There were rubber bumpers hanging in the water to protect the fiberglass from hitting the wood of the docks, and Birdie and I each clung to one, listening again.
From here, the boat still blocked our view, but it was a hell of a lot easier to hear.
Rustling sounds, huffs of frustration, and one very clear, feminine, and terrifying, “Nearly time for your little swim, Xavi.”
Stephanie. Both of us recognized her voice instantly, although it sounded less bratty and more manic than usual.
Toni, always a step ahead of me, already had her hands on the three-rung metal ladder near the boat’s engine. At Stephanie’s next words, “Now, I just need to put the key in the-” Birdie hauled herself up, with me at her heels.
I climbed over the boat’s back seat just in time to see Toni throw herself at Stephanie’s back.
She grabbed her long ponytail and wrenched it around, so hard that the other girl was thrown into the driver’s seat.
Stephanie shrieked, and she didn’t stop as Toni started to rain slaps and punches down on her.
It took a second, but Stephanie fought back, screaming, “You ruin everything!” before trying to slash at Toni with her long ass nails.
Birdie was vicious when she needed to be.
She could hold her own, so I looked around for any sign of Xavier, and, of course, it wasn’t a huge boat, so there he was, bound and gagged barely inches from my feet.
I knelt to grab him, but he didn’t respond.
I ripped the disgusting gag from his mouth, and finally he groaned, but it was like some kind of leftover sound.
He didn’t move or open his eyes. I shook him, “Xav…Xav, wake up, please, baby, please, wake up.”
There was no response, not right away. Then, I was rewarded with one, slow blink.
He was still with us. Behind me, I heard Toni, stone-voiced threaten, “I should kill you.” I turned, and sure enough, Toni’s hands were wrapped tightly around Stephanie’s throat.
Beneath her, the other girl kicked and shook.
She was never a match for Toni Barrett, not even on Toni’s worst day.
I watched, without a word, as the blood drained from Stephanie’s face, her kicks slowed, and eventually she stopped moving altogether.
Leaving Xav’s side, I felt at Stephanie’s neck.
Not because I gave a fuck if the bitch was still alive after seeing what she’d done to Xav, but because, I needed to know exactly how what we were dealing with.
Unlike the last time Toni killed someone, this time, I was happy to have witnessed it and would be there to protect her every step of the way.
There was still a pulse, slow, but there.
So, like she’d done for me, I unwound Toni’s hands and whispered, “Xav, baby. Xavi needs you.”
That snapped her out of it. We both returned to Xavi’s side.
She wiped his face and smoothed his hair, while I worked at untying the knots holding his body in place.
One by one, they came loose, and as they did, his limbs went slack.
Toni held his face in her hands, staring at him like he was the most precious thing in the whole world.
If I didn’t already know they were in love, it would have been clear right then.
The ever-present loneliness that hung out in my gut stirred to life, but I tamped it down, when I heard Xav groan my name.
“Bren?”
“I’m right here,” I knelt, reaching for his hands and running my thumbs over his perfect fingers.
Toni looked at me, but didn’t let go, “We need to get out of here. Before that bitch wakes up.”
I nodded, but Toni’s eyes held mine as she vowed, “I will kill her, Brennon. If she wakes up right now, I will kill her for this.”
“I know, Birdie,” I replied, just as serious, “And I’ll help you. So, in the interest of our own futures and not going to prison, let’s go.”
We both looked back to Xav, who had barely moved.
“Xav,” I asked, “Can you stand?”
Credit to him, he tried. He was strong, but his legs were either too stiff from being bound for who knows how long, or maybe it was whatever she’d given him to make him so doped up.
Together, Birdie and I managed to get him to his feet, each of us supporting him under one arm.
It was slow progress and by the time we managed to get him to the edge of the dock, I could hear Stephanie starting to wake in the driver’s seat.
I let Xav go for one second, turned to her still passed out frame, and kicked her as hard as I could in the head.
Once we were on the dock, Toni and Xavi both collapsed to the ground. I picked her up first.
“We gotta go. Just a little further T.”
“Where?” She asked helplessly.
“Follow me,” I said, before grunting under Xav’s weight. He was wiry, but all those muscles still weighed a lot.
“Bren, there’s no way he can make it to the nurses, not like this.”
“I know, Birdie, and I wouldn’t trust either of you out of my sight even if he could. We’re going to the library.”
I leaned in and kissed her damp forehead.
I tried to be gentle. She was cold as ice and barely registered my words.
Toni bore all the hallmarks of retreating into herself.
Only, it wasn’t just her, but Xavier too.
His hazel eyes looked more haunted than I’d ever seen them.
At least he was regaining the use of his legs, though barely.
I adjusted my arm so I could hold him up.
It was a strain, but one I’d happily bear.
We needed to get somewhere safe. I needed them to be safe.
I needed them to be where I could watch over them.
Mostly, I needed them to trust me. Even if only for a little while.
I hadn’t earned it. Didn’t deserve it. Needed it just the same.
I held Xavi tight to me with one arm and stuck my other hand out to her, “Come on,” I said.
Simultaneously, I cast a silent prayer of protection to whatever magic deities out there could hear me.
Consider me a convert, because the second her warm skin touched mine, the universe and I had a deal.