Chapter 7
It looks better on you anyway
“I’m out of here,” I told my friends as I joined them in the kitchen a while later.
I scanned my surroundings. Craig was busy talking to Jackson about a pro football player who had just broken a record, and Chase was cheering on a game of beer-pong. Paige was sitting on the kitchen island, chatting with a bunch of girls, laughing and drinking from a red plastic cup.
Sheldon’s face snapped in my direction. “Already? It-It’s not…
it’s not even midnight yet.” He crooked his arm and rested it on my shoulder.
I could smell the tequila on his breath.
“What’s up, Captain? You can talk to me, youuu know.
” He lifted a finger. “I’m suuuper good at keeping secrets. Like a suuuper secret-keeper.”
“I’m just not in the mood, man.”
“Is it because Shepard left withhh Bellevue?”
“When?” Gosh, I hated sounding so desperate. I cleared my throat. “What do you mean by they left together?”
“Just that he…huuuh…he invited her…he invited her to go on a ‘walk.’” He used his fingers to draw air quotes around the word walk.
“And why would I care?” I cared a whole lot.
“Cappp, I might not be the smartest guy on the team, buuut I have eyes, you knooow. I’ve seen how youuu always look at her like she’s reallly special. Like she’s youuur girl.”
Here was the proof I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.
“Yeah, well… Do you know where he took her?” Angst awoke inside me.
I hated the feeling of my heart banging too hard in my chest and my blood turning to ice.
It usually happened when I was playing a game that mattered.
When we were losing and the pressure became unbearable because I had to find a way to pull us out of the hole.
“Nopppe, but I can assure youuu he didn’t take her upstairs.”
“Good.” Some of the knots in my stomach loosened at that piece of information. Still, Nate had been drinking earlier. I had a hard time believing Melinda would ride home with his sorry drunken ass. Unless he possessed some kind of charm girls found impossible to resist—even her. Dammit.
Sheldon nudged me. “Hey, Cappp. Are you stilll leaving?”
I nodded. “I’ll see you on Monday at school. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Follow youuur own advice.” He dropped his arm, and I sidestepped him. “Take care.” He lowered his voice. “If I… If I see your girrrl, I’ll make sure she’s safe, okkkay? Like suuuper extra-safe.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Always, Cappp.”
Outside, the night air filled my lungs, bringing me a sense of calm. Keeping my head down, I snuck away, escaping the mass of people trying to strike up a conversation with me.
I trudged toward the cars parked at a weird angle across the patch of grass lining the driveway, with the intention of walking home. The forty minutes trek should be enough time to flush away all the remaining flecks of anger coiling me tight.
I stopped by my brother’s Jeep to grab the hoodie I had left there earlier and slipped it on. I resumed my walk when the sound of a heated conversation a bit further on my right stopped me in my tracks.
The breeze carried the voices of a guy and a girl arguing.
“I’m not doing this with you. I already said no. Twice.”
Every cell in my body froze. That voice. I would recognize it amongst a thousand others.
Bracing myself for a fight, I clenched my fists at my sides.
If Fucking Bellevue had done anything to hurt Melinda, I would kick his ass to Neptune.
In just a few strides, I zigzagged through the parked vehicles until I spotted Nathan’s pine-green pickup truck with the “Fuck The World” sticker on the slider.
“Stop flirting with me if you won’t open your legs for me.”
The distinctive sound of a hand slapping a cheek resonated in the night. “That’s my girl,” I whispered to myself, pride filling me at the idea Melinda had put this jerk in his place.
“You bitch.” Nathan’s tone had gone from annoyed to pissed. “You wanna touch me? Is that it? Then I’ll show you—”
I saw red. Enough that fury blurred my vision.
From a distance, I saw that Nathan had Melinda pressed against the back door of his truck, one knee between her legs and the full length of his body caging her while he held her hands above her head like she was at his mercy.
She had no way out of this. The jerk had at least forty pounds and a few inches over her.
Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. “Let…let me go. Please, I-I don’t want this. I wanna…I wanna go home. Don’t do this.”
“Shhh, relax. It’ll be fun.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong about me. I thought we were friends. I’m not who you want.”
His grin turned devilish as he leaned back. “Friends? Nah. See? I don’t agree with you. A sweet little pussy like yours is exactly what I crave. Let me take care of you. I didn’t waste all this time on you over the summer to get nothing in exchange. I’ll make this worth it, trust me.”
“Please. No. No, no, no. Nate, don’t do something you will regret.”
“Touch her and die.” They both went rigid at the sound of my voice.
Nathan didn’t have time to finish his sentence before I tackled him and tossed him aside.
Melinda watched me with big, teary eyes, her back molded to that jackass’s truck frame, her arms folded around herself like a shield.
The sight of her, shaken and scared, fractured a piece of my heart.
My pulse went haywire as I took in her ripped shirt and unbuttoned cut-offs.
Nearing her, I pulled her into my arms, careful not to squeeze her too tight in case Fucking Bellevue had hurt her.
Her sobs doubled in intensity as she buried her face in my chest, her frame feeling much smaller in my embrace.
How many times had I dreamed of having her in my arms just like this?
And the first time it happened, it was because she had almost been assaulted by a fucker.
With her body taut against mine, I held her until her muscles relaxed and she calmed down, then wiped her wet cheeks with my thumb. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
With careful fingers, I pushed her hair back, studying her face, searching for clues—or his marks on her porcelain skin.
She watched me for a long moment before she whispered a quivering “Nnnn-o.”
“Gimme a sec, okay?”
Her voice sounded broken when she said, “O-okay.”
A cocktail of emotions swirled inside me. I had to cool off, or I’d do something bad like re-rearranging the fucker’s face. He kinda deserved another facial makeover and a brand-new nose.
I let go of Melinda, and seconds later, charged in the direction of Nathan trying to lift himself off the ground.
“What’s wrong, Pierce? You want her as a sidepiece too? Pretty sure she’s untouched yet. No doubt she’d be the best lay in all Elk River High. Come on, have you seen that ass of hers? I’ve been dreaming of riding it for a while now.”
My wrath spiraled to a new high I’d never experienced before when he flashed a crooked smile my way. “Asshole, shut your mouth, or the only thing you’ll ride is my fist.”
“I’m not greedy, man. We can share. She can blow you while I fuck her hard and fast from behind.”
With one hand, I fisted the collar of his T-shirt and lifted him two inches above the ground.
“You son of a bitch. She told you No. She fucking said No. N.O. No. That’s the first word you learn as a baby, you dickhead.
You’re a sick psycho. Is something wrong with your hearing, or are you as much of a creep as everyone says?
You’re speaking about her like she can’t hear you.
Are you dumb? She’s not a toy you can play with.
Didn’t Mommy Bellevue teach you to respect women growing up? ”
His face turned a dark-beet color. “Fuck off, Mr. Football Star. Don’t disrespect my mother.”
“Whoa, you’re even more deranged than I thought. You won’t let people talk shit about your precious mommy, yet you assault girls in parking lots. It makes total sense.”
“It’s okay for you to get a buffet of pussies but not for me? Take a long hard look in the mirror before accusing me of any wrongdoing.”
“Wow. Here I thought you had some brain matter left. Guess you’re not that lucky after all.
The difference between us is that I never force myself on a girl, you sociopath.
Ever heard of consent or are you too dumb to understand the meaning?
I’ll give you one warning. No second chances for freaks like you.
If I ever catch you giving my girlfriend—or any other girl—trouble, you’ll deal with my fist.” I reared my arm back, ready to make the motherfucker understand my threat wasn’t just for show when a small hand curled around my biceps and the voice that had haunted my dreams for so many nights filtered through my murdering thoughts.
My whole being relaxed under her touch, and the anger raging in the depths of me decreased a notch.
“Mase... He’s not worth it. Don’t injure your good hand for him. Release him. Please. Do it for me.”
Closing my eyes, I debated my options in my head. The idea of aggravating my condition because of this idiot and risking the football season and messing further with our chances to play at State—and my future—didn’t appeal to me right now, so I dropped my arm. Yeah, I didn’t need another injury.
“Thank you,” Melinda murmured from behind me.
With a big shove, I pushed Nathan back. “You’re lucky she’s defending you. Now get lost before I change my mind.”
In his drunken state, he twirled and stumbled, landing on his front, no doubt eating a mouthful of dust as his face kissed the ground.
My hand gripped Melinda’s. Our palms fused together, and her fingers held on to mine like a lifeline. Nothing had ever felt so right before. “Are you sure he didn’t touch you?” I asked. The thought of Nathan putting his hands on her made me choke on my breath.
“He wasn’t able to...” Her voice sounded a bit shaky. “You stopped him just in time before he… Oh God, I don’t even wanna think about it. I really thought we were getting along…”
“Hey, it’s okay. As long as you’re unharmed, it’s all that matters.”