Chapter 5 #2
Abandoning the porch swing, I head inside. Weaving my way through the crowd, I make my way to the stairs. People try to stop me and talk, but I excuse myself and keep going.
When I’m upstairs, I head to the bathroom. The door is closed, so I give it a knock. “Anyone in there?”
No one answers. I try the handle and open it when I find it unlocked. Huh. Empty. Maybe he went back downstairs and ran into one of the girls.
I’m about to head back downstairs when I hear shouting. “I’m going to kick your scrawny, little ass.”
Well, that's my cue to go check it out. No way I’m letting any fights happen on my watch in my house. The last thing I need is Coach chewing us out and making practices hell for the next week if someone gets hurt.
Quickening my pace, I jog down the hall and turn the corner.
“You can kick my ass all you want, doesn’t mean I’m going to do your fucking schoolwork for you. I already told you no, now fuck off.” My asshole teammate, Mickey, has Blake pinned against the wall, his hand is wrapped around his neck. I see fucking red.
“You stupid little–” The hand around Blake’s throat tightens. Blake's eyes widen as he makes a choked sound. Mickey raises his fist like he’s going to punch Blake.
Like fuck he will.
I’m over there before he has a chance to land the punch, tackling Mickey to the ground.
“What the fuck!” he bellows. I sit on his chest, pinning him to the ground. This time, it’s my hand wrapped around his neck.
“You think you can go around hurting people, Mickey?” I snarl, chest heaving with rage. “This is college, grow the fuck up. You can’t bully people into doing your fucking work.”
“Get off me,” he sneers. I don’t listen, instead tightening my grip. My thighs have his arms pinned to his side so he can’t hit me. He tries to struggle, but I haven’t missed a leg day in years, I’ve got a good grip on him.
“Not until you agree to leave Blake alone.”
His lip peels back in a sneer. “Why, is he your boyfriend?” He lets out a choked laugh. “Should have known the guy was a fucking faggot.”
Wrong answer, big guy. I land a punch to his face, sending it cracking to the side.
“Watch your fucking mouth.” I grip his jaw as he curses and splutters.
“There’s no room on this team for homophobic idiots.
You don’t have to like me, but you sure as fuck aren’t going to pull that shit.
Also, did you forget our assistant coach is bisexual?
Don’t think he would be too happy to know your opinion. ”
He says nothing, just continues to sneer. “As much as I want to beat your ass, I’m not going to risk my spot on the team for the likes of you. Just leave Blake the fuck alone, or I will tell Coach what happened here tonight. Understood?”
“Narc,” he growls.
“Better to be a narc than a homophobe,” I sneer right back. “Agree to leave Blake alone. Now.”
“Fine,” he spits, his gaze darting behind me. “I’ll leave the little freak alone.”
He just had to get that last jab in. I tighten my grip on his throat, satisfied with the look of panic in his eyes, before letting him go.
I get to my feet and step away. Mickey rolls over and coughs a few times before he stumbles to his feet. He sways a moment, proving he’s wasted. That and the alcohol that was coming off his nasty breath.
“Watch your back, Novak. Just because you’re buddies with the new coach doesn’t mean you’re untouchable.”
“Maybe not, but I do happen to know the new dean, too. I’m more than happy to bring this to him. I’ve heard he’s not a fan of rich pricks paying their way in life. Money doesn’t talk with him, so good luck with that if I do.”
“Fuck you.” He spits a mouthful of blood on the floor at my feet.
“Nah. You’re not my type. Even if you were, I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man on Earth. I’d rather fuck a hornet’s nest, thanks.”
He flips me off before pushing past me and storming down the hall.
I watch and wait until he’s gone before turning to check on Blake. “Are you okay?” My eyes search him over. “Did he hurt you?”
Blake stares at me, his eyes wide with shock. “I– Ah.”
“Shit, your neck.” I curse, reaching to rub my thumb over the mark that's starting to turn red. “Let me get you some ice.”
“Why did you do that?” Blake blinks up at me.
“What do you mean? Pull him off you?” Blake nods. “Because there’s no way I’d stand by and watch him hurt you.”
“He’s your teammate, though.”
“So what? Doesn’t matter who they are, if they’re being an asshole, if they’re about to do something wrong, and I have the power to stop it, I’m going to.
I hate that guy. He’s a bully, a perv, and an asshole.
I’m not sure what his issue with you is, but from what I heard, I’m guessing he was trying to get you to do his work or something? ”
“Yeah.” Blake’s eyes cast down, and my heart hurts to see him so defeated.
“Blake, is this the first time he’s bothered you?” He shakes his head slowly. “This has happened before?” He nods, and fuck, I feel a wave of anger. “This year?”
“And all the years before.” The sigh that leaves him screams pain and exhaustion. What did people do to this poor guy?
“What do you mean?”
“We went to high school together.” His eyes flick to mine, and I hate how broken he looks.
“I was his, as well as the rest of the football team's, favorite punching bag. I was easy prey. They weren’t as bad if I did their schoolwork for them.” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it.
“I told him I wasn’t going to do it anymore.
This is college. The work is harder and it’s not the kind that you can just fake your way through.
That hasn’t stopped him from harassing me every year since coming to SVU and trying to change my mind. ”
“That motherfucking asshole,” I growl. “I really wish I had kicked his ass now. Still might.” I run my hand through my hair, grabbing at the strands for a second before letting go.
“Why would you? You don’t even know me. We just met yesterday. Why defend me?” Blake looks at me like he can’t believe what I just did.
My shoulders slump, my heart clenches. He was bullied for years, god knows what those assholes did to him. Of course, he’s not going to trust me or believe that someone would defend him because, by the sounds of it, no one ever has.
“Because that's who I am, Blake. I don’t hurt people, and I don’t allow people to be hurt.
Doesn’t matter if I know someone or not, I don’t just stand by.
Plus, that's not entirely true. Val adopted you, officially making you part of our friend group.” My voice is soft, a small smile lifting on my lips.
“That means you’ve got a whole gang of people who would jump at the chance to stand by your side.
Doesn’t matter with what, we’re there for each other. ”
Blake’s jaw clenches, his nostrils flaring, and I can see his eyes start to well up. It takes everything in me not to pull him in for a hug
“That is, if you’d like us to be your friend? I know Val can be too much sometimes. Okay, all the time.” I chuckle. “But she really is an amazing person. So are the rest of our friends. Still, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. No hard feelings. Your life, your choice.”
He nods his head in a stiff, jerky movement.
“I know you came here with the girls, but I’m pretty sure Val has passed out in my room, and Lexie is watching over her. Would you be okay if I give you a ride home?”
He nods again.
“Let’s go this way,” I tell him, pointing down the hall, the opposite way I came, and Mickey left. “It leads to the garage.”
Blake follows after me, and with each second that passes, I want to turn around, find Mickey, and beat his stupid ass. If I didn’t hate the guy already, I sure as fuck would now.
Once we’re in the garage, I head over to the freezer to grab an ice pack.
“I’m guessing you don’t use this for cars?” Blake asks, looking around.
“No.” I chuckle. “We use the space as a gym. Even though we spend hours every day at the one on campus. There’s a parking lot they made for us around back.”
He nods, turning to face me. I hold out the ice pack toward him, my eyes on his neck. It looks worse in the light. Fuck it. I might just murder Mickey anyway.
“Thanks.” He takes it from me. “You didn’t have to.”
“Let’s get you home.”
He nods and follows me outside. The party is still going, but there are fewer people out front. Most likely, everyone is in the backyard, jumping in the pool. Like that's a smart idea. Drunk people and pools are a bad mix.
We walk around to the back of the property, taking the long way to avoid people, and head for my car.
The only sound on the way to Blake’s house is the low hum of music from the car’s radio.
It’s not until we’re turning onto his street that Blake speaks. “I just realized I didn’t give you my address. How do you know where I live?”
“I’ve given your sister a ride home a few times,” I tell him, pulling up to his house.
“Oh.” He looks out the window, then back to me. “Thanks for the ride home.”
“No problem. Really.”
“And ah, thanks for, you know, back there.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Blake. He’s not going to be bothering you again, okay? I’ll make sure of it.”
“I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” I smile. “He’s not going to do anything. If he does, he’d rat himself out, and Mickey cares about his reputation too much to do that. He also knows that, unlike the last dean, Theo can’t be bought, so if he finds out, Mickey’s fucked.”
He blinks and blinks and blinks. I think I broke the poor guy's brain.
“It’s okay, Blake,” I assure him. “Really. Don’t worry about me. Just take care of yourself. And please, don’t worry when it comes to him. He’s not an issue anymore. I’ll see you Monday, yeah? Are we still good for tutoring?”
“Yeah.” He nods slowly. “We’re good.”
“Awesome,” I say, smiling. “See you then.”
“Yeah.” He opens the door and gets out. “See you then.”
He shuts the door and heads towards his house, stopping to wave me off when he opens his front door.
I don’t leave until it’s shut. As I pull away from the curb, I know I’m totally fucked when it comes to this guy.
I don’t do crushes. It’s not like me. I’ve never liked someone enough to get a crush.
Yet, I can’t stop thinking and worrying about the raven-haired, broody boy the whole ride home.
The last thing he needs is someone putting him in an awkward position. I don’t even know if the guy likes men. And there's the fact that he’s saving my ass by tutoring me.
I’m not going to risk losing his help.
What he needs is a friend. And that's what I plan on being for him.
I might not know him well, but from what I’ve been able to see, he’s a good guy who’s just been dealt a shitty hand.
No one deserves to be bullied, and I plan on making sure no one messes with him again.