Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CASH
He hit me. I can’t believe he hit me. For a moment, once Onyx threw Benson against the wall, I just stand there.
The pain doesn’t quite register, though I’m sure the tears in my eyes are partially because of the pain.
I feel tears dripping down my face as I stare at Onyx beating on my brother.
He’s yelling something, but I don’t hear his words.
I don’t hear anything as I stare. The only words I hear are the ones in my head.
He hit me.
Then my fathers are there, and it feels like eight more people are in the garage.
Sound comes rushing back as if I’m in a vacuum.
It whooshes in and gets really loud, as if it’s coming from all sides.
The sound seems to trigger my pain receptors because my face is suddenly throbbing.
I taste blood. My eye stings. My cheek pulses.
Even though everyone is yelling, I don’t hear their words. I need to get away. I turn and start running. I’m not even sure where I’m going. I’m just going. Blood and tears drip down my face. I can feel it. Maybe it’s more tears than blood. I’m not sure.
I’m not sure if I’m sobbing out loud or if it’s just in my head.
I may not have made a conscious decision, but it’s not a shock that I run for Lie.
I think I even hear myself yelling his name as I run down the road.
Likely calling attention to myself as our neighbors come out to see what happened. Why am I screaming? Why am I bloody?
Laiken’s front door opens a moment before I run through it and straight into Lie’s arms.
“Oh my god, Cash,” he says and holds me tightly to him. “It’s okay now. I have you. No one will hurt you again. It’s okay now.”
I didn’t feel the tightness in my chest before, but now that I know for certain Benson can’t touch me again, the sob breaks free, and my crying is no longer quiet. Maybe it wasn’t before either, but I hear it now. I hear my loud cries.
Another set of arms wraps around us a moment later. Laiken. He’s only there for a second before there’s pounding on the front door. It reminds me of the night Benson tried to break down my door, and I jump, my body tensing.
But then I hear Onyx’s voice. “Cash!”
“You’re safe here,” Laiken says calmly.
“No,” I answer and push myself free of their hold. “Onyx didn’t hit me.”
Lie’s eyebrows pinch. “I didn’t think he did.”
“I did,” Laiken says, frowning.
Onyx hits the door again. “Cash, please!”
I shake my head and turn for the door. It doesn’t open when I tug on it, but my face hurts, and there’s a headache growing behind my left eye. Such a stupid thing, but not being able to open the door makes fresh tears streak down my cheeks. “Onyx,” I call and hit the door with frustration.
Lie is there with gentle hands on my shoulders. He guides me to the side and unlocks the door. Okay, maybe I feel a little stupid.
He pulls the door open, and I look at Onyx. Onyx’s face crumples when he sees me. “Cash.” He reaches for me, and I dive into his arms. My feet leave the floor, and he hugs me tightly to his chest. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll never let him touch you again. I’m sorry.”
I try to get words out, but they don’t come. Maybe I’m sobbing again. I’m not sure. My head hurts more now. My eye hurts in a way I never knew an eye could hurt.
We’re moved gently to the side, and the front door shuts again. For several minutes, no one says anything until Lie touches the back of my head. I know it’s him. I know his touch better than anyone else’s.
Picking my head up, I peek out at him from where I have my face buried in Onyx’s chest. His eyes are red, like he’s been crying too.
“Cashy,” he murmurs and comes closer. He rests his head against Onyx’s shoulder so our faces are close. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I answer around a hiccup. “I think I’m shocked more than… afraid? I just.” I sniff as I try to find words. “The only thing I could think was ‘he hit me,’ like I was surprised. I guess a part of me still thought he wouldn’t hit me.”
Lie sighs. “We need to get you cleaned up. See what’s hiding under the blood.”
Alarm spreads through me. “Is there a lot?” I step back, and horror spreads through me. Lie and Onyx are covered in blood. “Oh my god.”
“I think it’s not as bad as it looks,” Laiken says. “Your blood is mixed with tears, which is helping to saturate the fabric.” He rests a hand on my shoulder.
Lie takes my hand. “Come on. There’s a first-aid kit in the bathroom.”
The bathroom in the hall isn’t huge. There’s a shower, toilet, and a small sink, though there’s a lot of counter space around the small sink. In fact, I think the area the sink takes up is larger than the shower.
Lie encourages me to sit on the counter, so I do and avoid my reflection.
On the opposite side of the counter, he sets the first-aid kit from under the sink.
Onyx squeezes into the bathroom and stands over the toilet so he can hold my hand.
Laiken hovers in the doorway, offering Lie a washcloth to clean me.
We’re quiet for several minutes as Lie gently washes my face. I can’t decide whether I have a lot of injuries or if I just hurt everywhere. Maybe it’s just my feelings that are hurt, and they’re manifesting in my face.
Onyx’s hand squeezes mine, and I grip it tightly.
“What happened?” Laiken asks into the silence.
The memory of Benson’s fist coming at me and me standing there in shock, not bothering to even try defending myself, floods my mind, and more stupid tears fill my eyes.
“I kissed him in the garage,” Onyx says. “I thought we were alone, but apparently we weren’t. I wasn’t fast enough to stop him from hitting Cash.”
I concentrate on Lie’s face. His lips press together tightly at Onyx’s words. “Tell me you beat his ass,” he hisses.
Onyx nods. I can see it in the corner of my eye. “I did. Until their dads pulled me away. I may have screamed at them for a minute before I realized Cash was gone.”
“Why did you yell at my dads? They didn’t hit me,” I say.
“Cash, they allowed your dipshit brother back in that house after he said he wanted you to die. For the past nine years, they’ve done absolutely nothing to force Benson to grow the fuck up. Maybe they didn’t encourage him to hit you, but they sure as hell enabled him.”
I sigh.
“Just as I have for so long,” he murmurs.
I grip his hand tightly and try to shake my head.
“Ben’s had no consequences for his behavior for far too long,” Laiken agrees. “I think we’re all a little to blame for how out of hand he’s gotten. A child left unchecked will push and pass all their boundaries. An adult is no different.”
“They’re worse. A child doesn’t necessarily know why something is wrong. Benson fucking does,” Lie nearly growls. “I’m going to run him over.”
Amusement makes my lips curl, and I feel the sting on my lower lip. Lie presses a piece of gauze to my lip. I think I made it bleed again. Must be split. Awesome. “What’re you going to run him over with?” I ask.
Lie huffs, nostrils flaring. “Trust me, I’ll find something. Maybe tie him down to the tarmac and run him over with a plane.”
“Oof.”
He takes a step back and looks at me. Silence fills the bathroom. I haven’t been paying attention to what he was doing to my face. Yes, he cleaned it up. Are there bandages? Ointment of some kind? I’m a little too afraid to look down and see if there are wrappers.
Laiken steps into the room and rests a hand on the side of my head. He gently pulls the side of my eye up. It hurts.
“Can you see out of your eye?” Laiken asks.
My breath catches. Holy hell. What did Ben do to me?
Trying not to let panic overflow, I struggle to remember how to close just one eye. It takes me a long, freaky minute, but eventually, I manage and confirm that I can see out of my left eye.
“We should call Dr. Hill to make sure there’s nothing more you need,” Laiken says. “Just in case.”
Okay, I’m going to need to look at myself.
Onyx helps me off the counter, and I turn to look at my reflection.
“Oh god,” I whisper. Ugly bruises are already forming around my eye, nose, cheek, and mouth.
All on one side. Like I was hit by a truck, and it had a very concentrated impact.
My eye is swollen shut. My lip is split and puffy.
My nose… is it broken? There’s a laceration at the corner of my eye and another right below it.
“Does he wear rings now?” I ask, fingers barely touching my own face.
My phone begins ringing in my pocket, and I dig it out.
It’s my dad, but I don’t really want to talk to him right now.
It’s not his fault. He didn’t ever make it okay to hit someone.
But Onyx’s words ring in my head and… well, they did let him come home.
I had stopped telling them all the bullshit Benson would say to me because it was always met with the equivalent of ‘you’re adults now and need to work it out’.
Onyx takes my phone from my hand and slides it into his pocket. The tension in my shoulders relaxes a little. He kisses the side of my head. “Let it be for right now,” he says quietly. “No need to stress. Okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, okay.”
“I’m going to call Dr. Hill’s office,” Laiken says.
“I don’t really want to go outside again,” I say before he can leave the bathroom. “I think I might have been yelling or crying or screaming as I ran down the road so…” My skin flushes.
“I’ll see if he can make a house call.”
I nod, and Laiken leaves the room.
Now I’m left staring at the two men covered in my blood. I scowl, but it hurts my face. And my head.
“Can I have some ibuprofen?”
Lie rummages around in the drawers before handing me a bottle. “I’ll grab you some water.”
“Thanks.”
He leaves the room, and Onyx takes the bottle from me. I don’t argue that I can open the pill bottle on my own. He sets two liqui-gels into my hand.
“It’s not your fault,” I say.
Onyx sighs. “I enabled him as much as everyone else until recently.”
“I understand what you’re saying and I guess I don’t really disagree, but no one is responsible for Benson hitting me except Benson.”
“I agree. I still feel guilty. To some degree, this entire island is at fault. Literally anyone could have voiced concerns about Benson’s growing hostility, but everyone looked the other way, and you got hurt because of it.”
“I could have said something.”
“You did, Cash.” Lie returns and hands me a glass of water. “You said something for years, and no one listened to you. You are literally the only innocent person in this.”
Onyx is clearly in a mood right now, so I don’t argue anymore. Instead, I take my pills like a good patient.
“I’m going to get you a clean shirt,” Lie says.
My eyes drop to my shirt, and I wince. I hadn’t noticed my bloody shirt. If people had seen me running down the street, they’re certainly talking. I can only imagine what they were thinking.
Onyx helps me remove my shirt without letting the neck rub against my face. He uses the discarded cloth to wipe my skin clean of blood.
Again, Lie returns and hands us a couple of shirts. He kisses my cheek and leaves the bathroom again. Once I’m in a clean, blood-free shirt, Onyx pulls his over his head. I take the cloth from his hands and clean him up this time. He watches me with a smile.
When we’re clean, Onyx brings me into his arms.
“Did you hit him a lot?” I ask quietly.
“To be honest, I have no idea what damage I’ve done.” His fingers bury into my hair. “I didn’t see a whole lot of anything until I realized you were gone. The world came back into focus then.”
I nod.
“If I didn’t, though, I’m not finished with him.”
My arms tighten around his waist. “Or… you can let it be.”
“Not a chance, Cash.”
For a few minutes, we remain like that in the tiny bathroom, with Onyx holding me in his arms. As the seconds tick by and my face slowly stops throbbing and my headache lessens, I remember what we’d been talking about before my brother interrupted us. Rude.
I turn my face so that I can look up at him. Onyx meets my eyes. “I want to be with you. Every day. You’re the only one for me.”
At first, he’s a little confused about the change of topic, but he must realize why I’m saying it because he relaxes and smiles. “As eloquent as this is going to sound, same.”
I laugh and feel my lip split. That’s going to get annoying.
“So, as my forever boyfriend, I don’t want you to engage with Benson about this again.”
Onyx frowns, eyelids hooding as he looks at me. I try not to grin because I’m already sick to my stomach with the taste of blood in my mouth.
“Remember, I want to live in peace without him. He’s already taken up far too much real estate in my life. He’s already affected every single day for nine years, Onyx. I’m really, really tired of having to think about whether he’s going to be somewhere or what he’s going to say to me today.”
His bemusement fades. After a moment of locked eye contact, he sighs and leans down to rest his head on mine. “Okay.”
“I’m never going to ask you to change something or stop being friends with someone or… not do something—this is sounding very intelligent.”
Onyx laughs quietly.
“I just mean, I in no way want to control or change your friends or habits or whatever. I kind of feel like that’s how I made it sound.”
“Benson is always going to be a topic that we’ll need to discuss for as long as he’s here. Especially now, because every single fucking day that I see you bruised and battered is going to make me want to beat the fuck out of him.”
“Or,” I say and lean up to press a kiss to his lips, “you can forget about him and just focus on me. I’m totally ready to be the center of your attention.” I mean it as a tease to try to get us away from the subject of my brother.
But Onyx stares at me, entirely serious, and says, “Foolish boy. You’ve been the only thing in my entire life that has had my attention since I was seven.”
Well, shit.