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Josh blasted Ty with a look of hatred. “Yeah… and I’m going to beat you to a bloody pulp in about thirty seconds. But for now, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
In the silence after Josh’s outburst, Ava walked into the room and gently cleared her throat. She held her cell phone out to Hannah and tried to get her to take it. “Hannah. It’s your mom. You need to take this.”
“Not… not now. Tell her I’ll call her back.” Hannah couldn’t drag her gaze from Josh’s tortured expression.
“No, hon. She needs you. You need to take this,” Ava urged gently, wrapping her hand around Hannah’s and pulling her from the room and away from Josh and Ty.
As Hannah left the kitchen and put the phone to her ear, she heard a sickening thump and barely registered the moan that sounded as if it came from Ty’s lips. She knew in that instant that Josh had hit his friend and her anger escalated.
God, her day was sucking. “Hey, Mom.”
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I guess.” Hannah looked at Ava. “Just crying on Ava’s shoulder.” No, she absolutely wasn’t fine but she couldn’t tell her mother that.
“Listen baby, can you come home?” Her mother’s voice broke on the question and Hannah jerked to attention.
“What’s wrong?”
Hannah heard her mother take a ragged breath. “Grandma died this morning. The hospital just called.” Her mom choked again. “Your dad is in Dallas with Zach and I—”
“I’ll be right there.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I should be strong, I know. But she’s my mother and I … I need my baby.”
Tears flooded Hannah’s eyes, both from her mother’s pain and the agonizing loss of the grandmother she’d loved so much. “I’ll be there in a bit. I’m leaving Ava’s now.”
“Be safe, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“We need to pack … and I can’t think straight. We’re going to catch a flight tonight to Shreveport.”
“Okay, I’m leaving now.”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“It was in the other room. I’ve got it if you need me, but I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetie.”
Hannah handed the phone back to Ava and turned around and ran straight into Josh. His hands landed on her shoulders and Hannah saw lines of strain around his mouth. “What happened?”
Hannah glanced away from his fierce gaze and saw Ty leaning against the doorframe, his mouth bleeding and his eye cut and already swollen. Fury rose within her at the damage that Josh had inflicted on his friend. “I didn’t kiss him.” She gave him the answer to the question he’d asked earlier.
She attempted to pull away but his hands tightened their grip. He ignored her denial and asked again, “What happened, Hannah?”
“My grandmother died this morning,” she answered, pulling away from him and this time succeeding.
Ava came up behind her and turned her and hugged her. “I’m sorry.”
Hannah accepted the hug. “Yeah. She’s been in pain for a long time, so I guess it’s for the best.”
“But it doesn’t feel like it, does it?” Ava commiserated.
“No, it hurts,” Hannah said as she grabbed her phone from the counter. “I gotta go. We’re leaving for Shreveport tonight. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I’ll take you home,” Josh said.
Hannah flinched away from him. “No, I’m good.”
“You don’t need to be driving, you’re too upset.”
Hannah slowly turned and faced him while Ava and Ty looked on. “I can handle it. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Hannah—”
She cut him off. “Why don’t you worry about your friend? Somebody just beat the crap out of him for no good reason.”
Hannah watched as Josh looked over at Ty and the mess that was his face. He grimaced
and then looked back at her.
“I’ll be back in a few days. I’m sure all this shit will still be here when I get back.
Hannah turned and left the room.
****
After Hannah left the room, Josh saw Ava take in her brother’s bloody face. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Why don’t you give us a minute?”
Her face reflected the strain she was feeling as she looked between Ty and Josh. “Are you sure?” she asked her brother.
“Yeah.”
Ava left the room on silent feet and Josh stared at Ty, knowing that he should feel guilty for the damage he’d inflicted, but only feeling a sense of betrayal mixed with the rage that still flowed through his bloodstream. He didn’t say anything because his fists had already spoken eloquently enough.
Ty put his hand to his mouth and moved his jaw, testing it. “I’m sorry.”
“Bullshit,” Josh hissed.
“I shouldn’t have done it.”
“No shit, asshole.”
“Y’all broke up.”
“We had a fight, that’s it. And even if we had broken up, you crossed the fucking line and you know it.”
Ty hung his head. “Yeah, I know it.”
“What the fuck, man? Why would you do that to me?” Underneath the fury, Josh was feeling the betrayal like a knife piercing into an already open wound.
“I just lost it. You know I care for her. I—”
“You have feelings for Hannah?” If anything, the conversation was pissing Josh off even more.
“Not so much feelings, I just—” His words trailed off.
“Just what? You just want to fuck her? You want to fuck my girlfriend, Ty?” Josh felt his abs tighten in advance of a physical fight. He felt a pounding in his head as his hands fisted at his sides.
“That’s not it. I don’t see Hannah the same way as I look at other girls.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why are you thinking about her at all?”
“Jesus, Josh. She’s perfect. Do you know how fucking lucky you are? She’s soft and feminine and sweet—”
Josh took a threatening step forward. “I’m going to kill you, motherfucker.”
