Justfinishing my beer, will be there in a couple of minutes.
I repocketed my phone and downed the last bit of my beer in one mouthful. Telling Chris we’d meet up again soon, I stepped outside, huge raindrops landing on my head. Pulling my hood over my head, gratefulthatBen had come to pick me up, I kept my head bowed as I started the short walk to the bus stop.
But I didn’t get far. Hands grabbed me from behind, one going around my mouth to stop me from calling out, others holding my arms as I was pulled into a nearby alley. I fought against the grasps, but they were too strong. Panicked, my gaze darted around, and it took all of five seconds to see who had me.
Bill Woods and his two cronies, Jack Tucker and Cole Reed.
Jack and Cole had always followed Bill around like little lost puppies, obeying his orders. For a whole year, every time one of them saw me around school, they would punch me in the stomach because Bill had told them to.
Cole held my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back, and Bill was on my other side, leaving Jack standing behind me with his grubby hand across my mouth. Managing to rip my hand free from Bill’s hold, I took a swing at Cole, who jumped back before my punch could land.
“Hold the faggot,”Bill growled.“This dirty little fucker needs to be taught another lesson; we obviously didn’t teach him properly at school.”
He plowed his fist into my stomach, knocking the wind right out of me. I doubled over, only to be pulled back up by Cole, who’d grabbed a handful of my hair. A fist connected with my cheek, which was followed by a blow to my mouth. Pain exploded in my face as the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth.
The arms holding me suddenly let go, and I crashed to the ground. The three of them surrounded me, and before I could move into a position to protect my head and stomach, a solid kick collided with my ribs, once again, knocking air out of methatI’d onlyjust regained.
Fear coursed through my body as kick after kick landed against me, but as quickly as the attack had started, it was over.
“He’s had enough, let’s get out of here,”Bill snarled, and with a final kick to my back, the three of them strolled out of the alley as if they hadn’t beaten someone black and blue.
My body slumped, and I winced with every deep breath I sucked in. Regret flowed through my veins like a tsunami. I should have canceled my drinks with the guys and stayed at home with Ben.
Ben
Itapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I stared through the window at the rain lashing down. Frustration coursed through me; not because Tristan was late, but because I was excited to see him, and the last few hours had dragged.
When a figure appeared through the gloom with his hood over his head, I knew it was Tristan, and a smile creased my lips. Hetugged the door open and slid in.“Hey, man. Sorry I took longer than I said I would.”
He kept his head turned away from me with the hood up as he strapped himself in. My gut instantly told me something was wrong.“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, can we go? The weather is terrible.”
“Bug,”I barked, my worry getting the better of me.“Look at me.”He muttered a curse, andthenslowly,too fucking slowly,he looked at me and lowered his hood.“What the fuck? What happened?”
My gaze roamed over his face, cataloguing the injuries. One eye was swollen, a dark purple bruise already forming on his cheekbone. His lip was split, and dried blood and dirt coated his face.
“What happened, Tristan?”I asked again.“Who the fuck did this to you?”
He sighed and squeezed his eyes closed, wincing in pain as he did.“Can wejustgo?”
“No. I want names.”
Anger pounded through me like a marching band, and my hand tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. Whoever had done this to Bug was going to regret the day they were born.
A small smirk pulled across his lips.“You gonna go all action man on me, baby?”
“You bet your fucking ass I am. Tell me-”
“Ben, Ijust…”he trailed off, sighing heavily again before his pleading eyes met mine.“Please, can we go. I’ll tell you when we’re home, but Ijustwant to get out of here.”
I couldn’t ignore the plea in his voice, and my anger deflated. Reluctantly, I started the engine and pulled out of the space. For the duration of the journey, the only sound Tristan made was small grimaces every time he moved.
My instinct screamed at me to take him to the hospital, but I kept driving in the direction of home, figuringthatI’d assess his injuries properly when we got there. Questions churned in my head as I cast surreptitious glances over at him, my fury brewing every time I saw the damage to his handsome face.
Reaching home, Tristan followed me inside and through to the kitchen, his brow quirking as I searched through cupboards until I found what I was looking for.
“Sit down,”I ordered, opening the first aid kit and pulling the supplies out.
