Page 49 of The Moment I Knew

He barely even staggered.

Instead, he grabbed Mitch by the front of his jacket and drove him backward, forcing him into the side of a parked car with a loud thud. Mitch let out a startled curse, hands flying up as Cole shoved him again, pinning him there.

“I’m not going to warn you again,” Cole said, voice low and furious.

Mitch shoved back, managing to slip free, and swung again. This time Cole blocked it easily and returned the favor, a sharp punch that sent Mitch stumbling sideways across the pavement.

Startled shrieks sounded from inside the shop. I was frozen in place, eyes wide and breath coming out in gasps as I watched the fight, unable to look away.

Mitch regained his footing and rushed him, tackling Cole around the shoulders. They crashed to the ground together, skidding across the sidewalk in a tangle of limbs.

“Cole!” I shouted again.

For a split second, his eyes connected with mine. Then, Cole rolled them over, coming up fast, already back on his feet. Mitch scrambled up too, breathing hard now, confidence cracking. He swung again, wild and desperate, but Cole dodged and shoved him backward.

“Stop,” Cole snapped.

His chest was heaving, fists clenched at his sides. For a long second, I thought he might go back for him, but after what felt like an eternity, he stepped back.

“Don’t go near her again,” Cole said, voice steady but dangerous. “Ever.”

Mitch just glared after him, a red splotch already blossoming on his cheek from the punch. Cole held his gaze as he backed up a few steps. Once he was right next to me, he finally broke the stare and looked to me, his eyes held a hint of worry as they roamed over my face, my arms, my body.

“Are you okay?” he asked. I simply nodded in reply. I was okay now. I may have just watched him throw several punches, but I still felt far more comfortable with him than I ever did with Mitch. I felt safe. Cole dipped his chin once. “Good. Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded again, not able to talk past the shock. I didn’t spare Mitch another glance as Cole wrapped a gentle arm around my shoulders and led me away from the scene of the fight.

sixteen

It took a while for the dust to settle. Cole and I only made it about six steps before the manager of the fro-yo shop came sprinting outside to figure out what happened. By the time everything calmed down, Mitch was already gone—no backward glance, no hesitation. Everyone else cleared out, too. The manager retreated back inside the fro-yo shop, the bystanders drifting off now that there was nothing left to stare at. Even Katie ended up catching a ride to a party with a friend she saw at the shop. The parking lot went quiet, leaving me standing there.

Well. Me and Cole.

I waited for him to walk away, to head back to his car and forget I’d ever been part of this whole mess. Instead, I sat down on one of the benches along the sidewalk and pulled out my phone, scrolling aimlessly while I figured out who to call.

No one knew I was out here, but it wouldn’t be hard to explain—say I’d been out with a friend and she got called away, or her car wouldn’t start, or something normal and boring. I could call Sebastian. He’d pick up, no questions asked, even though he always got annoyed when I used Uber instead of just calling him in the first place.

I was still staring at my screen when someone spoke.

“Hey.”

I jumped and looked up.

Cole stood a few feet in front of me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. His car was parked along the curb now, engine off, streetlights reflecting faintly off the windshield.

“How are you getting home?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, tilting my phone like it might magically solve the problem. “I was thinking about calling my brother, but⁠—”

“I’ll drive you.”

I blinked. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I scared off your date,” he said. “Kind of feels like my responsibility now.”

“You also saved me from him,” I said. “So I think we’re even.”

His mouth twitched. “Still. I’m not leaving you out here.”