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What is she even doing here? While she’s in our sister sorority, no one invited her or any of the girls from Kappa. She wasn’t on the bus when we left the city on Friday, and she wasn’t with a date at dinner.
Where the hell did she come from?
“You have some nerve,” Natasha says, digging her finger into Ella’s bare arm, causing her to wince in pain. “Who do you think you are, Little Orphan Ella? This weekend is for the Greeks, not some nerd like you. No matter how hard you fight my mom to steal her money, you will always be nothing and no one to anyone who matters, and you will never fit in with people like us.” She says the last part while looking up at me and licks her lips.
My mouth twists in anger from her words. How dare she come here uninvited and talk to my girl like that.
Startled, Ella mutters something under her breath that I can’t make out and clutches my hand tighter. Ella must get some liquid courage because she peels her hand from mine and steps in front of Natasha.
Inches from her face, Ella stares her down and yells over the music. “No, Natasha, you are the one who is nothing. I put up with your shit for years, all because I thought I had to be nice to you. But I am done being nice. We are not related. I don’t give a shit about you. Never did. I don’t live under the same roof as you anymore. You are the one who has no right.”
Ella digs her finger into Natasha’s arm, using her move against her, and pushes her back in the process. “You are the one who has some nerve, and when my lawyers are through with your mother, all of you will be out on your ass. So, enjoy my house while you can because it’s mine. It’s all mine. It was always mine. Expect me to show the same mercy on your stank ass that you showed me when the time comes to take out the trash, and by trash, I mea
n you.”
I’m so excited for Ella that I almost want to cheer her on. After all the years of torture from her stepsisters, she’s getting her revenge. Finally, some justice after everything they have done to her. This show of force is a good start for Ella, even if the alcohol is doing most of the talking.
Natasha shoves Ella, causing her to stumble backward and into my chest. Ella regains her balance and stalks toward Natasha with her drink in her hand, the liquid coating her skin as it sloshes in the glass. In one fluid motion, Ella throws the martini in Natasha’s face. Natasha counters back by doing the same. Her drink splashes down the front of Ella’s dress, some of it hitting me in the process.
I am so glad this is not how men resolve arguments. If I had an issue with a friend, we would roll up our sleeves and beat the shit out of each other until one of us gave up and called a truce. That happens a lot when you live in a house with sixty dudes. In some ways, what is about to happen is no different, and this time, I intervene.
Ella lunges at Natasha and grabs a chunk of her hair in the process. I shouldn’t have let her drink this much. If she were only slightly buzzed, like me, she wouldn’t have turned into a chick from a reality show, ready to throw down. Realizing I need to stop this fight, I throw my arms around Ella’s middle, pick her up, and pull her into my chest until she stops kicking. I flip her around so that we’re facing, and then, carry her over my shoulder through the crowd.
“Shawn, put me down,” she yells, beating her fists against my back in anger. “I wasn’t done with her.”
“No, you are done for the night. I’m taking you back to the room.”
“No,” she whines, giving up her fight to wiggle free from my grasp. “I had more to say to Natasha.”
“You weren’t talking, and I wasn’t about to let the two of you claw each other’s eyes out.” Once we get out of the club and into the bustling hallway, I set her on the floor.
She reaches for the door behind me, but I block her view. “Listen to me, Ella.” I raise her chin with my finger until our eyes meet. “You said enough back there, and I wasn’t about to let you get hurt on my watch.”
“I could have fought her. Instead, you made me look weak and stupid,” she hisses.
Annoyed, I let out a puff of air. “Do you even know how to fight?”
“Yes,” she counters, rolling her eyes at me. “I’m not completely helpless.”
“Put up your hands then. Make a fist for me, show me what you got,” I challenge.
“Shawn, be serious. This is dumb.”
“Just do it. Humor me.”
She raises her hands up to her face with her thumbs folded over her fingers. I shake my head and laugh to myself.
“What’s so amusing?”
“You could break your hand if you tried to hit her with your thumbs tucked like that. Thanks for helping me make my case.”
She lowers her fists down to her sides and sighs. “I acted like an idiot back there, huh?”
“I get it, trust me I do. I would have done worse than what you did if it were me and I was in your position. But you are my number one concern and so is your safety. Imagine how I would feel if something were to happen to you.”
“Nothing would have happened, Shawn. You worry too much about me.”
“Because I have to worry. For someone so smart, you are all books and no street smarts. Anyone can act like a tough guy and throw a punch, but knowing how to land and duck one is a different story. And who knows if someone else would have gotten between you. I have seen it happen plenty of times. Some random stranger is drunk and hanging out at the bar and decides they want in on the action.”
