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Kammy and her footballer shuffle back a step at my feral look. I don’t have to spell it out for them. Everyone knows when they cross me, whether they realize it or not, I’ve got dirt that will bury them before their life even gets off the ground.
“All of you, actually.” I raise my voice, moving my attention over the crowd watching us raptly. “Thea is off fucking limits. If you mess with my girlfriend, I’m coming for you.”
Once I’m satisfied that I’ve struck enough fear in everyone, I let Thea out from behind me, tucking her under my arm. “Tell me what happened.”
She frowns at me. “It’s not worth it.”
“It is. Tell me.”
Her gaze travels over the crowd. She takes my hand and I allow her to lead me away. “Let’s just go. The bell’s about to ring and we’ll all be late.”
I toss a glare over my shoulder at Thea’s bullies, one that says I’m watching you. Kammy’s face pales and she yanks on the footballer’s arm to get out of there.
Once we’re away from the crowd, I dig my feet in.
“What are you—? Hey!” Thea yelps as I tug her into the empty stairwell at the end of the hall. The door clangs shut, enveloping us in its echo that fades into silence.
I cradle her face, examining her.
“I’m fine.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She huffs. “It’s stupid.”
“It’s not. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I promise I won’t let anything like that happen to you again.”
Thea lifts her brows. “Yeah? You know, not that long ago that was you, too. It’s only been a little over a month since you humiliated me enough to send me running from the cafeteria crying.”
Her words stab into my gut in a fatal blow. Fuck, I was such an ass to her. Hanging my head, I give her another piece of myself.
“I’m sorry. I’ve always been a dick to you because of your mom. I…” Now that I’m saying it out loud, now that I know her, it sounds so idiotic. How could I have thought this was okay? With a sigh, I push out the rest of my words. “I thought you were like her. Anytime I noticed you, it was because you were intervening and I took it badly.”
Her beautiful features twist in conflict. “What do you mean, because of my mom?”
I rub the back of my head. “About two years ago is when I first discovered my mom and Damien’s affair. I walked in on him fucking her in the kitchen.”
Her nose wrinkles and she wraps her arms around my waist. “Connor… That must have been awful.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t peachy.” I gather her closer, bolstered by her soothing touch. If she’s in my arms, she can’t hate me, right? “I lost it. Totally went berserk. I beat the shit out of him while my mom was screaming. It was a whole ass scene.”
A sad laugh punches out of her. “What happened next?”
“Well, I was so focused with raging on him that I didn’t realize I’d chased him all the way out of the house. I was on my front lawn, punching him until his face was a bruised and bloody mess. Then I guess your mom came out and saw it happening. She called the cops, shrieking like a banshee. You’ve seen how my mom is with appearances. Not even her own side piece gets in the way of her goal, so you can imagine how she felt that I not only caused this huge scene in front of the neighbors, but that I was pulled off Damien, cuffed, and carted away in the back of a squad car.”
It actually feels great to get off my chest. Only my parents, Devlin, and my therapist know the full story. I thought Thea would hate me when I told her the truth about the source of why I bullied her, but it feels right to confess it to her. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make it up to her for being a bastard.
“God,” Thea says. “I’m sorry you had to find out like that.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeat once more. “I took it out on you and that wasn’t right.”
“I forgive you. We’re moving past it now.”
A relieved breath hisses out of me as I hug her. After tipping her chin up to kiss her, I feel like I can give her another shard of myself.
“I should’ve gone to juvie, but my mom bribed Chief Landry and a judge. They made the assault charge disappear, paid a fine for disturbing the peace, and I got slapped with court-mandated anger management.”
Thea stretches to brush my hair, trailing her fingers down the side of my face. “I’m glad you didn’t have to go away.”
