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“I’ll cast a Ray of Douche-ness on him. Make him roll a restitution check.”
“Aconstitutioncheck,” she corrects me with a laugh.
“I’ll sic my imaginary dragon on him and burn his stupid douchey castle down.”
She’s giggling into her hands now, and it makes me feel a fuck-ton better to see her smile.
“You’re a child,” she replies with a laugh.
“Yeah, I know. Come on. Let’s go get ice-cream wasted.” I throw the car into drive and take off toward the DQ we usually stop at after game night. It’s packed when we pull up. Teenagers with nothing better to do on a Friday night are lingering around the tables outside. It’s not normally so crowded, and I tense as we get out of the car, but I quickly follow Sophie’s lead as she confidently crosses the parking lot and heads inside.
“So, what’s her name?” she asks after I pay for our chocolate cones and find a seat at one of the tables inside.
“What?” I ask with a mouthful of ice cream.
“The reason you couldn’t check your phone all day. What’s her name?”
“I wasworking,” I reply, and she shakes her head.
“Bullshit.”
“I’m telling your mom you said that,” I reply.
“No, you’re not. So, do I know her? I saw you flirting with my cousin at the shower. Is it her?”
“No,” I snap. “You’re nosey.”
She smiles at me before I notice the way her eyes travel to the window behind me. Suddenly, her face falls. “Let’s go,” she mutters quickly.
“What? Why?” I ask, turning to see what she saw when I spot Kyle sitting at one of the tables with a spiky-haired girl in a black goth outfit.
“Come on. Let’s just go.” Sophie stands up in a rush, tossing what’s left of her ice cream in the trash, and heads toward the door.
“Is that Kyle? Is he with another girl?” I shout. My blood starts to boil, seeing the hurt wash over her.
“I don’t care,” she mumbles as she rushes out the door and to the car.
As I follow behind her, I notice the little fucker’s face turn to shock as he spots Sophie crossing the parking lot. “Sophie?”
“Come on, Beau,” she calls after me, ignoring the dickhead.
“No. Fuck that.” As I march toward the guy, his eyes fill with fear. When he stands up, holding his hands in surrender, I realize this kid, who can’t be older than sixteen, is easily as tall as me and almost as wide.
“I’m sorry!” he stammers as I grab the collar of his shirt. Rage boils inside me as his eyes track Sophie. The cotton of his T-shirt tears in my grasp as I drag him closer. I’m not sure where this switch was flipped inside me, but it’s like last night all over again. I’m hovering out of the frame, watching this all unfold, and I have no power to stop it. I’m not exactly sure why I hate this guy so much, why I want to hurt him so badly, or why I can’t seem to recognize myself anymore.
All I see is red.
“Beau, stop it!” Sophie screams from the parking lot.
“Take your hands off me, man,” Kyle argues as he struggles to get out of my hold.
“You’re a slimy piece of shit,” I say with a sneer. “You don’t treat people like this. You don’t hurt the girls who are good to you, you fucking asshole. You think you can treat them like they mean nothing, like they don’t matter, butshematters.” When I release his collar, freeing one hand to point at Sophie, I freeze as I notice the tears streaming down her face. Her eyes are on me, pleading with me to stop, and I briefly remember what she said to me just a few weeks ago.
I know you think you’re being chivalrous, and I appreciate you looking out for me, but beating up jerks isn’t going to make anything better.
She literally asked me not to do this. Sheknewthis was what it would come to, how I would react. I’m no better than her dad…always on the attack. Throwing punches and shouting insults instead of listening.
My grip loosens on Kyle’s shirt as the regret takes hold. When I look back at him, his face is red and his chest is heaving rapidly with his own anger.
