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“You should leave, E,” I say, keeping my eyes on his father. His brow lifts.
“E?” he asks mockingly. An ugly sneer contorts his face before spitting out more vile shit. I inhale sharply, my rage threatening to boil over.
“Dad, calm down,” Enzo says placatingly. “It’s not what you think. We’re—we were just—”
“Spare me the details.” He holds his hand up, his eyes still on me. His other hand tightens into a fist and I let mine tighten, too. His eyes drop to my fist at my side, and he smiles again.
“You’ve known Ian forever,” Enzo says, his voice shaking. “It’s not like that. We’re just friends.” It’s like a knife to the heart hearing those words come from him, but I know it’s the safest thing to say right now.
“Then why was he in your closet?” He lifts his brows. “I’m not dumb, son. I’ve been your age. Where do you think I hid?” I swallow hard, still tracking him, anticipating his next move.
“It’s not—he was helping—” He’s floundering, and there’s no way for me to save him.
It’s exactly as it looks. I was hiding in his closet. It looks...like a boyfriend hiding from his partner’s parent.
“This is what you do at his house?” His eyes return to me, disgust burning bright. “I don’t give a shit what his mother lets you do over there, but under my roof? I don’t allow shit like this.” He waves his finger between us. “You wanna play bitch to him, fine. But find somewhere else to do it.”
“That was the plan,” I say, and his father’s eyes snap to mine.
“Ian,” Enzo hisses, but I ignore him.
“We’re packing his shit. He’s never coming back,” I say, unable to keep the smile from my lips.
“You were trying to run away, son?” he asks Enzo, and I snort, drawing his attention to me again.
“It’s hardly running away,” I say. “It’s more like running from you, and finding protection.” His father’s eyes turn hard.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks.
We’ve never brought this up. All the times I’ve been here and ignored the fighting in the other room, the way I always had to pretend like I didn’t notice the bloodstains on Enzo’s upper lip from his father breaking his nose. This was always the dirty secret no one brought up.
But now I don’t give a fuck.
I’m too far gone to care anymore. I’m too pissed off that he’s been hurting my friend to care.
“You know what it means,” I sneer.
He steps toward me, and I mimic his movement, moving closer to him. I’m a few inches taller than him, so I look down my nose at him, wanting him to feel small. My chest inflates, and I feel like I’m on top of the fucking world, like nothing could take me down.
Without warning, his fist connects with my jaw. Pain shoots through my head as it snaps back. Enzo lets out a scream, and it echoes in my head. I blink a few times, trying to right myself. No sooner than I’m steady on my feet does he land another punch.
I cry out this time, bringing my hand to cover my face as blood gushes from my nose. He jams his fist into my stomach, and I double over, grabbing it. Faintly, I hear Enzo talking,begging, but I don’t know what he’s saying.
“You wanna come into my house and disrespect me like this?” his father snarls.
I shoot my fist up, catching him on the underside of his jaw, making his head snap back. He grunts out a breath as he grabs his jaw. It’s the first time I’ve ever punched anyone, and it hurt way more than I expected.
He tries to punch me again, and I barely dodge it. I punch his face, and one of his teeth slices through my knuckle. I hiss at the pain and shake my hand out. That was a mistake.
He hits my face, and this time, something crunches. I blindly push him away, but he brings his knee up, hitting me between my legs. My eyes cross at the pain, and I fall to my knees, dropping my hands from my face to cup myself.
He spits more words at me, but I can’t hear past the roaring in my head. Another punch lands on my face, and my jaw snaps to the side. Another, and I fall back, landing on the floor.
My vision is hazy as I try to stay alert, stay awake.
Enzo.
I can’t pass out, not when he needs me. I croak his name, blindly reaching for him. But I can’t feel him, I can’t see or hear him.
