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He swung at me, and I easily dodged him. Vaguely, I felt someone pulling on my left arm, but my right arm was still free to throw another punch. This one landed at the bottom of his jaw because he anticipated it. Before either of us could swing again, my father stepped in between us, pushing me back. Another man grabbed Zach by the arms and pulled him back. Still, he shouted obscenities and threats as we locked eyes over my dad's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Dad yelled at me, but I could just hear Zach's words to and about Belle as if he were still saying them.
"Landon!" Dad cut me off, but I was seething, wanting to finish the statement.
Why was it that every guy she dated treated her like garbage? Were there not any other guys in the world that didn't think they were owed the right to disrespect and disregard her? Was I the only one that saw her for what she was truly worth?
"Hey," Dad spoke, snapping fingers in front of my face. "What's going on?"
"He thought he could disrespect Isabella," I said angrily, watching someone hand Zach something cold across the room. He didn't deserve that.
"You still didn't have to start a fight with him," he said under his breath, his frustration with me apparent. But I didn't care. I would make a scene worse than this one was if anyone ever talked to Belle like that again.
"You would have if you heard what he said," I growled. Dad finally let go of me, and I rolled my shoulders, watching Zach leave the room.
"Baby, why the heck did you do that?" Tiffany said lowly, obviously embarrassed. Her eyes kept darting around the room, noting who was still looking at us.
"Because no one is allowed to talk to Belle that way." I worked my jaw, finally turning to look at Belle, who was standing in my mother's embrace, tears falling down her face. Belle gave me a death glare, and I slumped.
That was when the guilt hit me. It wasn't guilt for causing a scene at my parents' party or for hitting Zach. No, it was guilt for embarrassing Belle even further. I had drawn attention to the problem by fighting with Zach, and that was all my fault. Even when she was red in the face with tear streaks on her cheeks, she was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid my eyes on.
I rubbed a hand down my face, focusing back on Tiffany. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side, away from listening ears.
"She is not yours to worry over!" Tiffany hissed, folding her arms across her chest. I took in a deep breath, already realizing where this was going.
"She's still my best friend, Tiff. And I am not going to just stand by and pretend that the way he was talking to her was okay." I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest also, trying not to roll my eyes.
"Whatever, Landon. It's embarrassing that you would fight someone at your parents' party over your friend. Who is not your girlfriend. But when your parents were being rude to me, you said nothing," Tiffany said in a low voice, glaring at me. "I'm leaving."
"Come on, Tiff. You can't just leave." I grabbed for her hand when she started to walk away, but she yanked it away from me.
"I can and will. You need to figure out if you were lying when you told me you feel nothing more for Belle than friendship. Because from where I stand, every time she's around, you only have eyes for her. I'll get an Uber, so don't worry about me." And then she stomped away.
I sighed, wondering how I'd messed up tonight so thoroughly.
25
Isabella
Idon'tknowifI've ever been so embarrassed or humiliated in my entire life. And it was everything I could do not to break down into tears. After everything happened in the atrium between Landon and Zach, I'd dismissed myself to the restroom to wash my face. Then, I sought Landon's parents and apologized before telling them that Zach and I would be leaving. I couldn't handle being at this party anymore now that everyone had seen what had happened.
Zach led me to his car silently, getting in the driver's side while I walked around to the passenger side. His face was already starting to bruise in the two spots where Landon had punched him, and I couldn't help but look at it. I felt so bad that Landon actually stepped in and punched him, but honestly, he deserved worse. I was secretly glad that Landon stood up for me, and honestly wished that I could punch Zach myself. The way he spoke to me tonight was the worst it had ever been, but it was in line with all of the other opinions he had about me.
And I knew it was over between us. Before Landon had even stepped in, I knew that I wouldn't be continuing this relationship with Zach. He didn't deserve my time, and nothing he did or said would change my mind about that. I'd already wasted too much time with him, allowed him to speak to me poorly too many times. I knew I was worth more than being degraded, told what to do, what to say, or what to eat.
So I sat quietly in the car as Zach drove us back to Amelia Island, staring out the window at the passing scenery. The sky was darkening, both from the night and from the rain that seemed to be rolling in. Soon, the sound of the music in the car was drowned out by the sound of droplets hitting the car. It was fitting for the mood that I was in. I felt as dreary as the weather, wondering how I would be able to break things off with Zach easily. I didn't think he would get aggressive with me, but I also didn't think he'd let me just end things without a fight. He didn't like to feel out of control, and I was not going to give him any of it as I ended things.
Once we finally drove back into familiar territory, I tensed up, trying to run through what I would say in my mind. I rehearsed it over and over, trying to find the simplest, shortest thing I could say to him the second we pulled into my driveway.
But Zach took a turn I wasn't expecting, making me tense up for an entirely different reason. I had no clue where he was driving us, because he was definitely driving in the opposite direction of my house. I wasn't even vaguely familiar with where we were right now, and that made me sick to my stomach.
"Where are you going?" I asked, trying to keep the unease out of my voice. "My house was the other way."
"We're going to my house. I'm not taking you back to your house tonight." Zach's voice was tight and angry, and it only further worried me.
"That's typically something you would ask me if I was okay with. Which I'm not. I want to go home." I made my tone firm so that I didn't sound weak or as worried as I was.
"You're not going to be anywhere near Landon. Honestly, you need to move so that you don't have to live with him anymore. He obviously has feelings for you."
