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“I was over here making out with myboyfriendwhen this fucking psycho asshole…” Paxton began.
Rian cleared his throat. “Dmitri yelled for help.”
Talia’s cheeks went pink, and Adam’s eyes darkened. “Is that true?” Adam demanded.
Dmitri swallowed thickly. “I didn’t yell for help. I yelled at Paxton to get off me because he was…because he wouldn’t stop…”
Paxton rolled his eyes. “Right. Yeah. Cry rape when you werebeggingfor it, you fucking…”
He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Talia was across the room and had Paxton by the front of his shirt. Paxton spluttered something about the cops, but Talia laughed and said, “I fucking dare you,” before she dragged Paxton around the corner with Adam at her heels, and Paxton’s threats faded to nothing.
Raphael breathed through his adrenaline rush, his hands shaking, a pit of anxiety now in his stomach because he didn’t want this to trigger a seizure on top of everything else. He felt okay though, apart from his hand, and he glanced up when a shadow crossed his path.
“Can I take a look?” It was Fitz, and he reached out to touch Raphael’s wrist.
Raphael nodded, humiliation flooding him then, because the scene was out of control. Knox was trying to corral people back to the ballroom, but everyone wanted a front row seat to the show, and if it was bad for him, he knew it had to be killing Dmitri. He glanced up, but the spot Dmitri had been standing was now empty, and he felt a wave of panic until Rian touched his arm.
“He went with Luca and Knox.”
Raphael sagged against his crutch, and he let Fitz guide him into the far room that had a couple of banquet chairs stacked. He eased down into one as Fitz dropped to his knees to prod at the tender spots, and he looked around, but Rian wasn’t there anymore.
“That was some punch,” Fitz said with a chuckle. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s going to be sore.” He held Raphael’s palm between both hands and gently pressed his thumbs into the knuckle.
“I’m sorry I did that,” Raphael said quietly.
“I’m not.” Fitz let go, dragging a hand down his face, then he looked up at Raphael. “I would have probably done worse than just punch him.”
“I might have, if everyone hadn’t rushed out,” Raphael admitted. He had been reeling from everything Rian had told him, but seeing what Paxton had done, listening to what he was saying… even now, Raphael wasn’t sure he could hold his temper if he saw him again. “Do you think Dmitri’s okay?”
“He’s with Knox,” Fitz said, letting his hand go. “He’s fully trained in first aid. He’ll make sure Dmitri’s alright.”
“Do you think I should go find him?” He wasn’t sure at that moment if he wanted the answer to be yes or no.
“I think maybe he needs a minute,” Fitz admitted. He pushed himself to his feet, swiping his hands on his trousers before offering Raphael a hand up. His crutches were against the wall, so Fitz grabbed them and passed them over before crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s been through a lot over the last few years, and I don’t think that helped any.”
“No,” Raphael said quietly. In reality, he didn’t know what Dmitri needed. He wasn’t sure he was in the right to go after Paxton like that, or if it would just be a reason for Dmitri to hate him. Raphael had been pushing him away for weeks now, and it was the first time in a long while that he wasn’t sure if his presence was wanted.
His hand ached as he gripped his crutch, but he followed Fitz out of the room and bypassed the rest of the party, which sounded like it was still going. He kept his head down as he made it to the lobby, and through the front doors, he saw Rian standing off to the side.
They had driven together—had decided to spend the weekend together. His bag was in the backseat of Rian’s car, and he had no other way home. His throat was tight, but he knew he had to face the reality of his situation. He hadn’t told Rian the truth about Dmitri, but things were still over between them.
“Hey,” Rian said quietly as Raphael approached. “Did you see Dmitri?”
Raphael shook his head. “He went somewhere to calm down. I’ll speak with him later. He’s probably not very thrilled with me right now.”
“You did the right thing,” Rian told him softly. “I wanted to choke the life out of that guy.”
“Dmitri should have never…” he started, then bit his lip. “This was my fault. I should have…I don’t know. Done something? Been there more? I pushed him away the last couple of weeks.”
Rian bowed his head. “Because of me, right? You pushed him away because you were trying to get over him.”
Raphael shuffled back a step. “What…”
Rian huffed a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t. It’s stupid, because it was right there in front of my face the entire time, but I guess it just didn’t occur to me that it would be him. He’s so muchyoungerthan you.”
Raphael felt his cheeks burn hot with both guilt and anger. “Listen, let me just get my things from your car…”
“Wait,” Rian said. He tried to grab him, but Raphael was able to step out of reach. “My feelings are hurt. I didn’t mean to sound like a dick.”
