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I felt sorry for him. A pang went through me, and then I was in a bathroom.
Someone held me down, a hand at my throat. Fists hitting my stomach.
“Ramsay!”
I jerked out of that memory.
Cohen was lining up for another punch. My cousins stood in a circle behind him, and all six heads turned my way.
I looked, but I didn’t see the guy I’d followed in.
“There’s another guy.”
Trenton, who had started for me, pulled to a stop. “What?”
“I saw a guy duck in here.” I looked around. “It wasn’t one of you guys.”
Clint and Alex both came for me.
Alex’s face was darkening. “You’re saying there’s someone else in here?”
I nodded.
Clint cursed, pushing past me. He pointed the other way. “Trent.”
“On it.”
My cousins separated, fanning out.
I stayed rooted, and my gaze went right to Scout’s.
His face was like granite. He tightened his hold and barked at Cohen, “Finish it.”
“She said—”
“We’ll handle him too. Finish this one while we got him.”
I couldn’t look at Macon’s face. It was swollen, covered in blood, and he went back to struggling to get free from Scout. I focused on his feet instead. They were useless for him, not supporting him, not doing anything. He was trying to kick out Scout’s leg, but he wasn’t moving. His legs seemed rooted into the ground, and then I heard the thudding again.
Cohen went back to hitting.
“You thought you could get away from me?” That hand tightened on my throat.
“Max,” I gasped, tears almost suffocating me. “Please.”
His arm was like cement. I couldn’t do anything.
He raised his fist, and I closed my eyes.
I knew what was coming.
“You’re going to leave my sister alone.” Hit. “You’re going to lose her number.” Punch. “You’re never going to take her calls, answer any DMs from her. You’re not going to retweet any shit from her. You hear me?” Thud. Thud. Thud.
Someone gasped.
There was moaning.
“You’re never going to get away from me.”
“Max.” I couldn’t speak. He was crushing my throat.
The lights started swimming then, moving around me.
My back arched, my toes leaving the floor. I rose up from the floor, but his hand kept me pinned in place.
Something crashed into a locker, and I jumped at the sound. Then I was moving, almost blind in my need. “Stop.” I rushed in.
I got between Cohen and Macon and shoved him back.
“What the fuck?” he yelled.
I turned, pulling Macon from Scout’s hold and shoving him back—not toward the door, but toward Cohen. My chest heaved. “Give him a fighting chance. It’s not right, the way you’re doing it.”
I heard movement, and someone else ran into a locker. Trent was herding a guy forward. Alex next to him.
Clint came around the other way. “Found him.” Then his dark smirk fell flat. “What’s going on?”
Scout growled from behind me, “Your cousin got involved.”
I ignored him because Macon saw his chance. He started to run, but not for the door. He tried going the opposite direction. Cohen was on him, grabbing his shoulders and throwing him into the lockers and onto the floor. Macon tried fighting back, but it was pointless. Cohen had him down, and he rained punch after punch on him.
From behind me, Scout growled, “That’s why I was holding him. Now I gotta pull my friend off the guy so he doesn’t kill him. The other way, he was getting his hits in and Rice could still walk.” He brushed past me, knocking into my arm as he reached for Cohen. Clint was there too. They lifted Cohen off Rice, and I thought Macon would get up and make a run for it, but he didn’t. He was unconscious.
Cohen spun around to me, wiping his arm over his mouth. “Don’t get involved in shit you don’t know.”
Shit I didn’t know? I didn’t give a fuck what he thought. “He preferred that beating to the first one,” I stated clearly. “He had a chance to fight back, and I can tell you that’s something I do know.”
With that, I turned and left.
I didn’t make eye contact with any of my cousins.
They’d know. If that shit happened to them, they’d know.
Rice probably deserved that beating, but he should get it when he could fight back.
I wanted to ditch school again. Every cell in my body was telling me to run, but it was my second day. I couldn’t do that. What I did instead was go to the library until the fifth period bell rang. Alex was with me for that class, so it went okay. Gem waved me over to the seat beside her in sixth period.
I slipped in, hunching forward. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She frowned, watching the door as everyone else came in. “What happened? Did you find your cousins?”
I looked up to answer and saw Scout coming into the room.
He paused, seeing me. A hard look came over his face as he sat in the chair behind Gem. The fucker knew what he was doing. Every time I would look or talk to Gem, he’d be in my line of sight.
