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I turned around, crossing my arms against my chest. “Listen, I’m sure that you’re a lovely man—you know, aside from the creepy personal space thing—but I’m not looking to get laid tonight.”
“Just cause you ain’t looking for something, don’t mean you can’t find it.” He flashed a heathenish smile at me before grabbing his cock through his jeans. He took another step forward and licked the entire length of my face. My mouth gaped, and before I realized what I was doing, my open palm was connecting with his cheek. I covered my mouth, in shock that I had just slapped a man. When his head snapped back in my direction, his entire face had hardened.
I didn’t have time to react. His arm reared back, and I watched in horror as his fist made its way toward me. There was a dull pressure that spread across my eye and down my cheek. I fell back, my shoulders slamming against a table behind me, and I landed in a crumpled heap in front of him.
Kyle gripped his hand and winced. “Fuck! I think you broke my fuckin’ hand, man.” His cheeks were red and his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles twitched. All I could do was watch as his leg pulled back and then came crashing forward against my stomach. I let out a scream and tried to scramble away, but it was no use. He pulled his leg back again, and he delivered another three kicks to my abdomen, only stopping when I held my hands up in front of me and pleaded with him to stop. He drew in a sharp breath and took a step back as his eyes grew wider and wider.
“Jesus Christ.” The color left his face, and he took another step back, stumbling against a table. “Kent?”
The realization hit me all at once. Memories flooded through me, and even in my drunken stupor, I saw him. The youngest of the three. The one that mouthed that he was sorry when no one was looking.
I shook my head and hoisted myself up from the floor, grabbing a chair, only to realize I was too drunk to lift it. “Get away,” I shouted at him. To my right, the elderly man continued dancing by himself, not paying us any attention.
Kyle took a step forward, his hands out in front of his chest. “I’m not gonna hurt you no more, I promise. I’ve wanted to find you for so long. To tell you I was—”
I picked up an ashtray and chunked it, missing him by miles. “Get the fuck away from me.” I ran to the next table over, picked up the ashtray that sat on top, and held it above my head.
He took a step back, his hands still out in front of him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to take part in that. That night—”
“G-get the fuck away f-from me.”
There was a door in the corner of the room with a sign that readEmployees Only.I made a run for it, holding the glass ashtray the entire time. I didn’t look back to see if he was following me. To my relief, the door was unlocked. Inside, I clicked the lock before pulling out my phone. Instinctively, I searched for Gray’s name and hit call. It rang three times before he answered.
“Kent?”
“Gray,” I choked out. “Help, Gray. N-need you.”
“Kent? What’s going on?”
“What’s wrong?” a woman’s voice called out in the background.
“Grayson,” I whined.
“What happened? Are you okay? Talk to me.” The worry in his voice was overpowering. Raw. Guttural.
“Please. Please, Gray. Come get me, Gray. Please? I n-need you. Saw him. From the lake. K-Kyle. With the matches.” I tried to control my breathing but my chest felt like it was collapsing in on me. “Two-liter, please?”
“Where are you? I’m coming. I just need to know where.”
“Kate and me—gay bar in Cobb.”
“Manhole,” Gray muttered into the phone, sounding like it offended every fiber of his being. “Are you alone right now? Are you safe?”
“Yeah. He was—he was outside last I saw him, but he just—he wouldn’t stop.” The panic from the attack mixed mercilessly with the jealousy coursing through my veins. “Gray, please,” I whimpered into the phone. I beat my hand against my chest, hoping it might help. “It’s all gas and matches, and I can’t make it stop.”
“I’m coming, baby. I promise. I’ve got you.”
“Bun-bun? What’s wrong?” Sarah said in the background. Her voice cut into me like a knife. It was the middle of the night, and she was either at his apartment, or he was at hers. And because I was a drunken mess, I shouted at him.
“Why is she there? It’s one in the goddamn morning. Dammit, Gray.”
“It’s not like that, I promise. I’m coming for you. Stay on the phone with me, okay?”
“Don’t sleep with her, You can’t. I know I don’t get to have you, and that’s okay, I can cope, but—”
“I didn’t. I won’t. I’m coming. I’m coming to find you. Just don’t hang up, okay? Stay with me. Don’t let me go, I’m here.”
The sound of his truck door opening came through the phone, and a bell chimed a few times in the background. “You gotta stop leaving your keys in your truck, dammit. Someone is going to steal it. This isn’t fucking Mayberry,” I said between my sobs. Gray’s laugh centered me, taking a bit of the edge off.
