Page 49 of Her Three Tech Bros

I can tell from Logan’s voice that he’s seething. One more push from Ryan, and this could get really bad.

“Just tell me what you’re fighting about,” I say.

Ryan and Logan just continue to ignore me. Neither of them has even looked at me since I leaped out of bed. Their angry eyes have been firmly locked on each other.

They’ve fought before. They’ve even gotten physical with each other over disagreements. But the energy of this just feels different. I can see it on Logan’s face. There’s more to this than just being upset at being called a coward. Ryan has just become his outlet for something else.

But I can’t help them if they keep ignoring me. These assholes are going to fuck everything up. Thank god Jade is apparently a heavy sleeper. If she saw this…

“Guys –” I start to say. But of course, I’m just wasting my breath.

“Yeah, Logan. What else would you call you? Huh?” Ryan asks.

“I’d call me your worst fucking nightmare if you keep this up, you mother fucker!” Logan’s eyes are wide with rage.

“Guys, keep it down. Jade is sleeping.” Maybe that will get through to them. “Let’s at least take this out of the bedroom.”

“Oh, Logan,” Ryan says. “I wouldn’t be afraid of you if you –”

“Enough!” I try to cut off Ryan’s response. I fully step between them now.

“You better watch yourself, Ryan,” Logan warns.

“You were just going to run away silently,” Ryan continues. “Rather than face whatever it was that was bothering you. That is the action of a coward.”

Logan gets really quiet after Ryan finishes, which is how I know it’s about to get bad. It’s about to escalate to the point of no return. I have one last shot at ending this.

I firmly plant myself between the two of them, looking at Logan. I hold my hands up to keep him at a distance.

“Logan, listen to me,” I say. “Don’t do this. Just come with me. We’ll take a walk around the block. Get you some fresh air. Give both of you the time to calm down. We don’t want to be doing this here, not in front of –”

I can tell from the look on Logan’s face that he isn’t hearing any of my words. In an instant, he charges, pushing me aside. On a typical day, in a typical altercation, I’m the strongest of the three of us. I’d beat both of them in a fight. But this is not a typical day. And this is not a typical altercation.

As I fall onto the bed, Logan reaches Ryan. He goes to grab Ryan by the shirt, clearly forgetting in his rage that Ryan is naked. Instead, he grabs Ryan by the flesh on his chest.

In one fluid movement, Logan grabs Ryan and swings him to the side, hurling him into the wall. Ryan’s back slams into it with a huge crash.

The whole room shakes. Jade’s wardrobe rattles. Pictures in frames fall off the wall.

Part of me wants to turn around and check on Jade. Surely, she must’ve woken up by now. She must be scared half-to-death of all this going on. But I know there is no time to spare. I have to move now. I can’t let this escalate any further.

I leap to my feet just as Logan starts to move towards Ryan, who now lies crumpled on the floor, naked and vulnerable. I move quickly and get between the two of them.

This time I’m ready for Logan. He won’t be getting past me now. I won’t let him.

I place two hands on his chest, keeping him from moving any closer.

“Out of my way, Ethan. This doesn’t concern you.”

Ryan jumps up to his feet. I quickly move one hand off Logan’s chest and hold it out to keep Ryan at a distance, too.

“Come on, let me hit this coward back! Let’s do this for real. A real brawl!” Ryan declares.

“Fine. Let’s fucking do it,” Logan responds.

Both of my friends press their chests against my outstretched hands, waiting for me to give in and let them beat the shit out of each other. But I won’t yield.

“We aren’t doing this, you assholes,” I yell back. “Knock it the fuck off! This is not what we’re doing. Not this morning. Not today. Not ever. Both of you just need to calm the fuck down before this gets any worse.”

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