Page 29 of Knight

“Fuck you!” I lunge at him but he grabs my arm with a grip tighter than a constrictor snake.

“I knew Grove girls would have a bite,” he smirks, straight teeth I want to punch. “Don’t worry, I’ll take a two-for-one.”

“What the fuck is this?” Damien’s rolling voice surprises me, sending a shock rumbling to my core.

When I turn towards him, those glossy, sunken eyes move between the three of us. They lock on me, the colour in his eyes faded before they move to Jasper.

A whiff of peppermint and whiskey tickles my nose before …

CRACK!

Jasper’s head whips to his right, spit and blood flying out as his grip loosens.

“Get the fuck out!” Damien’s large splayed hands come to Jasper’s chest. Jasper tumbles but before he falls, Damien catches him by the collar of his douchey dress shirt.

While the guys face-off, I lunge for Willow like a flash of lightning. I don’t know what she’s on, or how much she’s had to drink, but she can hardly stand. “Jo?” she murmurs. There’s blood on her forehead, must’ve hit it in the fall.

“K-King?” Jasper stammers, and when I look over, he has fear in those beady eyes, all courage drained from his body. He holds his hands over his face like he knows what’s coming next.

Damien takes another swing, Jasper pleading, “Wait! Stop!”

Willow covers her eyes on the other side of the boys. I’m enjoying seeing this asshole get what he deserves but Damien doesn’t look like he’s letting up anytime soon. Jasper groans with every punch to his body but he’s not fighting back when I call, “Damien!”

We don’t need another death. Or murder.

My shoulders drop when he stops his fist midswing. Unclenching Jasper from his hold, the boy drops to the ground with a thud, his body limp. “You have five seconds to get the fuck out of here, Hawthrone. One.”

Jasper can barely move when he starts dragging his sorry ass to the door, Damien watching as he does. He glances back at us, “You good?” His black jeans sit cuffed at his ankles, nothing under that leather jacket except smooth, rippled abs. That’s when I see him stagger and I know he’s not as sober as I am, but he’s being … nice. In a brutal, beatdown kind of way. He didn’t have to intervene but he did. Looks like he does still care after all.

“Jo?” Christian opens the door before Jasper gets there and when I glance back at Damien, his face is stone cold. Looks like he’s piecing something else together.

Christian stops in his tracks, looking at the debris from the action. He’s about to say something but Damien spits first, his words a slur, voice low and growling, “Get the fuck out.” With his jaw clenched, his chiselled features look mesmerizing in the moonlight, even with how mad he looks.

Christian protests, “Dude, what did you do?”

My heart races, lifting my sister off the concrete. “You, Jasper and his shithead brother. Get the fuck out! Matter fact …” He turns to us, my sister close to my side. “You get the fuck out too, Medusa.”

“Don’t worry,” I say, the little hope I had fading. “We’re leaving.”

Moving around him, the smell of whiskey and weed comes with it, Christian helping me with Willow, taking her from under my arm. He cradles her in his hold as we head downstairs, Damien’s voice ringing from behind us, “Tell everyone to get the fuck out!”

The music stops by the time Christian and I get to his car but Damien’s demands still bellow. And it’s fucking effective. As Christian closes the doors, students scramble out of the house. Some look confused, others don’t look fazed at all.

The key in my pocket will have to wait, I rather not bear the King’s wrath. But I’m not giving up on finding out what happened to Mom and Dad. Murmurs and chatter grow around the front lawn, students getting into their glamorous cars and driving away.

When I look back at the main entrance, Damien leans against the second-floor railing, eyes on us. He’s twirling the coin in his hand but he drops it, spinning to a fall over the rail. He reaches for it, hair flopping over and it looks like he’s really going for it.

“Jo?” The passenger window on the Jaguar rolls down when Christian calls my name. “We’re good to go.”

Looking in the backseat, Christian has Willow covered with a blanket. It’s the same one he gave me when Damien left me in the rain that day. She’s pretty much asleep, knees curled to her chest. When I glance back at Damien, he’s reaching over the rail before he throws a long leg over. “Are we all just gonna leave him here?” I ask Christian.

“He kicked everyone out. Probably had too much. He’ll be fine. His dad usually—” Christian stops himself as if he’s just remembering his best friend’s reality.

I sigh, glancing back at Damien. Not only does seeing him like this break my heart but if I don’t do this, he may very well off himself. “Can you take her home?”

“Really? Jo, you don’t have to help him he—”

“Do you have my back?” I meet his emerald gaze, his round eyes hitting the roof of his car.

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