Page 324 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

As soon as she’s close, he throws the bag at her.

It hits her in the chest. She staggers to the side, clutching it to her as she bumps into the wall.

“Briar!” I’m convinced he’s going to lunge at her, and I don’t wanna know even a little where that will lead. He looks ready to kick, punch and bite the fuck out of anything that moves.

Despite the death grip on my switchblade, my legs lock, trapping me on the last step. For the life of me I can’t force myself closer.

Addy pushes away from the wall, her teeth flashing. “What the fuck is this?” she yells, hoisting the bag up.

“It’s what you wanted, you fucking bitch.” Briar scans the now empty living room, and for a second I feel like I’ve stepped into some kind of alternate reality.

Where the hell has all the furniture gone? Is it truly possible I slept through moving guys dragging out a three-piece living room set, dining room table, and the leftover boxes I saw peeking out from the kitchen last night?

If I did, then why the fuck is Addy still here? Shouldn’t she be headed wherever her stuff’s going?

“I want to feel sorry for you, Addy. I do.” Briar’s voice is dangerously low, but calm. He sweeps a hand out to the emptyliving room as Addy drops the bag to her side and watches him warily through slitted eyes.

“Briar,” I say quietly, finally getting my legs to unlock so I can move closer to them. Fuck knows how I can remotely help in this situation, but I don’t want my gravestone reading ‘IndiThe Yellow-Bellied CowardVirgo.’ For now, I tuck the switchblade into the sweat’s elastic at the small of my back. Briar can easily overpower me, even with the knife—he’s done it once before. All I have is the element of surprise, which will be a moot point if he realizes I’m armed.

“I mean, it’s gotta suck, right?” Briar tilts his head, taking a slow step closer to Addy. She retreats, and draws the bag up to her chest again as if it can offer some kind of protection against Briar’s fury. “Losing your best friend. Losing your mind. Losing every last bit of credibility you’ve ever had.”

Addy’s eyes go round, her mouth tight. “You don’t know anything, you fucking criminal.”

His eyes dart down to the bag, back up to her face. “Takes one to know one,” Briar says, lips lifting in a sneer. “Now where the fuck is the video?”

I step closer still, but they’re so fixated on each other, I doubt either of them knows I exist right now.

Should I call the cops? Marigold? Who?

Addy shakes her head. “What video?”

Briar throws back his head and laughs. The sound makes every hair on my body stand on end.

“You gotta be shitting me.” He surges forward, hands raised as if he’s about to grab Addy.

Before I even realize I’m moving, I’m between them. Briar grabs me instead of Addy, and there’s the briefest look of confusion on his face before he tosses me aside like a trash bag.

There’s nothing for me to hit, so I just stagger for a few feet before I find my balance, but by then he’s gotten hold of Addy.

“You have your money, you fucking bitch! Now give me the phone!”

Addy screams as Briar backs her up against the wall. She lifts the bag, but he bats it aside with barely a pause.

“Briar!” I launch myself at them, grab his arm, and sink my nails into his skin.

He shakes me off with a growl. “Don’t think for a second I’m leaving without that video, Addy.”

I’ve never seen her green eyes that wide, that terrified. “I don’t know what you’re?—”

Briar slams a fist into the wall beside her head, plaster pattering onto the tiles below.

“Where. Is. The.Video?”

Addy bursts into tears, shaking her head. Her hands are up now, pressing into Briar’s chest. Not digging in, not fighting. Just keeping him back.

“Where is it?” he bellows.

Addy’s eyes squeeze shut, and she lifts her arms over her head as if Briar’s about to start pummeling her.

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