Page 8 of Break

Danny scoffs. “Saw what? A pathetic girl who’s about four years behind growing into her tits and ass?”

Max twists his head to stare blankly at Danny, then turns away to continue looking out the window, saying nothing.

“Danny, you can be a real dick sometimes, you know that? I’m talking about her leg. It was all bruised up!” I explain.

Why the hell did she have bruises on her leg like that? Did she fall or something?

Danny just waves me off like it’s no big deal. “She probably got the belt from her dad or something.” At his response, Max whips his head back around to stare him down.

“What do you know?” Vincent asks him. I’m not sure if he truly didn’t see what Max and I did, but I can hear the curiosity in his voice.

“Dude, it’s nothing. Who hasn’t gotten their ass whooped by their parents from time to time? Maybe she fell or something. Why do you even care, Ethan? You got the hots for little miss church loving Mina?” Danny sneers at me.

Rolling my eyes, I look away from him. I don’t have a crush on Danny’s 14-year-old neighbor. Is she cute? Kind of, I suppose. I’ve never felt right about how Danny and Max go at her all the time, and now Vincent with this stunt. I’m not interested in dating her, or anyone, for that matter. Not only that, but I plan on leaving this place the moment I graduate, and I need to focus on that.

“Oh my God! You do, don’t you?” Danny slaps his thigh, laughing maniacally. “Ethan, man, youcannotgo for her. First off, she’s like the biggest loser that goes to our school. She’s boring as hell and weird as fuck. Avoid at all costs if you know what’s good for you.”

Growling under my breath, I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t have a goddamn crush on your neighbor. I just think it’s fucked up that we did that and she’s hurt.” Chewing on my lip, I look over at Vincent. “Maybe we should turn around and see if she’s alright?” I ask hesitantly.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Ethan.” Vincent doesn’t seem convinced, just resigned. “Look, we’re almost at Danny’s anyway. She’s only got a few more blocks to go.”

“Fuck that. I want to get home already. She won’t want to get in the car with us anyway,” Max argues.

I can tell Vince is still unsure, but fighting it out with those two dicks in the back isn’t appealing. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It was just a bit of water and she was already soaking. Plus, who hasn’t had a few bruises from time to time? Remember when we were riding our bikes over that dune behind my house and I wiped out? Fuck, that bruise on my hip was there for weeks!”

I listen to the three of them change the subject and reminisce about the shit we used to get up to back in middle school. Staring out the window with a pit in my stomach, I feel like we’ve made the wrong decision.

All I know is that my dad would never have approved of me just brushing off a concern without looking into it. Internally, I remind myself that he won’t even know.

Turning up the music on Vincent’s radio, I drown out the voices of my friends as we drive our way through the partially flooded streets. Itryto ignore the way those bruises looked on her leg. Vincent punches my shoulder, and asks what I think about the next football game and how certain I am that we’re going to kick their asses. It’s not until he distracts me that I stop envisioning the way her body hit the wall.

Chapter 5

10 years ago

Vincent

Shouldering my backpack, I nod at Max to let him know I’m ready after swapping my books out for my afternoon classes. I prefer carrying them rather than stopping by my locker after every hour since I found that I’m easily distracted and end up late more often than not.

“How do you get away with never bringinganythingwith you to class?” I ask Max, scowling at him.

He simply shrugs like he has no worries. “What are they gonna do? They aren’t going to dock my grade every day and fail me. My grades are practically straight A’s. How would they explain failing me just because I don’t have my book?”

“Still. Fucking lazy ass. Some of us have to work a little harder around here, and I think it’s crap that-” I’m cut off when Danny comes peeling around the corner. He slams into the locker and then jogs straight for us once he sees us.

“GUYS! Jesus Christ… Youhaveto come with me. It’s fucking glorious!” He’s almost out of breath by the time he reins in his excitement.

“The hell are you going on about?” Max asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ethan, who’s walked up behind Danny at a slower pace, simply rolls his eyes before muttering, “The girls are messing with Mina and he’s overly excited about it. It’s honestly nothing. They’re just running their mouths at her like usual.”

A screech in the direction that my friends just came from has all of us turning our heads that way. I catch Ethan’s eye when he looks back at me with some concern. None of us move until a maniacal laugh bursts from Danny as he darts back toward the sound of feminine shouting.

“Goddamnit,” Ethan mumbles as I shove past him and follow Danny. Max is to my right as I shove my way through my classmates, all looking toward the sound of high-pitched screaming. His eyes are dancing in interest, but he doesn’t seem to be in as much of a hurry as the rest of us.

I can’t make out what the girls are saying until I hear the tail end of Jennifer’s accusation. “…always fucking looking at him like a desperate housewife.” Of course, it’s Jennifer. Danny’s newest girl in a long line of one-month relationships he has. He can never keep one around long enough to get more than a couple of dates and a quick fuck here and there. Mainly because he’s an ass and treats most girls like crap.

Although, that’s probably because the four of us are together most of the time and, when we date, the girls get annoyed they don’t get our full attention all the time.

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