Page 286 of Vile Boys

Ragged breaths come out of Kai’s mouth. “He deserves nothing less.”

“Kai …” His father groans.

Kai kicks him in the side. “Even now, you can’t even think of Ares instead. You motherfucker, you don’t deserve me.”

“Guys …” I mutter, looking up at both of them. “Please, help.”

I’m cradling two gravely injured men while blood seeps down my back, and I can’t hold on much longer.

Kai and Caleb come to us, and while Caleb rips off his own shirt and wraps it around Blaine’s bullet wound, Kai lifts his own brother off the floor and carries him on his back.

“Call for help,” Kai tells me.

When both boys are off me, I get up and bolt through the door, rushing through the hallway until I get to the others. “Guys! We need help!”

Felix, Alistair, Dylan, Penelope, Lana, Milo, and Nathan run back with me and gawk inside the office. “What happened? Did you save hi—Oh God,” Penelope mutters when she sees the pools of blood on the floor.

“Jesus Christ,” Dylan says when he peers inside. “What happened?”

“Kai’s father tortured Ares and shot Blaine. We need help carrying them out. No time to waste,” I say.

But the moment they run past me to assist Kai and Caleb, I’m theonly one who looks at Mr. Torres. He’s reaching for the gun on the floor and aims it at Ares again.

So I snatch Lana’s gun from her belt, aim it at Torres, and shoot.

BANG!

One bullet and everyone’s attention is focused on the body flopping to the floor, the gun still firmly clutched in his stiff hand.

Everyone takes a glance at me, but I can’t take my eyes off the body of the man who murdered my father in cold blood. The burden of my vow to him … has finally been released.

Caleb approaches me and has to pry the weapon out of my hand before he hugs me tight. “It’s okay. You did good. It’s over now.”

I nod a few times and swallow away the tears. “I’m sorry. He was about to kill A—”

Kai interrupts me. “I know.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you.”

I’m shocked. Completely and utterly shocked.

But he just walks away like I didn’t just kill his father, supporting Ares together with Milo.

I turn around and look at Blaine who’s hanging onto Felix and Dylan for dear life. “Will they be okay?”

Caleb wraps his arm around my waist. “I won’t allow them to leave us behind. So yes.” He briefly smiles at me. “Let’s go.”

Caleb

We raceback to school in our cars, ignoring red lights everywhere. Felix, Kai, Dylan, and Nathan help me carry Blaine and Ares haphazardly to the nurse’s office even though it’s already way past opening hours.

I’m already glad most students are in their dorms fast asleep, so they don’t have to witness us dragging in two bloodied people and have their screams fill the campus.

Right as we place both guys down on the bed, the nurse marches in.

“What is going on in here? I—”

She stops in her tracks the second she sees us all scrambling in her office, trying to find something to stop the bleeding.

“Dear God,” she mutters. “All of you?”

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