Page 33 of Ramsey & Emerson

I just ran.

I raced down the school’s main center hallway, then rounded the corner to see Liam in the middle of a melee with three other guys. I ran straight into the fray, then grabbed the first guy that I got my hands on. It was Roman Cruz, and I laid the motherfucker out with one shot to his face. I didn’t even wait for his body to hit the ground when I was already on Jamie Turner while Liam finished up who I saw was Ricky Peterson.

I didn’t ask any questions; I just started pummeling Jamie with everything that I had. I had no idea why they jumped Liam, but they had to have known that there was no way that they’d have gotten away with it, even if I hadn’t shown up.

“You sick motherfucker! You piece of fucking shit!” Liam was screaming down at his victim with every blow to Ricky’s body, proving that I wasn’t the only psychopath in the group. Liam and Deke fought like demons just like I did.

Now, while Jamie was doing his best to fight back, he was no match for me, and he knew it.Everyoneknew it. He also had to know that this would not be the end of it. No one messed with Liam or Deke and got away with it.

No one.

“I’m going to fucking kill you! Kill you all!” Liam shouted, and when I looked over, I could see that he was definitely on the fast track to killing Ricky. I gave Jamie one last slam to the face and knocked him out cold, laying him out next to Roman.

I ran over to Liam, then pulled him off Ricky. “Liam, man, stop,” I tried to reason. “You’re going to kill him.”

My words must have gotten through because Liam’s right hand opened, releasing Ricky’s shirt, and Ricky went sliding down to the ground in a bloody heap, dancing in and out of consciousness.

I turned Liam around, then shook him back to reality. “You okay? What happened?”

Liam looked at me, and I’d have to say that I’d never seen him look so crazed. He looked lost and out of his goddamn mind. He looked wild as he shoved my hands off his shoulders, and I watched as he ran his bloody hands through his hair, then pulled. Liam let out the most heartbreaking roar that I’d ever heard, and it had me worried.

“Lee, what’s going on, man?”

He turned back towards me, but before he could answer, I heard a faint whimper float in the air, and my eyes followed Liam’s as he looked over towards the wall leading back to the library.

My breath caught in my chest, and my mind froze, not wanting to process what I was seeing.

Emerson stood leaning up against the wall with her arms wrapped around her waist, her eyes wide and her face blank. Her uniform top was ripped down the middle, and her bra was twisted, one breast hanging out in the open. Her arms and legs were a bloody mess, and her hair was in total disarray. As my eyes scanned the length of her body, I saw that she only had one sandal on, and it was the partner to the white pair that she always wore.

When my eyes searched around for the other shoe, I noticed something white tossed a few feet away from Liam’s feet.

It was a pair of panties.

My eyes shot back towards Emerson’s face, and I couldn’t get a grasp on everything that I was feeling. She was making no effort to cover herself up, nor was she crying. She wasn’t doing anything but staring at the pieces of shit on the ground.

I didn’t take my eyes off her when Liam spoke. “I was on my way to practice when I heard someone screaming. I ran in the direction of the commotion, and I saw…” He paused as if saying the very words were causing him physical pain. “I saw Jamie on top of her, and…” Liam trailed off, not being able to finish his accounts of what happened.

Before I could comment or move, Emerson seemed to snap out of her shock. Her eyes flew to where Liam and I stood, and I’d never seen so much hate on one person’s faceever.

“Emerson-”

She immediately scrambled to right herself. She pulled her bra together, covering up her modesty. Her shirt was in tatters, but she did her best to pull it tightly around her body. I watched motionlessly as she stared down at her one shoe. When she lifted her head to search for the discarded match, I saw her entire body freeze as her eyes landed on her underwear.

Liam and I remained absolutely still and didn’t utter another word as we watched a myriad of emotions play across her face.

Her mannerisms were killing me.

She wasn’t crying.

She wasn’t hysterical.

She wasn’t screaming.

She wasn’t doing anything, besides assessing everything around her.

A second later, all three of our heads snapped sideways when we heard a moan rise from the ground. One of the guys was coming to.

I fucking wished that he would.

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