Page 53 of Ride or Die
Everyone looks over to Colt, who is surrounded by a shattered pane of glass, a hammer in his hand. His face is beet red, burning with unrestrained anger. Through the chaos, his eyes find me, still restraining Serena. He comes over to us and gets right in her face, staring down at her with absolute disgust.
“I’ve had enough of your shit, Serena.” Colt grabs her by the jaw, making sure she hears every word he’s going to say. She gasps, and I feel her tremble in my hold. “You have no ownership over me. We never even fucked. You were just a bad blow job I got for giving you a ride home. Fucking touch her or come near her again and you will regret it. This is your last warning.”
Serena swallows audibly, and Colt looks over her shoulder at me, a glint in his eye seeing me hold her at our mercy. I flash him a smirk, knowing full-well how hot he thinks me defending myself was.
"The same goes for you, Simone. Keep the fuck away from us." Colt looks down at her, still on the floor, but she remains silent.
He turns to face the rest of the people staring at us. “The way I see things, you're all inmyhouse. Those drugs you’re taking? You got a deal from me! That booze you’re drinking? Free because of me! The jobs you work for Williams? Because of me! You don’t like that Layla and I are together? Or the way I defend my girl? Or the way I do shit in my house? Then get out! Anyone who sides with these pieces of shit, get the fuck out of here and don’t ever come back!” he shouts.
He is full of anger, one fist balled up, and the other gripping the hammer tightly, showing so much fucking power and dominance. Here I am, feeling weak in the knees, watching him yell at all of these people, all in defense of me. Heart swoon.
“Serena, get them the fuck out of here. Now,” Colt says angrily, stepping over Nate and Simone.
I let her go, and Serena helps Simone and Nate get up. Without another word, they make their way out of the garage, still trying to comprehend what just happened to them.
“Ya know what? I didn't ask any of you to be here! Everyone get the fuck out!” Colt booms.
They all groan and start filing out. Daya looks at me with a huge smile as she turns to leave. I give her a nod of thanks. Thank god she’s a good woman—a friend—who helped me see things clearly. Otherwise, I could have really fucked things up with Colt.
She pushed me to be the strong person I am deep down. I'm not sure whether it was her honesty or her support in putting these people in their place, but something changed in me during her visit. Like she made me grow up and realize who I truly am. I had to accept this life and toughen up for the person I love. Sometimes the right people come through for you at the toughest moments. I am lucky to call Daya a new friend.
And I am even luckier that with Colt, I was able to find more love and friendship than I’ve ever had before.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
CLOSE CALL
LAYLA
Colt’s fingers trail up and down my body, our eyes glued to each other. After sharing a pizza, we watchedTrue Romance,and inevitably got distracted, winding up in bed.
“I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself,” Colt says. “It’s nice to see you finding your voice against the people who try to hurt you.”
“Thank you. I’m proud of myself, but you helped bring out this side of me. Maybe I don’t want to be involved in the things you do, but don’t discount the positive impact your love has had on me in such a short time.”
He kisses me. “I’m sorry for waiting so long. I think we need each other more than we ever understood.”
“I agree. We should go on a drive tomorrow,” I suggest.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I can’t be a driver’s girlfriend and not know how to handle a car, so I want to keep practicing.”
“Of course we will go out. It’s hot watching you drive my car.” He leans in to kiss me. “I like this, you right here, in my bed for the rest of our lives. I love you babe.”
“I love being in your bed, and I love you too,” I whisper, burrowing myself into his chest and falling into a deep sleep.
The next day we went for a drive, and I spent the rest of the week living with Colt. After everything that happened with Simone, I don’t want to be anywhere near her. Partly because I’m a coward no longer running on adrenaline, but also because I’m not sure why things had to take such a drastic turn between us. Sure, she wasn’t always the nicest sister, but we were there for each other during the hard times.
All of this seems a bit extreme, even for her, which has me wondering, is there another reason she’s behaving this way?
Ever since it happened, I’ve seen her around the neighborhood when we drive to and from our classes, and she looks like shit with a massive black eye and bruised cheek. Even her excessive use of makeup can’t hide the damage I inflicted on her.
My hand hurt for a couple of days, but thankfully it wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure if people respected me more for it or if I just made more enemies in my attempt to stand my ground. Either way, that shit had to stop and a message had to be delivered.
It’s Thursday morning, and I wake up to the sound of the shower running. I look at the mattress beside me, and Colt is missing. Still naked, I get up, throw on my robe, and walk into the bathroom.
