Page 147 of Restless
“This is what you get, cunt,” Erin snarled, stomping Harley’s shoulder.
She screamed, weeping harder. Pain shot through her arm. Erin paused at the sound of the door opening.
Agony blanketed Harley’s body. Though Erin’s foot remained on her shoulder, the blows had stopped. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on the floor, sobbing.
“What the ever-lovingfuck?”
Suddenly, Erin’s foot was jerked away, and she yelped.
A clank followed, then the sound of a body hitting the floor. The scream hurt Harley’s head.
Afraid the attack might resume, Harley managed to maneuver into a sitting position. Rebel loomed over Erin’s knocked-out form. Blood spattered her nose and lips and there was a rapidly forming bump on her forehead. Spots of blood dotted the wall near the hand dryers.
Wild-eyed, Rebel focused on Ariana.
Immediately, the girl put her hands up. “I’m sorry!”
The apology didn’t make a difference to her cousin; Rebel charged anyway.
Somehow, Ariana bypassed Rebel and scurried out of the bathroom. Rebel’s rage didn’t lessen when she took in Harley’s condition. Instead of giving chase to Ariana, she held out her hand.
Harley quickly gripped Rebel’s fingers, groaning as Rebel yanked her off the floor. Though her head was untouched, the attacks left her out of sorts. Rebel’s rescue, when there’d been such hostility between them recently, didn’t help. Unwanted guilt swarmed Harley as she thought back to what she said, how she rejected the advice Rebel had offered. Had Harley listened, she might not have ended up beaten on the bathroom floor.
Harley leaned against the bathroom sink, cradling her side. “Why’d you rush to my aid?”
Rebel’s pretty blue eyes narrowed. “Did the bitch hit you in your head or some shit, asking a dumb question like that? You needed my help.”
The rebuke made her feel weak. She scowled. “I had it handled!” she protested, an obvious lie.
She’d been able to deal with Ariana with no problem, but she hadn’t counted on Erin’s …brutality.
“The fuck you did. Erin was whooping your ass when I walked in!”
Harley glanced away.
“What the fuck happened, Harls?”
Harley’s cheeks heated up, unsure how to say she’d bit off more than she could chew.
“Ummm…we got into a fight?” Stating the obvious delayed the inevitable.
“No shit,” Rebel huffed. “I mean what the hell led up to it?”
Erin groaned.
Sighing in annoyance, Rebel stomped to Erin, straddled her and punched her temple, knocking her out again. When Rebel stood, she glared at Harley.
“Talk, now.”
Harley nodded and equipped her big-girl panties as she started to recount the events leading up to the fight. Rebel’s face darkened, and she glanced at Erin’s unconscious body with a look of contemplation, no doubt plotting ways to injure the girl further.
When Harley finished, Rebel’s chuckle surprised her.
“Didn’t know you had that shit in you, Harley,” she praised, holding a hand up to high-five Harley.
Bewildered, Harley reluctantly slapped Rebel’s palm. She expected a lecture for acting so out of character, not praise for her violence. Then again, Rebel was the last person who could chastise anyone for fighting.
Rebel giggled, and Harley’s lips twitched into a smile. The tension lingering between them for days had ceased for the moment; it felt great.
