My eyes widened. If Derek was here, I should probably be hiding.
“You heard the man,” Axel said, moving out of the way.
I walked slowly toward the kitchen. Scanning the room, I found what looked like Camille under a slumped over body about Derek’s size.
“Camille?” I called out from across the sticky island but her back was facing me. She glanced over her shoulder, looking surprised when she saw me.
Aiden walked beside me as we made our way to her.
“Need a hand?” he offered, glancing at the affect supporting Derek’s weight was having on her small frame.
“Nah, I got him,” she said curtly. “Thanks, though.”
“Hey,” I started, unsure of where to begin.
Camille bit her lower lip and glanced to the side. “Sorry, Em. He wanted to come here. Wanted to talk to your, um, friend about what happened earlier. Then Drew followed us and…”
Drew steps out from the crowd, next to Derek’s younger brother Devon—who is holding a small bag of ice on a freshly opened split lip.
A few people had their phones out. I glanced at Aiden in panic. I didn’t know what had happened here, but it wasn’t good.
Three high school students at a teacher’s house, with alcohol and brawling.
Derek groaned, a deep throaty sound like an animal might make before vomiting. Aiden and I both took a step back.
“Drew was with Derek’s little brother,” Camille said in a loud whisper voice my mom used to use when she got angry with us in public. “Drew was upset about Derek coming here to cause trouble. When Derek saw Drew and Devon together, he just lost it.”
“Why?” I didn’t know anything about Derek’s younger brother Devon except that he was on our school’s lacrosse team.
Camille shifted Derek a bit. “You know why, Em. Look, he’s wasted. Devon only punched him once, but he nearly knocked him unconscious. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do.”
Aiden angled his body to block the view from the living room. “Everyone in my room. Now.”
I turned to Aiden, unsure of what to do next, but thankful that he was handling the situation. He turned to Axel and said something too low for me to hear.
We all made our way into his bedroom, where Axel helped Camille put Derek on the bed.
Aiden closed the door and crossed his arms. “Who wants to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Camille stared at the floor.
Drew stepped forward. “Camille texted me. Said Derek had her bring him to a house and she didn’t know why. Then she recognized some guys and found out it was Aiden’s, uh, Mr. Singleton’s house, and told me what happened earlier at the rink. I came to intervene. Devon drove me.”
Derek mumbled something that sounded like a vulgar slur against homosexuals.
Drew sighed. “Derek came at me. Devon stepped in front of me and Derek hit him in the mouth. Devon swung, made contact, and well, see for yourself.” He gestured at Derek nearly unconscious on the bed.
Jesus.
Axel popped him hard on the back of the head and he cried out.
“Raise your hand if you’re a high school student,” Axel demanded.
Drew gave a casual wave style hand raise. Devon did the same. I glanced at Aiden. He closed his eyes.
“Drew and Emersyn are in my first period U.S. History and Government class,” he said evenly.
Axel’s eyes widened. “Jesus Christ, little brother.”