Page 23 of My Debacle with De Lorenzo

“I had...I had a tiny bit to drink...just a little sip.”

I let her go, and she’s very unsteady on her feet. “Do you want to go outside? Get some fresh air?”

“No. I’m fine. You’re really sweet, De Lorenzo, but I’m fine. I’m just going?”

She’s cut off when Steven grabs her arm and spins her to face him. “What the fuck was that?”

She giggles because her drunkenness is stopping her from seeing the aggression on his face. “What? I covered for you. Our dirty little secret is safe.”

Her amusement only angers him more. It’s taking a shit ton of self-restraint to stay out of it. This is their spat. I shouldn’t get involved in issues that aren’t mine, but I’m watching him yank her arm and I feel my temper starting to rise. I hate it when guys disrespect women. Any sort of violence against women sets me off, and once again, Steven is toeing the line. My hands curl into fists and I lightly tap the wall behind me, trying to calm down.

“You good-for-nothing whore!” Steven bites out. “You couldn’t just say you lied and leave it alone. No, you had to go and embarrass me in front of the whole damn school.”

“Steven, you’re hurting me.”

And that’s my cue to intervene. I grab his wrist, hoping he’ll release her arm. “Yo, Steve, back up off her, yeah? You’re the one who cheated and then lied about it. You brought this on yourself, so don’t take it out on her.”

He ignores me. “And now I’ve lost my girlfriend because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

“Let me go. You’re hurting me!”

“Steve, I’m not going to ask you again. Leave her alone.”

“You want this slut, D? Keep her.” He shoves her back so hard her head hits the wall, and I just lose it.

My fist flies at his face, and I hear the slight crunch of bone connecting with bone. Steven hits the ground, blood oozing from his nose. I’m about to hurl myself at him when someone grabs my arm.

“Dyl, what the fuck?” Scott yanks me back, pinning me against the wall before he looks over at Peter. “Pete, get him outta here!”

I didn’t even know they were still in the hallway, but they must have seen the situation escalating and stayed behind. Peter helps Steven to his feet and escorts him down the hallway. Bella stands quietly behind Scott, just staring at us in shock. Once they’re out of sight, he releases me.

“Now, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Scott, I swear to God, if you start preaching to me about how we’re a team and we have an image to uphold, I will?”

“Calm down, Dylan! We’re on the same side here. That asshole deserved it.” Considering that he thinks Catalina and Isabella are the lowest form of scum, I’m shocked to hear him say that. “But we’re not hooligans. We don’t go around throwing punches. There are better ways to resolve fights without using your fists.”

Scott thinks that because I don’t come from money, he needs to school me on how to be a respectable, clean-cut prep boy like the rest of them. Image means everything to him, but he needs to get it through his head that I don’t give a damn about that.

“Well, shit, you know when he yanked her arm and then shoved her against the fucking wall, none of those ways seemed to come to mind, Scott.”

“Yeah...shit...” He exhales a heavy breath. “I should’ve let you hit him again.” He sneaks a look in Bella’s direction. “Listen, I’ll go talk to Steve and make sure he doesn’t tell Coach or Principal Jenkins what happened. They take this type of stuff seriously and I don’t want you getting into trouble...but just keep your cool during practice, alright?” He waits for a nod, then taps me on the shoulder and walks away.

“Are you okay?” I ask once we’re alone.

She walks up to me and lifts my hand to study my swollen knuckles. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. C’mon, let’s get some fresh air.”

We’ve been skipping class a lot today, but I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate anyway, not after what just happened. We walk outside, heading in the direction of the parking lot. The confrontation seems to have sobered her up some, but she’s still stumbling a bit.

“Hey, how’re you getting home? You want me to give you a ride?”

“I don’t have the luxury of going home after school,” she replies with dulled sarcasm. “I have to go to work. I texted Tommy, so he’ll come get me soon. You don’t have to worry about me.” She finds a shady spot on the grass, drops onto her ass, and looks up at me with a mixture of remorse and somberness. “You shouldn’t have gotten into a fight with Steven, especially not for me.”

“So, what should I have done? Let him man-handle you?” I shake my head. “I don’t know why you let guys treat you like that, Bella. You sell yourself short for these pricks and you’re worth so much more than that. Why?”

“I don’t know. I think I have daddy issues.”

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