With an eye roll and a head shake, I lifted my foot to keep walking. I was used to the fights the idiots in this school did on the regular. Not my problem.

I stalled though when the words being yelled reached my ears.

“Give me my money, Randy. Or you’re dead.” A boy’s voice growled out.

We had a big school - nearly 3,000 kids -and Randy wasn’t all that unique of a name. But something in my gut twisted anyway. 

No, not possible. He wouldn’t be in a fight. His coach would kill him. I took another step away, then stopped with a sigh. I cursed to myself, spun, and jogged over to the fight. 

I pushed my way through the growing crowd just in time to see a large kid, with a pitch-black mohawk, knee another boy in the stomach hard enough to make him fold over. The kid, who was now on the ground, coughed and groaned. I recognized the short brown hair that stuck up in every direction like he forgot to brush it this morning.

Which he probably had. I left earlier than usual this morning since Katia and her mom picked me up. He had been lagging, so he drove in on his own. Which also meant I wasn’t there to remind the nitwit to do little things… like brushing his hair. 

“I ain’t got it.” Randy coughed some more, trying to push himself off the ground to stand back up. As shaky as his legs were, I was pretty sure he had been hit more than once already. “Not yet.”

The much larger kid pushed him back over with his foot and leaned over him with a sneer. “You made the bet. You promised to pay it back last week. You didn’t.” He pulled his leg back and swung it forward, right into Randy’s rib cage. Making him gasp for air.

“Stop!!” I yelled, unable to stand by and let any more harm come to him. I ran forward to stand between the two boys, raising my hands to stop the bully from causing further damage. “Stop. Please.”

He sneered at me before glancing down at Randy again. “You’d be wise to dump his lazy A and get yourself a new boyfriend. He’s worthless.”

I lowered my arms with a defeated sigh. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my brother.”

“Go away, Fi. I can handle this.” Randy moaned as he tried to push himself up off the ground once again. 

I glared at him. “Yeah, you’re doing a bang-up job of handling things all right.” I turned back to the boy who now had his arms crossed over his chest, a smug look on his face. And a creepy interest in his eyes. I held back the grimace when I noticed the metal spikes along his eyebrows. 

“Sister, huh?” He stepped closer to me, blatantly checking me out now. “Guess you got all the looks as well as the brains. I bet you and me can work out a deal.” He lifted his hand and picked up a small piece of my long brown hair that was over my shoulder. 

I shuttered and stepped away from him. “You’re disgusting. How much does he owe you?”

Not caring about the rebuff, the boy grinned. “40 bucks. Course, I’d be willing to take it in trade.”

“I’m sure you would.” I pulled my wallet out of my bag and opened it. Closing my eyes in defeat, I pulled out the two twenties. It left me with only ten dollars. Thankfully, the game ticket would only cost me seven. I wouldn’t be able to go out and celebrate with Katia, but I could still be there for her big moment. I shoved the money into the brute’s hand, glaring at him with all my might.

“Paying for it is probably the only way you get any with that angry scowl on your face all the time. Take the money and leave him be. Your debt is settled.”

He counted the cash and winked at me. “Pleasure doing business with you. If you change your mind…”

“I won’t.” I cut him off as I turned to help Randy straighten up.

He had mostly made it back onto his feet and was now leaning against the tree, his lip bleeding and the black eye forming. With a sad sigh, I put an arm around his waist and helped him stand straighter. 

The crowd had already dispersed since there was nothing of interest to watch anymore. I helped my big brother stumble over to the closest picnic table. 

“What happened, Randy?”

“I bet on the school’s football team. I honestly didn’t think they would make it to the finals.” He chuckled, then groaned from the pain.