The other guy yelled something, the muffled word lost to me, but then he swung, hitting Kye right in the face.
I screamed, but no one paid any attention to me. Instead, Kye went after him.
The glow of the lights from the diner was the only thing letting me keep track of what was happening now. As soon as Kye got close enough, the guy swung again, hitting Kye squarely in the nose, but somehow it didn’t deter him.
With one swift swing of his arm, Kye’s fist connected with the guy’s jaw. The guy yelled in pain as he stumbled back, trying to regain his balance.
He didn’t have a chance, though. Before he could see straight again, Kye was on him, swinging over and over.
It felt like hours, but the entire thing was over in less than a minute. Kye had kept punching, his fists landing on the guy’s face, chest, stomach, and anywhere else he could connect. The guy stayed standing, his hands weakly trying to fight back, but Kye was ruthless, not giving him a chance.
Finally, the guy fell back, landing in the dirt behind him. Kye watched for a few seconds before, apparently, deciding that it was officially over.
He got in, blood dripping from a large cut at the bridge of his nose. When he reached for his milkshake, I could see his red, bloody knuckles. Like it didn’t even phase him, he took a sip.
“Fuck, these things are my favorite,” he said. “Ready to go?”
I nodded, but I couldn’t find any words.
For the first time since getting to know Kye, really getting to know Kye, I was terrified of him.
ELEVENDAISY
Two days had gone by since I watched Kye beat a guy until he was bleeding and broken on the ground.
Knowing Kye was feral was one thing.
Seeing it in action was another.
He had punched and punched until the guy was on the ground, hitting him a few more times until he knew he wouldn’t get up, and then walked away like nothing had happened.
His knuckles had been bleeding and his lips had split open from being hit, but he hadn’t seemed fazed, and drove around with me in the car for another hour after.
Even now, the thought of how wild he went made me shudder.
I still didn’t think he would ever hurt me, but how could someone be that brutal and not be expected to turn on me at some point?
The thought was stuck in my head as I waited outside for my friends. We were headed out to the boat today, and I needed to not be lost in thought about Kye. The car pulled up, three of the girls packed inside. I slid into the back seat and came face-to-face with Sydney.
“I didn’t know you were coming today,” I said, the polite edge to my tone not hiding the anger that rolled through me. This was the girl that was trying to sleep with my boyfriend before we even broke up and then succeeded immediately the second we did break up. What reason did I have to be nice?
But it didn’t matter. I was going to play nice and not cause any issues, like always.
Jessica and Isabella turned around in the front seat, both giving me an apologetic smile. They felt bad for me.
I was the loser Dean dumped, and Sydney was his prize for that. The tight smiles were a harsh reminder that I was the pathetic one here, and they honestly pitied me for it.
Of course, they did this on purpose.
“Is that a problem?” she asked, wincing a little.
“No, not at all,” I said, smiling and hiding any ounce of anger I had. “I just didn’t know. Ready?” I asked, facing Jessica and Isabella. They smirked and turned back.
We pulled out of the driveway and headed for the beach. The conversation lulled into surface level topics. It was easy enough, but I could feel my anxiety bubbling underneath, making me watch every word that came out of my mouth. Anything I said would be ammunition if they turned on me again, and this time, I was going to be a lot more careful about what I said.
I got into the boat, the lazy rocking already setting me on edge. The entire group consisted of us four girls and the three of the guys. Dean, Steven, and Michael were taking turns driving out farther into the lake, trying to get us far enough out that we wouldn’t be bothered by anyone else.
I was too busy trying not to throw up the farther out we got. I had always gotten a little sick on boats, but their careless driving was making it get out of control.
The glint in Steven’s eye since we got on the boat wasn’t making me feel any better.
I didn’t want to make a scene, though. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s day or be called names for backing out.
This was fine. I was safe, and it was just my anxiety making my thoughts get out of hand.
The rest of the group teased and joked, poking fun of me for holding on so tight to the railing of the boat, but the deeper the water, the more anxious I got. Jessica and Isabella came to my side, and the knot in my chest grew.
“Soooo,” Jessica started. “Tell us about Kye.”
Isabella looked at Dean with a smirk, but she still talked to me. “Yeah, tell us all about the new boyfriend who is mysteriously not here today. I thought you would bring him.”
“Yeah, he couldn’t make it. Maybe next time.”
Dean snorted. “Couldn’t make it because he’s not actually your boyfriend? Or because he already broke up with you?”
“Neither,” I said as sweetly as I could. “He’s just busy today.”
