Page 77 of Unloved

And it seems to be working.

“Aww, Donaldson.” Freddy smiles, his entire persona blending into a mix of the previous fury and his usual mischief. “Worried the school slut can actually make your girl come?”

“Freddy!” I try to shout, but my throat is suddenly tight, like I can’t breathe, so it comes out hoarse and pathetic.

Freddy turns his body toward me, eyes scanning my face as if theimpact of what he’s said starts to wash over him. Regret fills his eyes, and he shuts them tight. “Rosalie, wait. I’m sor—”

It happens too fast for me to shout the warning, Tyler’s hand snapping out to sucker punch Freddy in the mouth.

Tyler stumbles back, almost knocking into me because I’m still so close to them. Fury darkens Freddy’s gaze as he looks toward someone in the crowd.

“Get her the fuck out of here,” Freddy snaps, pointing at me. Arms wrap around my waist, an apology whispered in my ear before someone pulls me back into the crowd.

But as soon as I’m a safe distance away, Freddy’s eyes shine with excitement as he spins on Tyler, his mouth still dripping with blood as he wipes it away with a smile.

“Been waiting to do this for years.”

Years? Why would Freddy—

Freddy grabs the collar of Tyler’s shirt again, a move I’ve seen in every hockey fighting video I’ve ever secretly watched, dazed at the startling brutality. His fist hits hard against Tyler’s jaw, head smacking back against the wall before Tyler tries to swing back at Freddy—missing.

Tyler isn’t a fighter. I know from the number of times I’ve dragged him out of a bar for starting something he never can finish, so I know that if I don’t stop them, it’s going to be a bloodbath.

I look up and see Holden behind me. I don’t know him, but I know he’s on the team, so I ask him, “Where’s Bennett?”

“Haven’t seen him in a while. You okay?”

“Yeah.” I barely have the word out of my mouth before I’m slipping around him and pushing through bodies for the one person I know can stop this.

CHAPTER 28Freddy

God,it feels fucking good to finally hit Tyler Donaldson.

Partially because he’s tormented me for years with his asshole comments during our previous tutoring sessions. But mostly because of the look on Ro’s face I’ve seen one too many times.

If I get even slightly tired or distracted, my brain tosses up the image of her, crying, red eyes and butterfly clips halfway pulled out of her hair, with another image of her waiting in the cold because he fuckingabandonedher in a random town an hour from home.

And it hadn’t been the first time.

It’s almost too easy to conjure the mental images of other times he’d left her stranded, alone, and without me to guide her back.

I throw my entire body into the next one, unashamedly proud of the blood that starts to trickle across my fist.

Glancing over to where Ro should be, I realize she’s gone. Holden is still there, but he just shrugs at me.

“Sad you can’t show off your muscles for her now?” Tyler snaps.

He’s a talkative fighter, but I love to chirp, so I smile.

“I’m sure you’re happy she’snotwatching me kick your ass right now.” I land another hit to his side, hearing the air gush out of him as he stumbles back. “Besides, I think I’ll be the one she’s going to be taking care of after this.”

Two thick arms wrap around my chest, yanking back my arms with enough force it makes me wince. At the same time, I see Holden jerk Tyler back by his collar, which is now stretched ridiculously from the beating he’s taken tonight. He doesn’t fight Holden. Clearly, he’s lost, and he doesn’twantto keep fighting me.

But he won’t. Shut. Up.

“You good?”

It’s Bennett, I realize, holding me back, and I nod, trying to relax so he’ll release me. Especially when I see Ro heading toward me, her expression a mix of concern and restrained anger. Like she wants to hit me, but then nurse me back to health.

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