Page 25 of Free Fall

I scream, my hands moving up to cover my mouth.

Chad falls to the floor and Reid jumps on top of him, his fist already reared back for another punch. “Stop!” I yell.

“Jesus!” Cade rushes forward. He holds back on Reid’s arm—his throwing arm—before he can get another shot in. He pulls him away while Lex drags Chad to his feet. The corner of his lip is bleeding.

He’s scared, staring wide-eyed at all of us. Fuck, I would be frightened too. I move toward him. “I’m so sorry,” I say.

He looks over at me. “I thought you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t,” I say.

Reid wrangles himself out of Cade’s grasp and fists his hand in Chad’s collar. “That’s Page’s fucking sister, asshole. Touch her again, and I will fucking end you. Are we clear?”

Chad’s eyes go even wider. “I didn’t know, man.”

Reid seems to relax a little then.

Chad holds his hands up and starts to slip by all of them. I reach out for him. “Chad?” My voice is slurred now. All that beer is catching up with me.

He looks at me and shakes his head before leaving the room. There’s no way he’s getting involved in this shit. I don’t blame him. If I wasn’t knee-deep in all this, I wouldn’t want to be in it either. The crowd that gathered outside the room parts for him as he leaves.

“Goddamn you, Reid!” I lunge at him, my own fist raised in the air. I get a couple punches into his shoulder, which are more like hammer fists before Lex’s arms come around me, pinning my own arms to my side.

Reid turns toward me, seething. “You were going to fuck him in my house?”

“It’s none of your business,” I scream back.

“You are my fucking business now.” His loud voice roars through the room. Almost the whole party goes silent then. At least the people watching shut right up. When Reid looks their way, they scatter. No one wants to be on the receiving end of his ire.

Reid shakes his hand out.

“Fuck, dude,” Cade says. “We have to put some ice on that.”

He nods, then looks at Lex. “Take her to my room. Lock her in if you have to.”

“Lock me in? Are you insane?” I’m trying to sound coherent, but I’m pretty sure my words are all jumbled, drowsy with alcohol.

He doesn’t bother responding. He walks out of the room with Cade, who glares at me. Lex, with his arm still around me, moves me forward until we hit Reid’s room. It’s on the exact opposite side of the house as his parents’ suite, but it’s not too shabby itself. It has an en suite even though the closets aren’t as large as his parents’ room.

When we get into Reid’s room, Lex kicks the door closed. When he lets me go, I stumble forward, and he ends up righting me on my feet again before I pull away. I move to the bed, pull my knees up, and stay there with my head in my hands.

Shame washes over me. I’m so embarrassed. I thought they’d get exasperated watching me drink. I thought they’d say shit if I wanted to go into a room with a guy, but I never thought they’d barge in, telling him he couldn’t do anything with me because I’m Brady’s sister.

I rub my eyes, then my forehead, trying to make the memory disappear, but that’s the thing about real life. Nothing disappears. Nothing dissipates. You can always still feel it in your heart.

“Why did you guys do that?” I ask. My voice cracks, and I clear my throat, trying to keep the emotion back.

“Why did you do that when you knew it would piss us off?”

“Why should me dancing and kissing a guy piss you off?” I counter.

Lex’s jaw ticks. It takes him a while to answer, but eventually, he says, “Because none of this is you, Briar.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re wrong. We’ve all known you since you were little. We know you, whether you like it or not.”

I sigh. “You only think you know me, Lex.”

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