Page 54 of Kick

She cleans me up as best she can, and disposes of the paper towel. Before she turns, I grab her arms and pull her into me. It’s weird how much we feel considering we know so fuckin’ little about one another. I take her chin in my hands and tilt her face up to mine.

“We’ll be okay, Princess. I’m gonna take care of us.”

Though now I’m kinda thinking I have no idea how to do that. I got some money saved in the bank, but it’s nothing compared to the cash in the safe back in my room. I wanna smack my head against the mirror for not fuckin’ thinking straight. I kiss her quickly on the mouth, and then head for the door.

Once inside the servo, we grab as many packages of Band-Aids and Neurofen as we can find, and two of the overpriced first-aid kits. I throw them on the counter with a box of donuts and a couple of packets of chips, a bar of chocolate, some water bottles and a tin of breath mints. The dude behind the counter just stares at our loot and then begins ringin’ everything up as if someone suddenly lit a fire beneath his arse.

I pay for the shit using my card because I’ve got no damn cash on me, not really something I’m used to, and we hobble out to the car. Twenty minutes later we’re walking through the door of some seedy-arse motel to bunk down for the morning. It’s almost daylight now, so we’ll have to wait for nightfall before we can steal another car.

Lauren and I take turns bandaging each other up. The cut on my forehead won’t stop bleeding, and I could probably do with a stitch or two, but I tape a band aid over it instead and hope it closes up soon—or at least crusts to a point where blood doesn’t drip down my face.

When we’re done, we undress and fall into bed. She curls into my side while I drift off.

The metallic click of a bullet sliding through a chamber wakes me. My eyes spring open, but the bite of cold metal against my temple forces me to hold completely still.

Until I see her, bound and gagged on the worn motel carpet.

Her body quakes as Tag kneels behind her. Her face is contorted with fear. Pain. Tears stream down her red cheeks. Her mouth gapes open in horror around the gag. Her eyes stare accusingly at me as his dick slams in and out of her.

I explode.

I don’t think. Just act.

I launch myself up off the bed, but I’m shoved back down with a boot to my gut. It hurts like a motherfucker, but I dodge the next kick and come back swinging, slamming my fist into the side of Prez’s face. He laughs, as he grips my shirt and head-butts me.

The thin bones in my nose snap, I taste copper on my tongue. Pain lances through my skull. My head spins. Blood drips from the wound in my forehead, blurring my vision. Prez smashes my head into the grimy concrete walls. “You know what disappoints me, son? Is that you never seem to fuckin’ learn. I gave you a home, a roof over your head, a seat at my goddamned table, and my patch, and you throw it back in my face. You shit all over it for a filthy fuckin’ whore!” he bellows, slamming my head into the wall, punctuating each word with a sharp blow to the skull.

“You know what hurts even worse though? Is that my boys all seemed to have gotten soft. Ethan, Tiny, you, and even your dearest old dad.”

I don’t know how I didn’t register the others in the room. My dad is in the corner, bound and gagged and surprisingly, the look on his face isn’t one of disappointment—it’s sympathetic. Not once in my twenty-seven years have I ever seen that look from my dad.

“See, I’m beginning to notice a pattern here,” Prez continues. “First the kid deserts, and then the father follows. Only problem with that scenario, is that all of you bastards owed me something, and it’s time I fuckin’ collected. Tiny stole something very valuable from me. Fuckin’ cockhead over there—” he turns and points to Rue, who’s standing guard at the door. “He killed the bastard before I had a chance to reclaim it. But there’s a way to get it back, and that lies with you.”

“Let her go,” I plead. “I’ll give you whatever you want; I’ll tell you whatever I know. Just let her go. Please.” Tears stream down my face. Saltwater stings the cut on my cheek. I close my eyes, not wanting to see him thrusting inside her, not wanting to witness her being hurt all over again.

Prez slaps my face. “Open your fuckin’ eyes.” He points to Lauren, whose face is twisted with anguish and pain. “This is what your betrayal costs.”

My heart splits in two.

That fucker explodes inside her, thrusting his cock in and out of her body one last time, and pulls out, shaking the last drops of cum and blood from the end of his dick. Then he tucks himself inside his pants and stands. Lauren sags against the floor, weeping behind her gag. I struggle against Prez’s grasp. He slams the flat of the gun against my temple, knocking my head to the side.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Prez says, and Tag automatically lifts his gun and aims it directly at Lauren’s head. He doesn’t even bother to turn it on me because that fucker knows. He knows I have no concern for my own self-preservation, I only care about hers.

“We’re gonna play a little game. It’s called Which Loved One Do You Want To See Die First? Now, seeing as you only have one parent left, Daddy dearest had to make an appearance. Can you believe he actually fuckin’ said no to me? Told me about you beating the shit outta him in the middle of the road, and he still refused to be the one to come and get you. To be honest, I probably woulda killed him already, but then we wouldn’t get to play this little game. So what’s it gonna be, Kick? Your daddy, or your girlfriend?”

I take a deep breath. There’s no question here in my mind who I’d save. My father was nothing but a sperm donor, a worthless piece of shit so full of hatred and cunning and bitterness. And I’m exactly like him, because despite all that blood-is-thicker-than-water bullshit, I choose the option that I can live with.

“Juke. Kill Juke,” I say. My dad steps back and into Rue’s arms. I can tell by the look on his face that he’s not surprised by my decision. His eyes meet mine across the room and for perhaps the first time ever I see acceptance in them. I stare at his face until I hear the shot ring out … only he doesn’t fall.

Lauren does.

“Oops,” Tag says, smiling at me.

No. No. No. No. No!

My heart stops.

I can’t breathe.

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