Page 2 of Weaponized

Rowan: Hey, G. Heard you arrived today. Brunch tomorrow?

I sigh. Brunch. Yeah, sure. Would have been nice if my brother would have invited me to this shindig, but I suppose he couldn’t be bothered. I send him a quick reply.

Me: Sure.

Short and not so sweet, but there you go. I look over at the yard and watch Rowan frown at his phone. He starts typing again and I glance down at the three bouncing dots. I grit my teeth in aggravation as I didn’t put in all this effort to have a conversation with my brother.

Rowan: Mom only just texted me you’re here. I thought you arrived tomorrow.

Apparently, he feels the need to explain I’m not an afterthought.

Me: Okay.

I work hard not to laugh out loud as he runs his fingers through his hair and curses at my curt response. Rowan’s packed on some muscle in the last couple of years. He rolls his broad shoulders in frustration. Yeah, he’s not the only one frustrated. I remind myself why I’m crouched in this uncomfortable spot and force my eyes back to Matteo. The blonde girl is standing beside him stiffly. As I glance around, I can now see it’s because Luca is saying something to her. He looks angry, but from what I’ve observed over the past hour, I’m pretty sure that’s his go-to expression. She finally lowers her head and walks away. For his part in it all, Matteo still looks undisturbed.

He just shakes his head and moves closer to his brother, saying something only for him. Luca shrugs, and he once again looks irritated with the world. Matteo puts his hand on his brother’s shoulder and smiles. Ah. This one is real. So, he is close to his brother. Good to know.

My phone buzzes again and I ignore it. I watch as a few more girls approach Matteo, and after yet a few more drinks, his expressionless eyes turn glassy. He loops his arm around the next girl who approaches and leads her to a pool house. No words are exchanged. I’m not sure if he even sees the pretty redhead that he’s about to fuck. It was almost robotic the way he moved. Autopilot.

Luca has stepped back into the shadows, so I can’t make out his face. I can tell he’s alone and seems to be just standing back, watching. No one approaches him. He is an absolute mountain of a man, yet he is hard to see in the dark.

I spend some time people watching. I can see the easy laughter and the fun they are having. There are real friendships here, and I feel a stab of some emotion I refuse to identify or acknowledge. This is never something I’ve had for myself and that’s just fine. I tell myself again: This is something I don’t need. It would give my father leverage, me having a friend. Besides, knowing who to trust would be too difficult to sort out in our world, and mistakes could be deadly. I am fine with my acquaintances and the love of my siblings. It’s enough for me. More than enough. Twenty minutes later, Matteo comes walking out of the pool house wearing what I’ve come to notice is his typical bored expression. He joins his brother in the shadows for a minute, and then, the crowd parts for him as he makes his way to the house.

I’ve had enough for tonight. I can’t see him while he’s inside,and no one else is entering or exiting the main house. My legs are cramping and other than a few glimmers of information, I don’t have much to go on as far as Matteo is concerned. This has been a bust. I’m going to have to figure out another way to learn more about him, because failure is not an option. I slowly lower myself to the ground on quiet feet, listening for any sign of trouble. No one is the wiser as I make my way through backyards toward my apartment complex.

I check my phone for the text I missed and notice two from Rowan.

Rowan: What time is good tomorrow?

Rowan: Okay, then-I’ll stop by your place at 10. Mom sent the address.

I have no doubt my mother wants a report on how I’m doing. She cares in her own way. She gives my father a wide berth and makes up for his cruelty with gifts. She has her own friends, her own life. However, when needed, she is by his side instantaneously, no questions asked. He makes the decisions in their marriage, and she knows better than to question them.

I quickly give a thumbs-up to my brother’s last message and pocket my phone. I’m deep in thought as I quietly stick to the trees. I have the class schedules of all four guys and have arranged it so I’ll have a class with each of them. I run through my course schedule and begin to think about what I should wear on Monday when I hear it. It’s a whimpering sound, coming from a nearby garage. An animal? Dog? Is it hurt? I get a little closer,staying quiet. I hear it again, but this time, it sobs in a hoarse voice, “Please, don’t.”

I also hear the gruff, angry reply, “Keep your mouth shut, bitch. You’ve been throwing your tits in my face all night.”

I don’t even stop to think. Here I am, all dressed in black from the top of my head to my combat boots, and I am moving toward them. He has her boxed in against the side of someone’s garage, her form-fitting tank dress pushed up to her waist, his pants halfway around his thighs. Her arms are pinned above her head with his one hand. Her chest is heaving with sobs and he seems to be reaching down with his other hand into his pocket for something. A condom? Maybe a weapon?

I can’t even adequately explain how quickly my brain runs through the emotions that come next. First, there is anger. A burst of fire-red rage fills my bloodstream. My face is hot with it and adrenaline kicks in. I’m sick to death of men thinking they can take whatever they want. Hurt whomever they want. Next comes relief. Seeing the position of his pants, I know he won’t be able to remain standing and fight. I have a huge advantage, and I’m about to take it. Finally, there is focus. I take a deep breath.Here we go.

He grunts as I come from the shadows to knee him in the kidney. He falls against his victim, and she gives a muffled scream as he curses, “What the fuck?”

I use all of my strength to shove him off her and they both crumple to the ground. Her eyes look around wildly, trying to make sense of what’s happening. “You need to run for help,” I say in a low voice that I don’t even recognize.

Dickhead rears up and tries to stand. “Run,” I tell her again as I kick him across the face with my boot.Blood sprays across the lawn where he falls once again. He groans as he fumbles to get up, or maybe he’s trying to run away, I’m not really sure. I’m pissed off enough that I kick him again, hard in the ribs, and then one last time in the groin when he rolls over with the force of the prior kick.

“You’re a pathetic piece of shit,” I tell him in a growl, as I hear sirens in the distance. It’s then that I realize two things as I’m still buzzing with rage. One: This is one of the two guys that were with Matteo and Luca tonight. And, two: As the sirens draw closer, I’d better get moving.

Luca

I see her walk into the diner immediately. A ray of sunlight that floats through the gray space.She doesn’t belong here, is my very first thought. My brother groans into his coffee across from me, nursing yet another hangover.

“You’re gonna have to pull it together now that classes are back,” I tell him needlessly. He barely spares me a glance as he goes back to slowly sipping from his cup. I’m used to Matteo drinking too much, numbing out the rest of the world, but this is our senior year. He needs to be on top of his game.

“Who the fuck is that?” Anthony asks a bit too loudly, looking past me to the other side of the restaurant where the blonde angel has settled in a booth across from Rowan O’Toole. My eyes stay locked on them as I shrug.

“I heard that O’Toole’s sister was transferring here,” Matteo mumbles, his head turned to look behind him as he takes in the scene. He rubs his temples and turns back around to face us.

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