Page 51 of Crash
“We went over this,” she said, punching him in the shoulder. “Leave them alone.”
“What do I have to say to you to make you believe me, Ash?” I asked, thoroughly pissed off. It was way to early to deal with this shit.
“Nothing.”
“To me, it looks like you’re more afraid of letting her go than seeing her hurt.”
Ash fisted his hands into the front of my T-shirt and yanked me close, his expression pure rage. “You know shit,” he hissed.
“I know I hit a button,” I retorted. “Looks like it was the right one.”
With a roar, he drew his fist back and punched me in the face, his hand colliding with my cheek. I stumbled back a step, slightly dazed for a moment. It was only a split second because shit, we were both fighters, and I was a pro. I got punched in the face on my fuckingcoffee break.
I squared my shoulders and was about to launch myself at him when Ren put on her game face and launched first.
“Enough.” She shoved between us, and Ash openly seethed, practically frothing at the mouth, but at her insistence, he took a step back. “What the fuck?”
I stared Ash down, my face beginning to throb. It was also beginning to sink in that he’d punched me right in the face.Asshole.
“Someone better start talking, or I’ll beat the both of you,” Ren exclaimed.
“I know guys like him,” Ash spat. “They fuck anything with tits then chuck them out. I won’t let that be Violet. She’s too good for him.”
Ren stared at him open mouthed.Renand I’d[CS1]always been good mates, but Ash? Never. His sister meant a great deal to him, but he didn’t understand that I wasn’t one of those guys. I’d dabbled like any red-blooded man with a raging libido, but I’d given it up ages ago. It was empty. Andrea had only served to remind me of the things I didn’t want.
What I wanted was the more. A deeper connection and someone to see me for the man I was.Someone like Violet.
“You can’t be serious,”Renexclaimed, her attention on Ash.
“I’m deadly serious,” he replied. “He’s not who I want her to be with.”
“I wake up, and I think about her,” I snapped, not taking my gaze away from Ash.“I come in here and hope I see her. I’m a different person when I’m with her.I’m better,she’s better… She’s getting stronger. I can see the Violet I remember more and more. Not that we’ve had the chance to be together.”
“See?” Ren asked Ash.
I shook my head. Feelings weren’t my strong suit, not like fighting, but I guess this was just another way of doing that without the fists. “You fought forRen, and I’m doing the same for Violet.”
“She’s been through so much,”Ashsaid, his voice thin.
“I know, and I want to help her.”
“Give him the chance, Maverick,” Ren prodded. “What’s life without taking a leap, right?”
“Yeah, I’d be a fucking hypocrite,” he snapped, still clearly pissed about the whole situation. “The warning still stands.” He jabbed a finger at me.
“Clearly,” I retorted.
“Take a beat, Ash,” Ren said, nodding toward the stairs. “We all catch your drift, no use trying to beat it in any further.”
He sniffed and rolled his shoulders before backing away. Ren stood with me while he walked across the mats and disappeared upstairs. Clearly, she was going to give me a tongue-lashing as well. At least she’d be gentler about it. I raised my hand and cupped my cheek, massaging the throbbing flesh. The bruise it’d probably leave didn’t bother me, but the circumstance in which it got there did.
“Linc—”
“Do I want to hear this?” I interrupted.
“If you truly want to help her,” Ren said, placing her hands on my shoulders, “then you need to think about what happens next.”
I knew she meant long-term. It wasn’t just about getting together, having a bit of fun and calling it quits. If I was going into this, then I had to be all in or nothing.
