Page 28 of Savage Hate
My heart lurches as Silas takes another threatening step toward my mom.
“Care to finish that sentence, Mrs. Rose?” He gives her a feline smile as her face blanches. Her lips form a thin line, and she backs up a few steps. “I didn’t think so. Now, go back to your fancy hotel and leave my employee the fuck alone.”
His words shock me, not just because he threatened my mom with aknife–a fucking knife–but because he stood up for me.
No one, besides maybe Mindy, has ever stood up for me. My heart beats calm as my mom harrumphs and stalks off, casting a hateful glance in my direction before lifting her chin. I listen to the sound of her heels as she walks away, not daring to look at the guys.
I stare at the ground, my chest burning with emotion, and then I feel a warm hand on my shoulder.
“Hey,” Damon says, his arched, scythe eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Let’s go.”
I look up at him, then at Silas and Jude. The crowd that had gathered thankfully disappeared with my mom. I guess they didn’t want to get on Silas’s bad side, either. I expect to see pity on their faces.
Pity… like on graduation night.
Instead, I just see fury. And a wrathful stillness that terrifies me. Especially radiating from Jude, who looks almosttooserene for it to be real.
I look back up at Damon. His eyes are still narrowed in anger, but they’re a bit softer now, and they twinkle slightly when I make eye contact.
“Why?” I ask as we slowly walk back to Savage Ink.
“We heard you crying earlier,” Jude answers me, his voice cool, smooth. I can feel him staring at my swollen face. When my eyes meet his, instead of the normal light brown color, they’re glowing nearly fiery orange with rage.
sixteen
Jude
I’m still shaking as we step over the threshold into Savage. I mumble something about the restroom, and then I make my way to the back, closing the bathroom door behind me. Before I know what I’m doing, my fist is shattering the mirror, and my knuckles are bloodied. Panting, I wipe the sweat from my brow with my clean hand, and then I rinse my cut-up hand under the water, wincing as shards of glass scrape against my already tender flesh.
“Jude?”
Lennon’s soft voice causes me to still. “I’ll be right out.”
I dry my hand off with a few paper towels, and then I reach up to the storage cabinet and pull out our neglected first aid kit. Ripping open a few band aid packages, I cover as much of the cuts as I can. Enough to disguise them until I can pull the black, latex gloves over them. Rinsing off the sink, I glance up at the broken mirror and shrug. I swing the door open, and Lennon’s eyes immediately go to my hand.
“What happened?” She looks behind me. “Jesus Christ, Jude. Did you just–”
I push her against the wall, placing my bad hand next to her head. Her eyes widen as she takes in the blood seeping out of the too-small bandages.
“Just because we were nice to you back there doesn’t mean we’re friends.”
The words feel less powerful today for some reason, but I appreciate the look of confusion on her face.Good.Wouldn’t want her to get too comfortable.
“Jude, I–”
“You seem to have the same problem as your mother,” I comment, smirking. A fresh batch of anger works its way through me at the mention of her mother, and I need to take it out on someone. “Mind your own fucking business and get back to work.”
Her eyes penetrate mine with such intensity that I have to look away.
Fuck her.
Without another word, I leave her there.
I can feel Lennon’s eyes burning through the back of my head for several minutes, and when I finally manage to look up again, she’s unscrewing the broken mirror from the bathroom wall.
seventeen
Lennon
