Page 28 of The Reaper
She sighed and opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and took a few steps away from me before shrugging. “Okay.” And then she walked off towards the dance floor.
Holding her in my arms had felt like everything, and now I was letting her go like a fucking loser. I hated my emotionally stunted self sometimes. This was why I didn’t get attached; I didn’t do relationships. I was shit at it. So why even try? Why make the effort if you’re only setting yourself up to fail?
But you can’t win if you don’t play the game.
I ignored the whisper in my head giving me false hope, but I couldn’t seem to engage my brain and walk away. My feet were planted firmly in place, watching her every move.
For a girl that seemed so meek and mild, she had no fear when it came to finding a space on the dance floor and letting the music take her away. Her hips swayed in time to the beat, her eyes drifting closed as she mouthed along to the words of the song, and when the DJ started to play theJazmin Beanremix of‘I’m a Slave 4 U’, I felt myself morph into some kind of fucking caveman. The urge to stalk over to her and throw her over my shoulder was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Raw, animalistic, natural, that’s what it felt like.
But then it happened.
That gut-wrenching moment that I knew in my bones would come.
The guy from earlier appeared behind her, put his arms around her and pulled her back to his front, grinding against her.
He could’ve charged through this club wielding a machete and I wouldn’t have felt any less violent than I did right now. It didn’t matter that she was pushing him away, showing him she wasn’t interested. He’d put his hands on her, and that was enough for me.
I flew across the dance floor, not caring who I knocked out of the way, and the instant I got to where they were, I clenched my fist and smacked him as hard as I could in the jaw.
One punch and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I wasn’t finished with him though. All I could see in my mind was his sweaty hands all over her, his face next to hers, pouring God knows what kind of filth in her ear. His body close to her, grinding on her. I leant over and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him up off the floor so I could get another punch in. As I did, I felt hands pulling me back, arms stopping me from lurching forward again to get to him, and then Adam’s voice in my ear.
“Not here. We’ve got you, mate. But let’s take this outside.”
At that exact moment, one of the guy’s friends came over and put his hand on Adam’s arm to talk to him, but Adam shrugged him off and glared at him like he was about to knock him out too.
“There’s no need to take anything outside,” the guy pleaded, holding his hands up. “He’s drunk and he didn’t know what he was doing. We should’ve stopped him from going near her, but I swear to you, he means no harm. We don’t want any trouble. He’s an annoying twat when he’s had a drink, but he’s harmless. Honestly.”
“It’s not up to you whether there’s trouble or not,” Adam hissed, getting right into his face.
There was tension in the air that was growing by the second, and we were ready to fight when Liv suddenly appeared and stood in-between Adam and the guy. She grabbed Adam’s face in her hands, and staring right into his eyes she said, “Stop. It’s not worth it. Go outside and calm down. Calm Devon down. Gav is sorting this guy out. He’ll make sure he’s barred and never steps foot in here again. I’ll look after the girl. That’s all that matters. Nothing else. Go and get your shit together.”
If anyone else had done what she did, they wouldn’t be left standing. But Adam took a few deep breaths, nodded reluctantly, then bent down to kiss her. Once he’d quietened his demons, he turned to face me.
“Outside. Now,” he barked. He knew that right now, my demons would take a lot longer to conquer than his.
I watched Gaz, and a few of the other security men pull the guy away, ready to throw him out. I didn’t like that it felt as though I was standing down––soldiers never stood down, it was our motto, but when I saw Liv put her arms around Leah May and lead her to the foyer at the front of the club where it was quieter, I knew I had to sort my fucking head out. I didn’t know what’d gotten into me––well, I did, but I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. I was fucking losing it.
Reluctantly, I headed out of the club through the fire exit, and when I got outside, I saw Adam, Colton, Tyler, and Will all staring at me.
“So, are you going to tell us what the fuck all that was all about?” Adam asked.
“Someone danced with his girl. He got pissed. End of,” Colton answered, shrugging and sparking up a cigarette.
“She’s not my girl,” I spat back, and Colton smirked.
“Yeah, because you always go around punching random guys on a Saturday night for no fucking reason. Adam’s the psycho who acts before he engages his brain. You’re the one who thinks first, remember? We know you.” Colton glanced across to where Adam was throwing him daggers. “Sorry, mate. But you know I’m right. Before Liv, you were a bit of a loose cannon.”
“I still am a loose cannon if I need to be,” Adam growled, lifting his chin in challenge and stepping towards Colton.
“Just for one minute, can we focus on what we came out here for?” Tyler intercepted. “Everyone needs to calm the fuck down. Colton, stop being an asshole. We don’t need your smart-ass comments, not tonight. Devon, mate, I’ve no idea what’s going on, but if that was your girl in there, tell us. Take a night off. Do whatever the fuck you need to do. We’re all entitled to have a meltdown every now and again. Look at Adam when he was chasing Liv. A fucking disaster zone.”
“Fuck you,” Adam spat back, but even he knew there was some truth in what Tyler was saying.
“See?” Tyler stated. “That’s my point right there. We’re a team, but sometimes, Ad, you give the impression it’s you against the world. It’s not. Never will be. And Will?” He turned to look at Will, who was standing with us with a look of bewildered amusement on his face. “I have no fucking clue what to say to you, but I didn’t want to leave you out.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Will replied with a smirk.
Tyler took a deep breath and looked at us each in turn, then added, “I think you should talk to Adam. He’s been through this; he knows what you’re going through. He went through it with Liv.”
