Page 57 of The Perfect Spiral
We’d both be screwed, that’s what!
“He’s so annoying,” I groaned to Andy and Wes. I put my phone back into my pocket, and we made our way towards the apartment. I was mid-sentence talking to Andy when I made eye contact with... Drew?
His hood was up, trying to hide his face. His eyes widened to the size of two saucers, and he looked over to my left, at Wes.
“Drew? What the hell happened? Are you alright?” He had a broken nose, a busted lip, two black eyes, and a bruised jaw. He averted his eyes to the ground, trying to pull his hood up over his face to cover it.
I grabbed his hand, and he looked back at me. “What happened?” I repeated softly. His eyes were pleading, and I felt so bad for him. Did he get into a fight?
He just stared at me, then looked behind me. He looked panicked and took my hand in his. I turned around to follow his gaze. Wes?
I snapped my head back to him. “Drew, please tell me what happened. I may not be with you, but I still care about you. Why did you look at Wes?” He looked back at me, tensing his jaw and gulping down hard.
“Alex, I’ll always love you. Please remember that. But you deserve better. I’m sorry for what I did to you... I’m sorry.” He letgo of my hand and jogged away.
I turned to watch him, but all I saw was his retreating back. He glanced over his shoulder once before disappearing into the crowd. I stood there, utterly bewildered by what had just transpired.
I spun around to face Wes, certain he knew something. He was staring in the direction Drew had vanished.
As if sensing my gaze, he turned to look at me. His usually hard, dark eyes softened when they met mine. That’s when I knew something was definitely wrong.
Did Wes do something to Drew? I rushed over to him, grabbing his arms. “Wes! Tell me what happened. Now!” I demanded, my patience wearing thin.
He cupped my face with his hands, my own still gripping his biceps. Andy moved closer, trying to figure out if she could help in any way.
Wes looked straight into my eyes. “Nothing, sweetheart. I don’t know what happened to him.” He lied straight to my face.
I could feel my anger building, spreading like wildfire through my body.
“Wes! I’m not asking again! Either you tell me now or I’ll go find Drew myself!”
“Alex, let it go! Please.”
He exhaled deeply, leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine, his eyes closed. Was it that bad? What had he done?
“Alex, I can’t tell you. So please, just drop it. It’s for your—”
“Wes! I’m serious! What did you do?”
“We beat him up, Alex! There! Are you happy now? You weren’t supposed to see him. This wasn’t supposed to get out.” He backed away from me, throwing his hands up in defeat.
He paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair.His back was to me, his shoulders rising and falling with each heavy breath. His hands were clasped behind his head.
That’s when I saw it. His red knuckles. The dried blood. The bruises. But he’d said we. Who was we?
“Who’s we?” I asked through gritted teeth. I had a hunch about who else was involved, but I needed confirmation from him. Why hadn’t they listened to me?
“Wes! Who’s we?” I yelled, catching his attention. He turned to look at me, his body still facing away as if he wanted to escape. But that wasn’t going to happen.
“Me, your brothers, Brett, Tyler, and... the Carter boys.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?! All of you? You could’ve killed him!!! Wes! What the hell is wrong with you all! Jesus! You’re lucky he didn’t report you guys!”
My anger was quickly turning into despair. Nine boys against one. They could’ve killed him. And it would’ve been my fault.
Wes started towards me, but I couldn’t bear to look at him. Nine boys were going to feel my wrath when I saw them next, and one of them was standing right in front of me. He cupped my face, but I refused to meet his gaze. My anger was fading, replaced by a deep sadness. No one would ever come near me again.
“Sweetheart, look at me,” Wes pleaded softly. But I couldn’t. I shook my head in his warm hands.
