And I still can’t speak.
Spike steps through the bunker doors, mid-sentence. “Foster double-checked. The bunker’s bomb-proof. We’re set for the…Abigail? What’s wrong? Why do you look pissed?”
She squeezes my hand before letting go.
Only for another hand, bigger and rougher, to take its place.
Skip.
“Eli, what’s wrong?” he murmurs, kneeling in front of me.
I want to say:I don’t want to be a notch on your bedframe.
But my body still refuses to cooperate.
“Somebody tell me what the fuck happened?” Spike demands.
“Mike was being a stupid jerk,” Abby snaps. Her voice shakes…but with fury, not fear. “He started talking about Skip’s sex life. Then, when we told him to stop and that Eli’s his boyfriend, he freaking laughed. Said Eli’s ‘below Skip’s level.’ He’s a jerk, Bubby. A mean, cruel jerk.”
Skip’s whole body goes still before he leans forward and gently kisses my cheek.
His lips come away wet.
Yep. Still crying.
Kill me now.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he says softly.
His voice is calm. His body is not.
I watch him stand slowly before taking a few steps to the side.
Then he launches.
Skip hits Mike so hard the man’s head whips back before he slams to the ground.
But Skip doesn’t stop. He straddles him and punches again.
“How…”punch.
“Fucking…”punch.
“DARE YOU…”punch.
“Shouldn’t we stop him?” someone whispers.
Spike looks at me, then at the fight.
“Not yet,” he says. “I’ll give Skip a little longer to drill the lesson in. It’s a very important one.”
My body loosens…freaking finally…like a rubber band snapping back into place. I’m not sure how long I was frozen, but it was freaking terrifying. I need to remember to bring that up to my doctor the next time I go. That’s never happened to me before. I wonder if it’s something that happens to some people who have Reflex Syncope.
“I think I’ll go home,” I murmur once I shake the paralysis off. Standing, I tug my shirt down out of old habit.
Spike doesn’t look away from the fight as he says, “Skip. Eli needs you.”
The punching stops instantly.
