“What happened? Are you okay?” she shakes her head, looking down to the ground. I can feel Holland stiffen as he walks up beside me.
“Ellie? What’s going on? Did something happen?” Holland growls. The anger immediately taking over his body is palpable. Ellie looks back to me, her gaze only landing on her brother for a second.
“I…” she takes a shaky breath. “I went to get some fresh air on the deck, and Danny Larson was standing outside…” my blood begins to boil, and I can feel Holland stand a bit taller as he listens to his sister.
“He tried to…” Holland cuts her off before she can get out whatever she was about to say.
“Did he fucking touch you? If he laid a finger on you, I’m going to kill him,” he spits. Ellie cowers a bit, but she continues to explain.
“He forced himself on me. I tried to push him away, but he was too big. He kept trying, and somehow, I was able to gather enough strength to knee him in the balls,” she says. She straightens a bit. “I rushed insidebefore he could do anything else,” Ellie explains. She seems more pissed off than anything.
My own anger begins to grow as I hear a low noise from beside me. Holland looks like he could burst at any moment. I’m honestly a little worried being so close to him.
When it comes to Ellie, he is wildly overprotective. Especially when it comes to guys.
Holland begins to move through the crowd as Ellie and I trail him. A few dancing bodies bump into us as we maneuver our way through.
“Holland, wait,” Ellie calls, but Holland doesn’t stop.
“I’m going to find that fucking prick, and when I do, he’s fucking dead,” Holland calls back.
Ellie and I exchange a worried look before continuing to follow Holland through the sea of people.
We come to a stop when Holland finds exactly who he was looking for.
Danny Larson, captain of Ellington U’s hockey team stands with a drink in his hand and a smile on his face as he chats with a group of guys who I assume are his teammates.
Holland walks up to him, pushing him backward. Danny’s drink spills over the lip of the cup as he stumbles backward.
“What the fuck, Monroe?” he yells, attracting the eyes of many other students in the vicinity. Great.
“Stay away from my fucking sister, man,” Holland throws a punch at Danny’s face and chaos ensues.
Fan-freaking-tastic. Here we go.
Chapter 2
Lainey
Acrowd has gathered around us to watch the violence unfolding. People cheer, while some others look horrified. Ellie cries harder as she watches Holland pound the shit out of Danny.
I hold her to me for comfort as her small body shakes.
“Holland! Holland, stop!” she yells, but he doesn’t stop. It’s like he doesn’t even hear her. He’s in a blind rage. If it were anyone else, I’d probably find this extremely attractive, but it’s Holland.
“What’s going on?” I hear a familiar voice call over the chatter. Logan Steele and Mason Howard rush into the small space, grabbing Holland and pulling him off of Danny, who is lying in a bloody heap on the floor.
Holland looks feral as the two guys pull him away. His knuckles are bloody and busted, his hair falls in his face, and a bead of sweat drips down his face as his chest heaves.
“What the fuck, man?” Logan asks, sounding completely lost. Logan is a good guy, nicer than his brother. Ryker was moody and unpredictable. Logan is the complete opposite.
Logan is calm, cool, and collected like ninety-nine percent of the time. He’s rational, and he always tries to see the good in people.
We didn’t really know him until he started actually hanging around us more when Ryker left. I don’t think they fully get along, but I think they’re working on it. A lot happened in the spring semester. Their family is kind of messed up, much like all of ours are.
“I know he’s a dick, but why are you attacking Larson?” Mason questions Holland who is still seething with anger. His nostrils flare as a few of the hockey guys help Danny to his feet.
Danny swipes the back of his hand under his bloody nose while staring at Holland with disgust.
