I held out the lighter and the knife he’d dropped. “These belong to him.”
“Fuck you!”
It took every fiber of my being not to shift, then and there, and take a clawed swipe at his face. I snapped, “Get him out of here before I get even more pissed off.”
As they hauled him towards the police station just down the street, I realized just how hard I was clenching my fists. Nick put his hand on my shoulder. “You okay, Vic?” he asked.
I didn’t bother lying. “No.”
Nick paused, then asked with concern, “Did he know Liam was in the building?”
“Yes,” I growled.
Nick’s jaw gaped. He shook his head. “I can’t believe anyone would do this… Do you know why he did it?”
I couldn’t tell Nick the truth. It was bad enough this happened to Liam just because of who he was; I didn’t need my best friend turning on me, too.
“No,” I lied. “Just shits and giggles.”
Nick spat in anger. “Asshole.” He turned to me. “Don’t worry. The police will sort him out.”
“They’d better,” I growled. “Because if I get my hands on him again, there won’t be anything left to sort.”
7
Liam
Iwokeup to the sound of keys jingling. The sun had risen outside the apartment. Sitting up, I realized I must have passed out. I wiped the embarrassing strand of drool from my mouth and sat straight to make it look like I hadn’t just regained consciousness.
Victor came inside smelling like smoke.
“Hey,” I said. “Did you have a call?”
“Yeah,” he grunted and slid off his dusty top shirt, exposing the tight white t-shirt underneath. “Hope I didn’t wake you.”
“It’s all good.” I rubbed my eyes. “Was it a big fire?”
His eyes darkened. He slid the keys across the kitchen counter and sat across from me with a sigh. Rubbing his temples, he said, “Not really.”
Anxiety prickled my skin. Something was bothering Victor, I could tell, but I didn’t know how or if I should even bring it up. I shuffled in my seat. “Did you have breakfast yet?”
He shook his head, but looked at me now. I couldn’t read his expression. He seemed very tired. “Did you?”
“I had an apple,” I said.
“Why did you attack that man?”
My blood went cold. Victor stared at me.
“What?” I rasped.
His elbows were on his knees as he leaned forward, tense and focused. For the first time I almost felt afraid of him. I swallowed thickly. There was no use in acting which man he meant; I knew perfectly well what he was talking about.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” I murmured. My gaze fell to the floor.
Victor let out a deep sigh. “I don’t think you meant to. But you did. I’m asking why.”
Memories of that day flooded me, fuelling me with anger. I furrowed my brows and leapt out of my seat. “You don’t understand! He was attacking Doris!” I cried. “I just wanted to protect her!” As Victor watched me intently, my voice cracked. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, I just – for a split second, I couldn’t control my bear.”
