"More than sure. Let's go teach him a lesson. It may not be your dad, but it'll certainly make you feel better."
She led the way out of the house towards her mustang. Her hands were fisted beside her as she marched towards her car with her head held high.
She was definitely Davis' daughter.
I felt secure beside her, empowered even. My inner warrior, as Davis called it, was screaming to be released, and I was ready to do so as Izzy drove us towards Daniel's house. The mansion came into view about fifteen minutes later.
Izzy and I had been blasting music to keep the anger burning in us. We were currently listening to Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit as we pulled up to the enormous mansion at the end of the road. Trees branched over the driveway, providing a beautiful scene as we drove in.
Feeling ready to rage, we marched side by side up the driveway. I'd never felt so alive before. The gravel kicked beneath our feet as we made our way to the large red door. Izzy didn't hesitate to bang on the door like she was ready to break it down.
She stepped back, ready to attack the moment that door opened. Unexpectedly, a young man answered the door, his brow furrowed as he took us in. We both stared at one another for a moment, worried we had gone to the wrong house, but as I looked at the man more closely, I saw the resemblance.
I recalled Chris mentioning he had a younger brother, the one who stood to inherit everything if Chris didn't go through with the contract marriage.
"Is Daniel home?" I asked him, trying to keep the sting out of my tone. He had done nothing to me, but with a father and brother like his, he can't be too far off.
"Uh, no. Is everything okay?" He asked, looking concerned as he looked between Izzy and I.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"The hell it is," Izzy argued, looking ready to bite this poor guy's head off for no reason. "Where the hell is your sick ass father?"
Chris' brother looked taken aback by Izzy's forwardness. It was like the anger was oozing out of her pores as she locked eyes with him. He seemed shocked for a moment before composing himself.
"What did he do now?"
He sounded exasperated as he asked, like he was so tired of his father and his antics. I was surprised by it, but I didn't let it sway my opinion of him. He was probably just as rotten as the rest of the males in his family.
"He tried to rape her," she pointed at me, causing my eyes to widen at the way she just blurted that out.
I felt embarrassed, as if the truth was something I should be ashamed of. I was unsure of why my body reacted that way. It wasn't my fault and I shouldn't be ashamed at all, yet I was.
"Are you serious?" He looked at me with such deep sympathy that I could only assume it was genuine. He took a step out of the door, finding himself on the porch with us. "I am so sorry he did that to you. I hate that man like no other. Follow me, I'll take you to him."
I couldn't believe my ears as he walked off the porch towards the side of the house. Izzy and I looked at one another, unsure of his intentions. Izzy shrugged and followed him, still determined to punch something. I followed her, catching up and matching her powerful strides. We approached a large shed to the side of the house, its doors opened to show the gym that was set up.
Daniel was in the middle of reps when he spotted us. His smirk made my stomach twist, causing bile to rise in my throat. One look from Izzy was all it took to remind me I shouldn't be frightened. I held my head up high again, letting that inner warrior in me take over more. I pushed my insecurities and worries aside and pulled on my anger and fury until it felt like it was consuming me whole.
"Did you change your mind, Lisa?" He kept that smug smirk on his face as he spoke to me.
"You really think I would sleep with a man as vile as you? You and your son are the scum of this world. A piece of trash stuck to the bottom of my shoe that I can't seem to get rid of. So I'm here to scrape it off by force."
My voice barely sounded like me. It was strong and powerful, filled with anger as I stared down at him. I didn't back away or shrink as he stood tall, puffing his chest out as if to try to intimidate me. Izzy laughed at his display, earning her an angry look from him. She didn't care, only laughing harder.
"He thinks he's so big and bad." She clutched her sides as she continued to laugh. She wiped at her eye as she calmed herself.
Daniel was furious, not wasting any time as he approached Izzy. He pulled his hand back, ready to smack her. Three things happened all at the same time at that moment. First, I reached for his hand, grabbing his wrist to stop his punch. Second, Chris' younger brother stepped forward, grabbing the same wrist I had gone for. His hands and mine met as we locked eyes, surprised by each other's response. Third, Izzy pulled back her arm, landing a hard punch on his diaphragm.
"You'll find that Lisa and I know how to fight back. We're not some weak girls you can control or toy around with. As my father always says, 'only a coward would place his hands on a woman'. So let me show you what we do to cowards. The coward’s special."
Izzy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he bent over, trying to catch his breath from her last punch. Chris' younger brother and I let go of his wrist, allowing Izzy to pull him close and punch him repeatedly in the face. I joined in, punching his side until we found him on the floor. I kicked his stomach for good measure, feeling a surge of power course through me. There was a high in me I never wanted to end.
Is this what being strong feels like?
"You guys better go before anyone sees you," Chris' younger brother told us once Daniel was unconscious, bloody and bruised on the ground. I felt no remorse, no guilt, no pity as I stared down at him.
"Thanks for your help. Glad to see at least one Darnell isn't a twisted, sick bastard," I told him, as Izzy and I sprinted away like bats out of hell.
