“You got this, Danny. Slap the shit out of his ass,” Aiden yells.
Art places the money on the counter, then takes a stance before Danny.
Robbie walks back in. “What the hell? I’m not spotting him.”
“I’ll spot him,” Dex says, stepping behind Art.
Bri and Lilah walk into the kitchen.
“Where were you two?” Anneli asks.
Lilah blushes, while Bri stares at the floor like she sees something interesting.
“You want to go first, bitch?” Danny taunts.
Art smirks. “Ladies first.”
A few kids laugh. Danny’s hand whips across Art’s face without any warning. That was a cheap shot. Art stumbles back a little but recovers superfast, his hand connecting with Danny’s face. Danny loses his footing, causing him to bump into Zeke. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. He spits in the sink. There’s no cheering—it’s deathly silent. Everyone looks on in anticipation, wondering who the victor will be. They go back and forth, smacking the hell out of each other.
“Josh, this is getting dangerous,” I say, a tremor in my voice.
“We broke them up during Chaos. Tonight it ends when one of them falls,” Josh replies.
I peer at Trevor, hoping to get him on my side like last time.
“The pissing match between them isn’t going to stop, and I’m not getting in the middle of it again. Let them kill each other,” Trevor states.
Blood begins to run from Danny’s nose. Art’s face is showing the effects of the game as well.
Danny appears disoriented, barely able to stand.
Enough is enough.
I move in between them in a quest to end this madness.
“Cin! Get back!” Trevor yells.
But it’s too late. Danny’s hand hits my face with the force of a supernova, causing my body to spin around. I’m unable to stop myself as I hit the counter, head first.
“What the fuck happened?” Ricky is seething with rage. His face is as red as a tomato, that’s how pissed he is.
Josh, Trevor, and I don’t speak.
“Somebody better start talking now!” he yells.
A few people waiting to receive services in the emergency room watch us where we stand. Cin’s mom is with her while she receives a CAT scan. Cin was out cold after her head banged against the counter. Blood poured from a gash just above her left eyebrow. Everyone panicked, including me. Some kids were screaming, others were crying. I was so fucking scared. She seemed so lifeless and her skin started to turn pale. It brought me back to that day. She’s hurt, and it’s because of me. I didn’t help her, because I couldn’t. Instead I was in a state of shock. Why am I such a fuckup? I should have left well enough alone and stayed the fuck away from Danny since he hadn’t fucked with me at the party. When I came to my senses, I started beating the fuck out of Danny. It took several people to pull me off him. I’m not sure who called for an ambulance. When the paramedics drove off with her, I hopped on my motorcycle to follow.
“Did you do this, Art?” Ricky asks.
“What the fuck kind of question is that?”
I’m about to punch the shit out of my uncle.
“Your face is all fucked up. What am I supposed to think? She could’ve been defending herself against you,” he continues.
“I didn’t do that to her,” I shout at the top of my lungs.
A security officer starts moving towards us.
