I round the corner of the bar in two strides and appear beside them. “Get your fucking hands off of her.” My voice cuts through the air, low and lethal, and the whole place goes quiet. My body is tense like a coiled spring. There is fury and destruction burning my eyes as I clench both fists by my sides.
Jake raises both hands up in the air, laughing. “Relax, man. We were just talking.”
I don’t move.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch her again.”
His face twists with irritation. “Who the fuck do you think you are, Alex? You can have the bitch.”
Just like that, I swing, my fist connecting with Jake’s jaw with a sickening crack. He stumbles back, eyes wild before lunging toward me. We fall into an empty table and crash on the ground, fists flying. This is shockingly not my first bar fight, so I can say I know what I’m doing, while Jake’s swings are sloppy and uncoordinated.
I land another brutal hit as he stands back up, knocking him back against another table and chairs.
“Alex, stop!” I hear Emma call out.
But I can’t stop myself. I land another punch causing Jake to let out another grunt of pain. Everyone in the bar is huddled around us, shouting. Frankie runs over to try to pull me away but I push him off of me too.
“Alex, you idiot. STOP!” Emma calls out again.
I think about hitting him again but decide to stop. My chest is heaving and there is blood dripping along my knuckles.
“I’m going to sue your fucking ass,” Jake groans as he rolling onto his side.
“Do it, bitch.” I seethe, making my way over to Emma. The look on her face is beyond anger or rage.
“Why do you have to ruin everything?” she spits out, her cheeks flushed red and eyebrows furried together. “I’m leaving.” She doesn’t wait for my response as she turns towards the door to leave. Liv and Sophia trail behind. Sophia looks horrified by what happened and Liv looks likeshewants to punch me.
“Em, wait—” She ignores me as they walk out the door. I run after them and call out to her again. She stops short, eyes narrowing slightly. “What, Alex?” Her voice barely below a yell.
“We need to talk.”
She exhales sharply, shaking her head. “I don’t think we do. Not after your little show in there.”
I ignore that. “Let me take you home.”
“Fuck, no.” She immediately snaps back.
“Please, Em. Just this one time and then I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want.”
I’m two seconds away from getting on my knees and begging. She hesitates for a second, then she mutters something under her breath before giving a short nod. “Fine.”
Liv and Soph take turns hugging her goodbye and I hear Livwhisper, “Are you sure this is a good idea? He’s clearly unhinged.”
Emma nods and replies, “I’ll be fine. He’s not going to hurt me.”
She turns back towards me and simply says, “Let’s go,” turning through the side alley to the back lot where employees park, assuming that’s where I parked. We don’t speak as we head to the truck. She still doesn’t say anything when I open the door for her, just slides in and crosses her arms tightly over her chest.
I glance over to her several times as we pull out of the lot and make our way to her house, trying to find the right words for what it is I want to say. Everything seems insignificant and small compared to the rage displayed on her beautiful face.
We barely make it a mile down the road before she snaps.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she demands, voice sharp and cutting. “A brawl in the middle of your own goddamn bar? Really, Alex? How old are you?”
My jaw clenches as I wipe away some blood starting to dry at the corner of my mouth. “I saw the way he put his hands on you, Em. What was I supposed to do? Let him get away with it?”
“I could’ve—Iwashandling it just fine,” she shoots back, though I’m not convinced.
“Yeah? Because from where I stood, it looked like he wasn't taking no for an answer and you needed help.”
