He doesn’t even acknowledge me, as if he has some unspoken rivalry with Jamie. For his part, though, Jamie looks wholly unimpressed by him. Tech, on the other hand…
Just as Creed starts toward Jamie again, Tech moves quickly to knock him aside before wrapping his forearm around Creed’s neck from behind, pulling him backward into a choke hold. The pipe falls to the dock with a clanging sound as Creed’s hands flail in front of him. Tech holds him fast.
“Get off him!” Matteo shouts, rushing forward.
Jamie grabs him by the shirt to push him backward. Instantly, Matteo swings and hits Jamie’s shoulder, but Jamie is quick to throw a return punch, landing it squarely on Matteo’s jaw.
He and Matteo lock up, while Tech is attempting to choke out Creed. Other Chasers are gathering around us as Hailey shouts for everyone to stop. When Matteo grabs Jamie by the bandaged arm, making him cry out in pain, I rush into the fray.
Hailey tries to stop me, but Shawn quickly appears, grabbing her bythe collar and pulling her in close. “Don’t even think about it,” Shawn says in her face, before the two begin shouting at each other.
After Jamie pushes Matteo off, bright red begins to bloom across his white bandage. I’m scared he popped his stiches. Just then, Creed breaks free of Tech, and then he’s trying to fight Jamie again. It’s absolute madness.
Halfway across the dock now, I look up to see Matteo pushing his way back over to me in the chaos. The others are still wrapped up in their brawl, but Matteo’s eyes are locked on mine, and I feel the ground shift beneath me.
What does he want with me? Why can’t he just leave me alone?
“Noa,” he says, his voice serious, like he’s actually trying to have a real conversation. I don’t trust him. Not for a second. “I need to talk to you,” he says, and there’s an edge to his voice, something… earnest? “Please,” he adds.
I hate that it makes me hesitate for just a moment, as if there’s a part of me that still wants to listen to what he has to say.
Before I can respond, there is a splash of liquid over Matteo’s head, splattering on my shirt. We both gasp. I look behind him and see Shawn standing there with an empty plastic cup, the beer on Matteo.
“You’ve said enough tonight,” Shawn tells him.
For a split second, Matteo’s expression falters, eyes wide with surprise, but then… then the storm comes.
Hailey throws herself at Shawn, her nails swiping at her face, her body a blur of rage. Hailey doesn’t have a chance, but she has the element of surprise. Suddenly, though, it’s Jordan who comes over to grab Hailey by the shoulders, yanking her backward with unexpected strength.
“Enough!” Jordan orders, her voice steady despite the situation. She exchanges a quick, apologetic look with Shawn, like this is all a terrible mistake, but there’s no going back now.
Shawn is breathing heavily, eyes wild, but she doesn’t fight Jordan. Not this time.
Jordan nods, an apologetic frown on her face as she pulls Hailey back toward the boat. Hailey continues to shout, her red hair in knots from fighting.
Jamie pushes Creed toward the boat. Although he tries to act tough, I can see that Creed is relieved to go, his lip bloodied. He was completely outmatched. Privilege doesn’t necessarily help your fists win fights. Matteo, however, stands in the middle of our group, angry and soaked in beer. He’s not used to losing.
And for now, whatever he had to say to me is lost. He’s angry, his ego bruised. “This isn’t over,” he tells Jamie, his eyes narrowed.
“You’re right, it’s not,” Jamie replies easily.
Matteo’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he turns to his friends, motioning for them to get the boat ready. Once the motor roars to life, I watch as they push back from the dock.
Shawn comes over to me, checking the scratches on the back of her arm. Hailey got her pretty good. We watch until their boat disappears.
We didn’t need this tonight. But it just never ends with them. The Collective will always find a reason to come after us, even when we’re in our own spaces.
“What the hell was that all about?” Shawn asks, still out of breath.
“Not a clue,” I say, my brow furrowed. “But whatever it is, I don’t think Matteo is going to let it go.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
—JAMIE
At least my arm stoppedbleeding. After getting home and checking last night, I had the on-staff medic check me out and was happy to see that although the wound was angry, only one of the actual stitches came out. They were able to patch me up on the spot—which is great. My mother would have absolutely lost her mind if I went back to the hospital.
I’m sore all over. And between the fighting and the bleeding and the fighting again, I’m tired. After the others left the island, I sat by the fire with the Chasers, listening to them. How this isn’t that unusual, and how it’s gotten worse the last few years. The Collective have been finding reasons to lash out at them.
