Alex walked toward his brother. I followed right on his heels until we reached the door, and he extended a hand to stop me from entering the house. Part of me wanted to argue, but to get close to Kenny, he’d have to turn his back on the guy who’d answered the door, and while he didn’t seem outwardly dangerous, I’d feel better keeping an eye on him.
The guy eyed me up and down. “You boys in the market for any party favors tonight?”
“Why? So we can end up like him?” I gestured to Kenny.
Alex shot me a lethal glare.
“That ain’t my fault. Kenny’s a stupid fucker.” The guy shrugged and filled the air with more smoke.
I wrinkled my nose and fanned the air, which only made him laugh.
“Shit.” Alex’s whispered curse had me stepping forward. He crouched down next to his brother. “Ken?”
A groan was the only answer he got.
Keeping one eye on the vaper, I stepped closer and glanced down at Kenny. “Oh fuck.” Someone had beat the absolute shit out of Alex’s brother. Both eyes were purple and swollen like chewing gum bubbles. Blood had crusted beneath his nose andover his mouth and chin. Even his hoodie was covered in blood, probably from when it sprayed out of his nose.
“Do you know what he took?”
The vaper shrugged. Goose bumps coated his scrawny arms and torso, but he seemed impervious to the cold otherwise. “The usual, probably.”
“Do you know who did this to him?”
“Sure do, but I ain’t telling you. Not about to put myself in a spot to get my ass beat like Kenny.” He tugged at a thread near the pocket of his worn jeans. They hung low, giving us a view of zig-zag patterned boxers. “Think he stole from them. Either that, or he fucked somebody’s girl. Can you just get him outta here before they come looking for his ass?”
“Yeah.” Alex worked a hand beneath his brother’s back and heaved him to a sitting position with a grunt. Kenny’s head lolled to the side once, then bounced up straight. His puffy eyes opened to slits.
“Alex?” A goofy grin formed, showing his bloody teeth. “Hey, bro.”
At least he wasn’t feeling pain.
For now.
Later, he’d be in a world of hurt, guaranteed.
“Hey, Ken,” Alex answered with a resigned sigh. “Ready to go home?”
“Nah, bro, we should party.”
“Party’s over for tonight, Kenny. Let’s stand up.”
“But you never party with me. All you do is work and school and school and work. So fuckingboooring, bro.”
A muscle twitched in Alex’s jaw as he no doubt fought the urge to add to Kenny’s colorful array of bruises.
I squatted down on Kenny’s other side. “Let me help you get him up.”
Alex blinked as though he’d forgotten my presence. Any other time, I might be offended, but the poor guy deserved a few breaks tonight. He nodded, then we each slid an arm around Kenny and hauled him to his feet.
He swayed heavily into Alex, who stumbled back a step to accept his brother’s weight before we were able to steady him with our arms around his waist and his thrown over our shoulders.
“Who’re you?” Kenny’s morbid face turned my way. “You his boyfriend?” he asked in a sing-song voice.
“No,” Alex barked. “He’s not. Let’s walk to the car.”
We half-walked, half-dragged a staggering Kenny out of the house. Thankfully, he was a slender guy. It was hard enough to keep from tripping over his wandering feet—if he’d weighed more than Alex or me, our little trio would have crashed to the ground trying to maneuver through the doorway. As it was, we had to turn sideways and guide him as if he were a wobbly toddler.
“Tell him he ain’t welcome here no more,” the vaper said as we struggled through the doorway.
