Rafael veered closer to the car and started punching the window next to Ross, who turned to me and screamed, “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.”
“I don’t,” I yelled back.
“Cody, if you don’t get that asshole to pull over I’ll jump on the fucking roof of the car!”
“Fuck this. I’m pulling over,” Ross cried out.
He did, and Rafael came to a screeching halt right in front of us. He hopped off the bike and barreled to my side, whipping the door open.
“Out.”
The rage brewing inside me was so hot it threatened to turn my entire body into ash. “I can’t fucking believe you. You don’t have the right to—”
“I said OUT,” Rafael shouted.
My fists clenched, and I spoke through clenched teeth, “I’m so sorry, Ross.” I swung my legs to the side and got out of the car, making sure to shoulder-check Rafael on the way out.
How could I stay in the car and hope for a second chance with Ross? I was humiliated. I wanted to disappear into the ground, never to be seen or heard from again.
Rafael leaned into the car and spoke in a tone reserved for murderers in horror films. “If you ever come near him again, I’ll end you, and it will hurt. I will hurt you until you beg me to take your life.”
Ross reeled back and said, “Jesus Christ, you’re a fuckin’ nut! Get the fuck away from my car before I call the cops. I’ll never talk to your boyfriend again.”
Rafael stepped away from the car, and Ross went from zero to eighty miles per hour in seconds.
Rafael turned to me and grabbed my arm. “We’re having a talk.”
Rafael
Doofus sped off into the night.
Good.
I hadn’t noticed the full extent of his douchery until I was up close. A fucking Red Sox hat? Did Cody have no self-respect?
I turned to look at the little brat; he was furious. The heat of his rage wafted off him as his clenched fists shook at his sides.
This was uncharted territory between us, and I didn’t know how to explain why I went fucking nuclear and threatened to murder a dude because I thought he was going to touch my stepbrother.
Cody closed the distance between us and got right in my face. “What the fuck was that?”
Umm…excuse me? I was saving you from defiling yourself with a loser.“Me? You tell me, dipshit.”
Cody slammed his hands against my chest, knocking me back a few steps. “Don’t call me a dipshit! It’s one thing to say kinky shit when we’re messing around, but it’s another to say mean things with the intent of hurting. I won’t tolerate it.”
Who the hell was this new bossy pants over here?“I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” I bit out.
“Yes, you were! You always do. You fucking hurt my feelings on a daily basis, and I want you to stop.”
Hehad just run out of a party to mess around with some stranger, and I was the one being scolded. “Who was that? What were you going to do with him?” I asked.
His gaze snapped to mine, his brown eyes illuminated by the headlights of cars passing by. “It’s none of your fucking business who that was.”
“You run off with some dude, and it’s none of my business?”
He walked away from me, flailing his arms as he screamed, “You were making out with that girl right in front of me. That’s what I am talking about, Rafael. You did it to fuck with me. You did it to make me jealous—to hurt me.”
“I wasn’t trying to make you jealous!”
