“Are you okay?” I ask, heart pounding, looking her over for any signs that she’s hurt.
She rubs off her elbows where rocks stick to them, and I follow her gaze to her knees when she winces. Ellie nudges into her softly, a small whine leaving her. Tris reassures her that everything’s alright, but she only had one hand to stop her fall, and I notice a scrape on her chin.
“Here, let me see.” I reach out to take her face into my hand, but she jerks back.
My hand is still extended toward her face as we stare at each other, locked in, neither of us speaking, as the air between us buzzes with an unspoken mess of emotions.
“You did that on purpose!” Rory’s voice is almost unrecognizable as she glares at the woman sitting at the table behind Tris.
The woman scans Rory up and down like she’s unimpressed. Lifting her chin, she looks down her nose at her with a smirk. “Who are you supposed to be? Look at that hair.” She laughs, looking at the man who sits with a grin across from her, then backat Rory. “You look like you fell into a bin of cotton candy. Seriously, sweetie, don’t you own a mirror?”
“Ha,” Rory snaps, eyes sharp and glare deadly. “That’ssupposed to befunny, right? You think you’re funny?”
The woman’s brow twitches and her smile falters slightly as Rory continues.
“You see, cotton candy issupposed to besweet.” Rory’s chin dips as she leans in slightly, a slow smile creeping onto her lips. “But I’m not.”
Before anyone can register Rory’s movements, she grabs the iced coffee from the table and dumps it onto the woman’s head.
The woman stands, screaming, and Tris quickly rises to her feet, wincing as each movement hurts, while I fight the urge to reach for her again and give her my support. Ainsley rushes out onto the patio, and Rory reaches for Tris, her demeanor losing its sharpness as she looks her over, too.
“You stupid, pink-haired bitch!”
Tris’s arm shoots out, shifting Rory’s body behind her until she’s squeezed between the two of us.
“That’s enough, Vianna,” Tris warns, and beside her, a low growl rumbles from Ellie.
The man at the table looks at Tris with an air of superiority and scoffs. I grind my teeth together, doing my best to keep my mouth shut until I understand what’s going on. She clearly knows both of them, but how is still unclear. Rory shifts in an attempt to go around Tris, but I place my hand on her shoulder, stopping her, and give a quiet command for Ellie to heel, grateful when she listens.
“Enough?” Vianna laughs, an ugly, shrill sound. “I don’t think so. Are you the manager?” she asks Ainsley.
“Yes?” Ainsley treads lightly, clearly still playing catch-up.
Every nerve inside me is lit up right now, my adrenaline skyrocketing. I want to make sure that Tris is okay. I want to knowwho the hell these two assholes are and what they think they’re doing.
Vianna wrings her coffee-soaked hair out, causing a smug smile to rest on both mine and Rory’s faces. I’ve got to give it to her. She keeps surprising me and clearly can hold her own.
“I want that one fired.” Vianna points to Rory. “Look what she did to me. My clothes are ruined.”
“Oh, no.” Ainsley’s hand covers her chest, and she looks around at the mess that’s surrounding us.
Food still covers the patio, and anyone looking at Tris can tell that she’s the one who went down. Her hair is disheveled, her knees both scraped up, there’s some sort of stain on her apron, and I’m still worried about that scratch on her chin, though it’s probably nothing. Ainsley looks between Rory and Tris, and I swear I see the moment that she puts it together. Something inside Rory settles, and her shoulders relax under my hand, but my attention is still on Tris, who looks as though any second now she’s going to snap.
“Bless your heart, dear. It looks to me like accidents have been happening all around,” Ainsley says, emphasizing her country drawl further than I’ve ever heard as she smiles at her.
“Accidents?” Vianna gasps. “That was no accident! Do you know who I am?”
“Well, dear, I don’t believe either of us can walk on water, so as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t really matter who you are.”
Vianna scoffs. “I want charges pressed. That was assault.”
Tris opens her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. I don’t know who this woman is, but I’ve had enough of her bullshit to last a lifetime.
“You’re right,” I say, shocking our little group. “I saw the whole thing, and I agree.”
Tris glares at me from over her shoulder, but doesn’t turn her back on Vianna, who begins to smile.
“Sergeant Hadley,” I continue, raising my brow with a smirk as Tom gets up from our table and joins us. “It was an assault, this woman is correct. I saw her stick her foot out with the intent to harm Miss Thorne here.”
