“Brad,” Shane’s voice is low and threatening, “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Her. Again.” He narrows his eyes and punctuates each word to emphasize his meaning.
Will moves up beside Shane and it is a very ominous sight to see a mad Will. His voice belies his eyes and his words, “No, Shane, its fine. By all means, let him put one finger on her. One. More. Fucking. Time.” Will’s last words are clearly a dare and Brad quickly backs up. Maybe he’s not quite as stupid as he looks.
Brad holds his hands up in front of him and answers jovially, “No harm intended, fellas. I just wanted to say hello.”
“You’ve said it. That’s the only word you get with her, motherfucker. If I see you near her again, I will pound your face in the ground. You feel me?” Shane grabs my hand and protectively pulls me to his side. I go willingly because I don’t want to be anywhere near Brad and I don’t want Shane and Will to get in trouble for killing him. He’s just not worth the trouble of the going all the way home to get my shovel, dig the hole and hide the body.
Shane and I turn as one to walk back to the table and suddenly he’s pulling me to the side, away from everyone. It’s now that I see Luke stood up but never left the table. I guess he was getting ready to have Shane and Will’s back in case a fight broke out.
Shane demands, “What the hell is going on with you and Luke?” He actually looks mad atme.What the hell?
“Absolutely nothing,” my voice is flat and I’m doing my best to give him a bored look.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Shane demands.
“It means that there isabsolutely nothinggoing on between Luke and me. Exactly nothing. Exactlyabsolutely nothing.”
I’m glaring at Shane now and I’m purposely being a smartass. I really shouldn’t be, considering how glad I was to see Shane when Brad grabbed me. And how Shane just saved my ass.
“Look, I’m sorry, ok? Things aren’t working out with us and I don’t want you in the middle,” I explain, nicer this time. Shane nods in understanding and lets the subject drop.
I push through the crowd to tell Mitch to put my girls’ drinks on my tab and tell them goodbye. I can’t stay here and be this close to Luke. I just can’t handle it because I simultaneously want to tell him to go to hell and beg him to listen to me. Just hear me out, for crying out loud, I’m not a monster like he treated me. But I can’t do either and I just have to get away as far away from him as I can right now.
As I turn to leave, I see Brandon is sitting beside Luke and for some reason, I feel betrayed all over again. They’re brothers, I know, but I spent a long time talking to Brandon after Luke left me alone that day. Brandon picked me up off the floor – literally, I fell to the floor on my knees from the pain of watching Luke so callously walk away from me. Brandon helped me - he put me in his truck and drove me home. And he isn’t even the one who supposedly loved me.
I didn’t tell Brandon what happened – with his parents or with the mental hospital – but I think he did believe me when I said it wasn’t what it looked like. I try to tell myself that he hasn’t turned on me just because he’s sitting with Luke right now. My mind knows it but my heart won’t listen. He must know what I’m thinking because he gets up and steps into my only path out of this section of tables.
“Andi,” his voice is smooth and calm, “you should talk to him.” He inclines his head towards Luke but keeps his eyes on me. He’s probably thinking if he turns his head, I will dart around him and be gone. And he would be right.
“No.” I narrow my eyes at him, square my shoulders and set my jaw, daring him to continue this foolish conversation.
“Hey, I’m on your side. I’ve told him what an idiot he is,” Brandon says with such sincerity that I don’t doubt him at all.
I have no doubt Brandon has done just that. “That doesn’t change anything, though. Does it?”
He tilts his head to the side and studies me for a minute. “No, I guess it doesn’t,” he says gloomily.
I give him one curt nod and a half-smile and keep walking. Once I’m around him, I turn and say with all sincerity, “Brandon, thank you….for believing me. It means more than you could possibly know.” He nods in gratitude.
Before I even get to my car, the tears are flowing uncontrollably and I just want to get away from here. I’m reaching for the door handle when I hear a man’s soft call just behind me, “Andi.” It’s just barely above a whisper and his warm breath floats across the top of my head.
I turn and stare into his eyes for a half a second before the warning bells in my head go off. I’m in the parking lot alone with him. Again.
“Brad. Get away from me.” My voice holds more warning than I feel inside right now. I can’t show him any weakness.
“You know you don’t want that, Andi.”
“I know I want you as far away from me as possible, Brad.”
He grabs my hand and starts pulling me towards the other end of the parking lot. I immediately struggle against him but since he’s a big guy, and used to be a boxer at the club before Mack banned him, I don’t stand much of a chance against him. But I refuse to go down without a fight and he will at least have some marks on him compliments of yours truly.
In no time, he’s pulled me to his car and is trying to stuff me in it when a pair of big hands grab me and another pair of big hands grab him. I’m thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried back to my car. I can’t make out much in the dark parking lot, hanging upside down and facing a nice and familiar jean-clad ass. But I think I see someone who may or may not resemble Shane wailing on Brad, who is definitely crying like a girl.
There seems to be a theme with the men around me picking me up and carrying me around like they own me. When this particular man puts me down, I’m suddenly at a loss for words – except for one word.Luke.
I mumble athank youand he looks as uneasy as I feel. I finally find my voice and give him an appropriate response for what he just did.
“Thank you, Luke. If you hadn’t come along when you did…..well, I don’t want to even think about that. But I appreciate what you did….stepping in and helping me.”
