He lay on his side, his eyes wide and bulging, blood dribbling past his lips and down his chin. Gripping his chest with one hand, he took one last wheezing breath before falling still.
“And here we are again,” Lucas seethed, nostrils flaring. “Like mother, like son, right?”
At the mention of our mother, my entire body revolted with rage. None of us knew what my father had walked in on. We could surmise all we wanted—maybe they’d been having an affair, or maybe they’d been friends, merely seeking comfort in each other. We would never know the truth—they’d taken that knowledge to the grave.
“And who are you in this supposed scenario, Luke?” I shouted, my voice cracking alongside the casket of memories being unearthed. “Are youDad?”
“Do you want me to be? That’s what you need, huh—me to be the bad guy so you can justify what you’ve been doing?” Lucas’s angry gaze flicked to Willow. “What you’ve both been doing.”
Willow’s breath shuddered from her lungs. “I’m sorry,” she gasped through her tears. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Oh, you’re going to cry now?” Lucas sneered. “You were my girlfriend,my best friend, and then the second I’m gone, you’re fucking my brother—and now you’re gonna cry.”
“You were right about her, Logan,” he snarled in my direction. “She is a stupid bitch andI do deserve better.”
Once I’d recovered from the shock of hearing Lucas—good, kind, softhearted Lucas—speaking to Willow the same way our piece-of-shit father had spoken to our mother, I jumped between them. “Don’t you dare,” I growled at Lucas. “Don’t you fucking dare. You come at me all you want, but if you come at her—”
“You’ll what?” Lucas shouted, slamming his hands into my chest, shoving me back. I blinked in surprise, shocked by his strength. “You’ll leave me for dead and start fucking my girlfriend?Oh, wait a minute…”
Gripping his shirt collar, I yanked him to me. “That’s not what fucking happened!”
“Fuck you!” Lucas spat, his fist slamming into my gut. I folded over, the air whistling from my lungs in a hard rush. I recovered fast, shooting upright, tackling him, trying to wrestle him to the ground. As we fought for control, we crashed around the room, knocking into furniture and nearly knocking over Willow. Lucas had grown stronger during our time apart, leaving us more evenly matched than we’d ever been.
While I struggled to subdue him, Lucas sent another heavy fist to my middle. Groaning, I staggered backward, Lucas rushing me before I could right myself, ramming his elbow into my ribs and sending me slamming into the wall. I watched in what felt like slow motion as his hand barreled toward my face. My head hit the wood, pain erupting in my cheek and jaw. Dazed, with warm blood pooling in my mouth, Lucas gripped my shirt, yanking me to him.
“Stop it!” Willow screamed. “Lucas, no!”
I saw glimpses of Willow as she rushed around Lucas, grabbing at his arms in a vain attempt to pull him off me. With a frustrated shout, Lucas released me and spun away, shoving Willow in the chest and sending her flying across the room. Arms pinwheeling, she tripped backward over the seat of a chair, falling into the table beyond; the hard thump of her head hitting wood echoing throughout the room.
For a moment, I could only stare in horror, a thousand similar memories paving the way to my rage. And then I was roaring at the top of my lungs, charging Lucas, tackling him to the floor. Scrambling over top of him, I grabbed his collar and sent my fist into his face.
“Don’t touch her!” I thundered. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her!”
“Logan.” Willow was on her knees, her hand pressed to her forehead, blood running down the side of her face. “I’m okay. Please…both of you… stop.”
Lucas was motionless beneath me. Staring up at me, his eyes wide, his skin pale, he began to tremble. “I didn’t—I wouldn’t,” he mumbled, stumbling over his words. His eyes filled with tears just as the cabin door flew open, Joshua and Joe bursting inside.
“Jesus Christ.” Joe kneeled beside Willow. “You alright?”
“I’m fine,” she rasped. “Just make them stop… please.”
Joshua’s eyes met mine, dropping to where I still held Lucas in my grip. Releasing him, I staggered back, crashing against the wall. Lucas pushed himself up, his hand rubbing his jaw.
“Joe, get her out of here.” Joshua jerked his thumb toward the door. “I’ll deal with these two.”
I wanted to argue with him. I wanted to go to Willow and take her in my arms and see for myself that she was alright. But I couldn’t seem to move, let alone speak; frozen in place, I could only stare at the remnants of the colossal mess I’d made.
