“You never had a chance with her, Sullivan, and now you never will.” Mark takes another pull on his cigarette and shoots me a smug smile.
Returning his smugness, I call him on his bluff. “I know you’re lying, Mark. So whatever game you’re trying to play here, it isn’t going to work.”
“I’m not playing any games.” He drops his cigarette to the ground, grinding it out with the toe of his shoe. “Matter of fact, I think I’ll go track down my intended for round two,” Mark says before adjusting himself. “Her mouth on mycock suresounds good right about now.”
The sound of my fist connecting with his face is all I register as blind rage takes over. Mark stumbles backward before charging me, and I use his drunken disability to my advantage to throw him to the ground. We tumble, and somewhere in the middle of all of it the son of a bitch gets in a lucky swing and clocks my jaw. I feel my teeth almost rattle, and then I completely lose myself to the rage, pounding on his face over and over andoveragain.
“Stop!” Jenna screams. “What are you guys doing? Stop!”
I can’t. I’m no longer in control. Blood pours from his mouth, and my knuckles burn, but I don’t care. I welcome it as all of the angst andburdenI’ve held on to all these years get the vengeance they’ve craved for.
“Cole!” Jenna yellsatme as she pulls on the arm I’m using to holdMark down. “Cole, stop! Please!” Her voice breaks as she screams for someone to come help her, and then I feel her on my other side. “You’re going to kill him, Cole. Stop!”
I draw back and hear Jenna cry out as I deliver another punch before hands grab at me from behind.
“Cole, Cole, Cole,” my Uncle Roy says, speeding through the words as he and another man pull me off of Mark. “Snap out of it, son.”
My chest is heaving, my fists still clenched, as I glare at Mark. His face is a mess as he rolls over to spit. Another man appears and tries to help him up, but Mark angrily shoves him away as he stands up on his own. He salutes me with the middle finger and a good old “Fuck you, Sullivan” before heading for the cars.
“Someonestophim, please,” my uncle says. “He can’t drive like that.”
My body is still buzzing from the adrenaline as I look for Jenna. When I find her, my heart drops. Emma’s crouched down next to her as she examines Jenna’s face.
Oh God.
I hit her.
