The hall clears as I stalk through, my face filled with murderous intent. If my friends are calling for me, I don’t hear them. Not over the fucking rage swelling inside of me.
Jack brushes his lips against Melody’s temple, and I black out. My elbow rears before I deliver a punishing blow to the side of his jaw, and I feel the fucking bones shatter beneath my fist. He crumples to the floor, scooting back as he holds his fractured bone structure with trembling hands.
“Kaden!” Melody shouts over the students’ screams surrounding us.
“What the fuck?!” Jack sobs, his voice croaking as I stare down at him with the sight of a predator.
Melody grabs and claws at my shoulders in an effort to pull me away. I ignore her, plant my feet beside Jack’s cowering body, then lower myself over him. I raise my elbow and deliver another brutal hit, making his head snap backward onto the dirty white floor.
“Don’t.” Punch. “Touch.” Punch. “My fucking.” Punch. “Sister.”
I punctuate every word with another shocking fist to the face. He’s becoming a bloodied, unrecognizable mess as Ivan steps in front of me. Jack’s eyes plead for my friend to help him, but he’s met with no warmth or compassion.
“No one can save you,” Ivan croons before crouching down and placing his elbows on his knees. “Not even me.”
I see the moment the light leaves Jack’s eyes—the instant he realizes nobody will stop me. His body slackens under my weight as he gives up, falling unconscious.
Chapter thirteen
Melody
Dadhasbeenyellingat Kaden since we got home. He’s holed up in his office, his shouts ringing through the thick wooden door that’s meant to muffle sounds. I keep pacing down the hall, waiting for it to be over, but it seems like every time there’s a pause, it’s only for Dad to catch his breath before he starts screaming again.
Jack is going to need surgery to reconstruct his jaw, and his parents were beyond livid to get the call from the school. They’re pressing charges against Kaden, and I don’t think Dad can save him from this. My brother has gone eighteen years without a record, and today has changed that.
Why did he do it?!
It doesn’t make any sense!
He can’t protect me from everything. I’m seventeen. I should get to experience teenage life without an overbearing, protective brother breathing down my neck and beating the shit out of anyone who shows a speck of interest in me.
“Jellybean,” Mom calls softly from the other side of my door.
I sniffle, angrily wiping at the tears tracking down my cheeks. “What?”
The door clicks open before she steps inside and closes it behind her. “Are you okay? What’s going on? Talk to me.”
She eases down onto the bed as I hiccup loudly. “Kaden beat up a boy who likes—liked—me.”
“Oh, Jellybean,” Mom breathes before wrapping her arms around me. “I’m sorry, Hun.”
I cry into her shoulder, my whole body wracking as I ball her nice shirt into my fist. “Why would he even do that?”
Mom rubs a gentle hand down my back. “Sometimes brothers can be protective of their little sisters. I’m sure he didn’t mean to put the poor boy in the hospital—”
“You didn’t see his eyes!” I exclaim, my words croaking and scratching. “He liked what he was doing! He enjoyed it—”
“Shhh,” Mom hushes as she squeezes me. “You don’t know that, Jellybean. Kaden was looking out for you the only way he knows how.”
I love my mom with everything in me, but sometimes she can be a little oblivious. She’s a bleeding heart, always trying to find the better in everyone. She wears those rose-colored glasses like they’re a prize, and I hate to admit it, but sometimes so do I.
I nod into her hair, swiping at my nose. “Okay, Mom.” My voice wobbles as fresh tears make the bridge of my nose sting.
“It’s all going to work out,” she promises before pulling away and holding my shoulders tightly. “He’s going to apologize eventually. Let him cool down first.”
I hiccup. “Okay…”
She soothes a hand down my hair, her touch gentle and doting. “Get some sleep.”
