No, there is nothing between them, and my rage and anger toward him snap, unable to be contained. Pushing against his chest I move him just enough to swing my arm back and fly it forward, connecting with his face.
He falls down to the ground, giving me enough time to step over to Kira, who’s staring down at Austin, hand over her mouth.
“Are you okay?” I ask, drawing her attention back to me.
She nods, her beautiful hazel eyes wide. Another look to the bastard on the ground, one who’s getting up, and she pushes against my stomach.
“Let’s go,” she says, almost frantic.
She’s worried, and rightfully so. Austin glares up at me, stretching his jaw. I don’t even notice the ache in my hand.
“Come on, Brayden.” She’s still trying to get me to move, but it’s not happening.
I pull my car keys out of my pocket and place them in her hand.
“Wait in the car.”
She glares up at me. “What the fu—”
The breath gets knocked out of my lungs as Austin’s football moves come into play, digging his shoulder into my abdomen, a solid hit, sending us both down to the ground.
It’s fucking hard, concrete scraping against skin, knocking my head at least once. There’s no pause as we pick ourselves up. I grab onto his shirt and jab my fist into his ribs.
“I fucking told you to stay the fuck away from her!”
I don’t care that we’ve gained an audience. The sounds of surprise and shock, some egging on, are the soundtrack of my hits connecting, beating into him the ridiculousness of his grievances.
My head is flung to the side as he gets in a blow. I can taste the tang of blood in my mouth, probably from a split lip. Everything is a bit blurry as I turn back to him, my glasses missing.
“She’s an adult. She can make her own decisions,” he says as if that’s some type of argument in his favor.
We’re grappling, stuck in a hand-to-hand struggle, both straining to gain the upper hand.
“Yes, she can, but you can’t seem to take no for a fucking answer.”
He sneers at me. “She hasn’t told me to leave her alone.”
Fuck! My gaze snaps to her as my chest fucking clenches at the worst time. She’s horror struck, but staring right at me, not him.
The words may not have passed her lips, but she doesn’t talk to him, doesn’t hang out with him, and most definitely doesn’t have his come inside her.
A strike to my abdomen brings me back to the assclown whose arm I have pinned in place with my own. I grab onto his neck, pushing him away as he gets in another few hits.
“She doesn’t want you.”
With all my force, I swing my fist around and land a punch right at his cheekbone. It sends him stumbling to the ground again.
He spits on the ground, painting the concrete red, and looks up at me. “You’re just a pathetic asshole who can’t get it through his head that he can’t have his stepsister.”
Rage comes over me again and before he stands back up, I lay him out again.
“You’re the pathetic one who can’t tell when a girl doesn’t want you!”
He bolts up and charges again, digging his shoulder into mine, slamming me into the brick wall. The impact knocks the wind from me and the disorientation gives him time to pummel my sides. It takes more than a few ticks to get my breath and focus back to retaliate.
I swing my elbow into the side of his head repeatedly until he lets go.
He falls back, and we’re grappling for control again,
“You’re in love with your stepsister,” he hisses at me. “Do you understand how sick that is?”
“Shut your face!” I scream, folding his arm under mine, trying to punch at his ribs again until I can get to his head. I need to knock the fucker out.
The crowd is far enough away they might not hear the shit coming out of his mouth, but he needs to stop, and I’m determined to shut him the fuck up. He doesn’t get how what he’s saying affects Kira, too.
I don’t give a fuck anymore if people know how I feel about her, but Kira does, and I’ll be damned to let this asshole put her through that.
A siren goes off and suddenly I notice the blue and red lights flashing, bouncing off everything around.
Shit.
Austin lands another hit to my face, setting a ringing off in my head and my vision to blur.
Damn.
I swing blindly back at him and connect with something, just as the booming authoritative voice ends it all.
“Break it up, boys.”
Fuck all that is fucking fuck.
We’re both breathing heavily, reluctantly breaking apart.
“Get on your knees, hands behind your head.”
“Kira, catch.” I pull my phone out of my back pocket and toss it to her before complying.
I get a dirty look from one of the two cops, who eyes Kira. She looks at me in confusion, but there’s something else in her eyes I can’t make out.
“Call my mom,” I say to her. The last thing I need or want right now is my father finding out what happened, at least not first.
The theater manager is there now, talking to them.
We’re only on our knees for a minute or two, a spectacle for all to see. Whispered words, gossip in the making, but it’s all about the fall of Brayden Hunt and Austin Reed’s friendship. A few talking about protecting my stepsister.