Part 11 (1/2)

Jennifer screamed and ran up the stairs as Luke's fist connected with my face. I stumbled before planting my feet, and threw more punches. I slammed his body against the wall and held him by his throat.

”You're my b.l.o.o.d.y brother.” I stared into his eyes; his right one was already swollen from the beating, and the bruises were coming to the surface.

”I deserve this, but I'm not sorry for loving her first,” Luke said to me, then proceeded to head b.u.t.t me. Blood dripped from my nose, and my lip swelled up. I grabbed his shoulders and slammed his back against the wall. Pictures fell to the ground and the gla.s.s shattered.

”Stop, please,” Jennifer said. She tried to come toward us to stop the beating, but Abbot held her back by her shoulders. We were relentless with our blows.

”Stop this. You didn't f.u.c.king love her first, Luke. And she doesn't love you back. She never has,” I said, trying to stab him in the heart with my words. He wrapped his hands around my throat, and I instantly placed mine around his, both of us squeezing as hard as we could.

”Stop! Please don't do this!” Jennifer screamed. The sound of her desperate voice tore me apart. My world began to fade as Luke took all the air from my lungs, and I knew his was fading too.

”Okay. Just kidding. That really is enough.” Abbot let go of Jennifer and broke us apart. Luke and I both huddled over, gasping for air.

I stood up and cracked my knuckles. ”You touch her again and I'll f.u.c.king kill you.”

Luke looked at me and knew I wasn't joking. I glanced at Jennifer and sadness filled her eyes.

”No you won't,” Abbot said. I looked at him throwing darts in his direction.

”Do it, Luke. And we will all find out whether I'm bluffing.” I walked away, my face and hands burning with pain. When Jennifer saw my face, she covered her mouth with her hands. Drops of blood stained my s.h.i.+rt and I needed to clean up.

”Your sister will be here soon. Let's get cleaned up for dinner,” I said, not waiting for a response. Luke and Abbot pa.s.sed me as I walked toward the bedroom. I made eye contact with both of them and slammed the door behind me.

I had so much anger and frustration building inside me. I walked to the bathroom, turned on the hot water, then removed my s.h.i.+rt, when a few knocks echoed on the outside of the door.

I walked into the bedroom with my arms crossed against my chest, waiting.

Abbot entered with a smile. ”The two of you are f.u.c.king insane,” he said, laughing.

My nostrils flared.

”It's going to be okay, though. Spoke with your brother, and he really is sorry for being such a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but not for kissing your fiance. You really gave it to him, Finn. He might have two black eyes.”

I wiped the blood away from my nose and continued to look at Abbot. ”He deserved it. He said he was over it. That I could trust him. Then the first time they are alone, he f.u.c.king kisses her? Jennifer is already an emotional wreck. I don't need him confusing or adding more pressure on her. She doesn't feel that way about him. She never has.”

”Then what are you worried about?”

Abbot's words echoed out as the door cracked open and Jennifer stepped in. The air in the room was heavy, unbreathable almost. ”How about a little f.u.c.king control, Finnley? Did you see what you did to Luke? It killed me inside to watch that and not be able to stop it. Like Abbot said, you have nothing to worry about. I'm not going anywhere. That”-she pointed toward the living room-”was unnecessary.”

Abbot burst in with hefty laughter, though nothing was funny. ”I think she just told you off.”

I walked back into the bathroom and slammed the door. I didn't want to look at either of them. Luke had to know this wasn't a game, that Jennifer was mine. He would have to control his emotions. I stood in front of the mirror, hovering over the sink and looking at the scratches, while feeling the tenderness on my face. Abbot swung the door open. Privacy didn't exist in his world.

”I thought instead of making a scene, I would tell you both what I've learned. The driver's name was Darrel Freeman. I dialed the last number in his phone, and a familiar voice answered. Jesse. She asked if I had the van parked in the garage at the Elite building. I muttered it was done to shut her up. So we were the targets. She also asked whether Jennifer was taken care of, and I told her yes. The problem is, when none of these things happen, she will most likely spiral into an uncontrollable rage. I've dealt with psychopaths like her before. We must be a step ahead of her at all times. If we aren't, someone could get hurt, or even killed.” Abbot glanced at Jennifer, then me.

How many curve b.a.l.l.s would get thrown at me today? How many could I catch? ”I understand. We should prepare for what will happen next. How much time do you reckon we have?”

”Twenty-four hours. Forty-eight at the most.” Abbot patted me on the shoulder then walked out of the bathroom.

I turned back to the sink without acknowledging Jennifer. I couldn't, not right now. I needed to calm down first.

Jennifer stepped into the bathroom as I undressed and stepped into the shower. ”Are you worried?” she asked.

Blood mixed with the warm water that streamed down my body. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore that she was even talking. I didn't want to say something I would regret.

She pulled the gla.s.s door open and stared at me as I washed my hair. ”Are you f.u.c.king worried?”

Her eyes didn't move from mine when I looked at her. ”Worried about what?”

There were so many things that I could be worried about at the moment: Jesse, Luke, and life in general. How could I answer that question?

”That I'm going to leave you for him? Do you trust me at all? I don't understand what your issue with this is. You know love better than anyone I've ever met. It's not that easy to turn your feelings off. Let me reiterate, just in case you somehow forgot: I don't want anyone but you. But let me say that beating your brother to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp because he kissed me was unnecessary. I wanted to tell you because you needed to know, but I didn't have the chance before you went into attack mode. You're my fiance, the man that I plan to spend the rest of my life with. I didn't expect you to beat the s.h.i.+t out of him for a kiss that meant nothing to me. I promised to be honest. I'm disappointed with your lack of control.” She slammed the gla.s.s door closed, followed by the bathroom door.

Her words repeated over and over in my head as I washed my burning b.l.o.o.d.y skin.

You know love better than anyone . . .

Jennifer had a point. I did know love, and I knew loving her was easy. Could I really fault Luke for falling in love with Jennifer? No. But I could fault him for making moves on my fiance, especially since he's my brother. Maybe he lost control, just like I had on his face.

Though he was wrong, it would be my responsibility to make this right.

JENNIFER.

Twenty-one.

I couldn't believe they would fight each other like animals over a kiss. If I would have felt something-anything-when it had happened, I could have understood his reasoning. But I hadn't. There was a complete void of emotions. Kissing me meant something for Luke, and that was where the problem lay.

I picked up my cellphone and texted him, needing to make sure he was okay.

Me: Luke, I'm so sorry.

Luke: I'm not. I would do it all over again just to feel your mouth on mine. It's something that I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life. I often think back to Paris and have too many what if's left unanswered.

Me: We can't do this.

Luke: I know. It won't happen again.

Me: You have to come back so we can talk about this like adults.

Luke: No.

For some reason, I felt like I had done something wrong, though I knew I hadn't. Should I have told Finnley? Yes. There was no doubt about that, but then again, I hadn't expected that reaction from either of them. Emotions were soaring, and though Abbot found the whole thing extremely comical, the rest of us knew how serious the situation was. I didn't want to be the person who ended a brothers' bond.

The smells of Finnley filled the room. I looked over and saw him standing at the edge of the stairs. His face was pink from the fight, but somehow he had walked away with mere scratches and no black eyes. He glanced at me then walked into the kitchen. I leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. This was a mess, and I couldn't stand the tension.