“Dana, back the fuck off!” Olivia reached around Mel, trying to get her to loosen her grip. “She’s just a kid!”
“Hey, Liv, you wanted to be in our group. This is what comes with being popular. You don’t take shit from anybody. Don’t like it? Then shut the fuck up and leave!”
Olivia glared at her, looking torn. I stared up at her with pleading, wet eyes, but then she simply backed away and averted her disgusted stare.
“Good. Now come on, open up!” Dana stepped forward again and held the bottle high.
I cried out and kicked, but Mel held my arms easily and Dana’s grip on my chin was painful, as her nails were digging into my skin. She tipped the bottle over my mouth and the brown liquid poured down onto my face. I sputtered and spat, trying not to swallow any of it, but tasted a bit on my tongue and instantly cried out, retching from the horrible, bitter taste. Why would anyone drink that? It smelled horrible, burned my nose and I desperately tried to spit out the awful, stinging flavour.
“Shay!” I cried, gagging as I tried to scream around another mouthful. The girls were all laughing hard and because Mel was drunk off her ass, she lost her grip and dropped me. I fell to the ground, leaves and dirt sticking to my now soiled and stained dress. I sobbed and wiped my face, gasping hard as I tried to catch my breath, spitting out more of that awful taste. My face was twisted from the sharp burn, and though a little bit had trickled down my throat, I’d luckily managed to cough most of it out.
“Ungrateful…” Dana shook her head and took a swig herself. Out of nowhere, she kicked my side, and a flare of pain shot through my ribs. I cried harder as I curled up on the ground. “Stop sniveling. You can get out of here now. I don’t want a crybaby hanging out with us.” She kicked me again.
“Mina!”
His voice was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard in my life. Shay came running out from the trees with several of his buddies right behind him. The five boys took in the scene before them, piecing it together. I looked up at Shay with tears running down my cheeks, which I tried to furiously wipe away so he wouldn’t think badly of me, too. His silver eyes narrowed and his lip curled, his face twisting into pure rage. Oh God! Was he mad at me also?
He stomped forward and reached out, bundling me up in his arms and cradled me to his chest. When he held me with such gentle tenderness, I realized I wasn’t in trouble, and I broke down, bawling my eyes out. He turned to Dana. “You fucking cunt! I don’t give a shit that you’re a girl. You touch her again, and I’ll fucking kill you. Do you understand?”
Dana was undeterred. “Who gives a shit about her, Shay? She’s not your real sister; she’s just some kid…”
“Shut the fuck up, you dumb slut!” he spat at her. “You’re done. Do you understand me?” He slowly looked around at the small group of girls. “All of you. You’re done. When you get to school on Monday, I strongly advise that you all stick together in a group…”
The girls all shifted at that and I glanced at them through my puffy, tear-filled eyes. They looked scared.
“You’ll all wish that I just beat the shit out of you. But no, I’m going to make sure you are ruined. You all might as well pack up and leave town. No one is going to want anything to do with you, any of you…”
“Shay,” I coughed a little from the sting in my throat and tugged on his shirt to get his attention.
He looked down and cuddled me closer. “Shhh, it’s okay, let’s go. Gav, Aron, you two take care of Dana and Mel. Leif, Cody, escort the rest off the property. If any of them try to trespass, kick the shit out of them.”
The girls all balked and stepped back as the boys immediately moved forward to do Shay’s bidding. I tugged on his shirt again. “Shay!”
“What is it, Sweetness?”
“Don’t hurt Olivia. She was trying to help me…”
He glanced up at the blonde who Cody was tugging along behind the others. He whistled sharply to him. “Yo, Code, ease up on, Liv. She gets a pass this time.”
Olivia visibly deflated and started crying in relief, but followed the others out of the woods. Shay carried me back, his arms shaking hard. I timidly looked up at him and saw the red in his cheeks and how hard his jaw was clenched. He was angry, livid. More than I’d ever seen him.
When we reached the clubhouse, James and Mum ran forward at the sight of us and pulled me from Shay’s arms, bringing me inside. Mum was losing her mind, screeching about murdering someone and wanting to call the cops, while James washed off my face with a wet washcloth and started checking me over, all while talking with Shay about what had happened. Shay’s expression became sharper and even more lethal looking when I winced as James pressed on my ribs.
“Oh my God, baby, what did they do?” Mum reached for me, tears streaming down her face.
“That girl kicked me a few times, but I’m okay…” I whispered, my head low. I could feel my lip quivering as I fought the urge to cry again. I glanced over at Shay to see him clench his fists until he was shaking more than ever.
He looked tortured, like he was also in pain, and I instinctively wanted to make him feel better. I reached out, but gasped from the pain in my side and hunched over where I sat on the counter at the bar. Shay’s booted footsteps stomped across the room and disappeared down the hall that led to the front door, which opened and slammed shut with a bang. I had no idea where he was going, or why he was leaving, but I couldn’t think about it any longer.
“We need to get her checked out at the hospital.” James reached into his dress pants and pulled out the keys to his truck. Mum was still freaking out, wailing loudly as she wiped the dirt off my face and pulled leaves from my hair. Without a word to anyone else, James carried me outside, my mother hot on his heels, and he placed me in the backseat of his pickup. As he buckled me in, there was a sudden outburst from behind us in the parking lot. I followed James’ gaze just in time to see Shay punch Dana square in the face, sending her flying back onto her butt.
“Oh my God!” Mum screamed as blood sprouted from Dana’s nose. All her friends cried out in surprise, too, but none of them approached to help their friend. Gavin and Aron rushed forward and grabbed his arms, hauling him back when he lunged for Dana, looking like he was going to strike her again. His other buddies, Leif and Cody, were shoving the other girls back, urging them to move off the property.
“James! What is going on?!” Mum screamed.
Shay had told our parents that a group of girls had attacked me, but clearly she hadn’t pieced together that it was this specific group of girls. She should have, but I recognized it when my mum was in panic mode. Scream now, understand later, that’s what she did. Right now, she probably thought Shay was just being the tyrannical, bad-boy, punk kid she claimed he was. But I knew better. Seeing Shay hit Dana like that confirmed it. He was fighting for me. He was protecting me. I wasn’t angry with him like my mother was. I felt nothing but appreciation and love.
Shay was swearing and shouting, his face red and the veins in his neck bulging as he fought to continue what he had started. He had broken her nose, no doubt about it, but it didn’t seem like that was enough for him. Dana scuttled back on her hands and feet, eyes wide. After putting some distance between herself and Shay, she staggered to her feet, sobbing and blubbering while the other girls ran down the drive, wanting to get as far from the boys as possible.