“Well, if it isn’t the devil himself,” Coco hissed as Alec stepped outside.
“Hello to you too, Coco.” Alec rolled his eyes and shot her a glare.
“You do know that your best friend’s house is getting trashed. This was supposed to be a small party and somehow everyone and their frickin’ mother is here.” Coco raised a brow at him in question.
Ty had told us that he was pissed because Alec took it upon himself to invite way more people than Ty had agreed to.
“It’s a party. Aren’t you the queen of a good time?” Alec said, his words slurring, and everyone stiffened at his comment. The dude was an asshole. He never wavered.
“Are you seriously slut-shaming me, you piece of shit? You know nothing about me. And seeing as you only sleep with people that you aren’t actually dating, doesn’t seem like you’re in a position to throw stones.” Coco sat forward on the couch.
“Watch yourself, Taulson. You’re out of line.” Shaw pushed to his feet, squaring his shoulders as he moved into Alec’s space.
“I’ve got no beef with you, Coco. Just saying, lighten up. I actually came out here to find you,” Alec said, turning his attention to my girlfriend.
“Why?” she asked. Irritation rolled off her as she moved her body closer to mine.
“Come on, Addy. I just wanted to talk to you about an issue with my parents. It’s not something I can really talk to anyone else about. Unless you aren’t allowed to be away from your boyfriend for two fucking seconds to have a conversation with a friend who you’ve known your entire life.”
The piece of shit had no shame. He’d guilt her into doing what he wanted because she’d finally seen through his bullshit and it was the only way he’d get her to agree.
Adelaide turned to face me. “Give me a minute.”
I let out a long breath and every muscle in my body tensed. He was clearly drunk, and the dude just rubbed me wrong. Always had.
“You sure?” I leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
“Yeah. And then we can head out, okay?” Her little nose skimmed against mine before she pushed to her feet.
“You can’t talk to Karina about your problems?” Coco asked when Alec’s fake ass smile spread across his face because Adelaide had agreed to speak to him.
“I haven’t known Karina my whole life, Coco. But thanks for fucking asking.” He shot her the bird.
“That fucking guy. I will not miss seeing that asshole every day,” Shaw hissed, dropping back down to sit beside Coco.
I pushed to my feet and watched as Alec led Adelaide around the side of the house. What the fuck was he up to? I paced around the patio, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. I wasn’t going to tell her who to talk to. I wasn’t an asshole. But I sure as fuck didn’t like it. Alarm bells were going off in my head, and I fought with every instinct that I had not to react. Not to make a scene.
“I don’t fucking like this. I don’t trust him.” I tugged at my hair and glanced back around beside the house, but I couldn’t see them anymore.
“It’ll be all right. He won’t do anything.” Coco pushed to her feet and moved beside me. “She loves you. You know that. But she has a lot of guilt about Alec and all he’s going through, because that’s Addy. And he knows how to prey on that. He’s so manipulative. And he reeks of whiskey, so I’m guessing he broke into Ty’s dad’s liquor cabinet. He has zero respect for anyone but himself.”
The sound of a muffled scream came from around the corner, and I was moving before I could even process what it was. Coco and Shaw were on my heels and when I rounded the corner of the house, I saw red.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adelaide
“Stop being so dramatic. I just want to talk to you.” Alec’s grip on my arm was so tight, I’d slapped it away. But he’d gripped harder, his hand came over my mouth and I’d startled. He’d never been physical with me. But he shoved me up against the brick siding of the house, and his eyes were wild. “You need to stop this game, Addy. You’ve made your point. It’s enough. You know we’re going to be together.”
I bit down on his hand and stomped hard on his foot as I tried to catch my breath from him practically smothering my airways. He reeked of booze and his hair was disheveled. He was a mess in every sense of the word.
“Fuck. You bit me? What the hell,” he said through his laughter. Obviously, it hadn’t hurt him much, or the boy had just lost all ability to feel anything anymore.
“Let me go.” I shoved at his chest and tried to get around him. Two tall evergreens were beside us, and it felt as if the walls were closing in around me. My breaths grew labored, and panic was setting in.
Was I afraid of Alec?
The boy I’d known my entire life?
We may not be together anymore, but we were family. He’d never hurt me, would he?
“Why? So you can be with that piece of shit? Enough is enough. I said I was sorry about Karina. Stop this shit. We’re going to school together next year, and it’s time to put this behind us.” He pressed hard against my shoulders, trying to keep me in place. His face was so close to mine and I turned my head as fear engulfed me.
“You’re hurting me,” I shouted, hoping it would snap him out of it, or someone else would hear me. Alec was a lot bigger than me, and my first attempt at pushing him away had been an epic failure.
My mind raced with what to do.
I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Yeah? Well, you’re hurting me, Addy. You’re hurting me so fucking bad. My fucking family is falling apart, and you haven’t been there for me. My dad is moving out. My mom is a mess.” His words broke on a sob, but he pressed me harder against the wall and shook me. My head fell back, slamming against the brick twice, and I yelped.
Alec jerked back and tears that I hadn’t even realized were falling made it difficult for me to make out what was happening. Jett was there. Everything blurred together as the movements were fast and jerky. Jett was on top of Alec, and he hit him hard in the face as fury spewed around him. Shaw and Jax were there, pulling Jett to his feet. Coco hurried toward me, and I shook my head with disbelief.
“Addy? Are you okay?” Coco reached for my arm and I jumped. I glanced down to see Jett’s jacket had slipped from one shoulder and I pulled it into place quickly.
“Yes. I’m okay.” My hand flew to my chest as I tried to get my breathing under control. My gaze locked with Jett’s as he shrugged his two best friends off and moved toward me.
“What happened?” he asked, searching my face, and gently tucking my hair behind my ears.