Sloan lowers her voice and tilts her head to me. “Are you going to tell them, or should I?”
I bite my lip. Having Sloan say it would be taking the easy way out. No one will attack her for my decision. On second thought, I have to face this one my own.
I clear my throat when Sean makes his way back to the table. “Um, I decided to enroll at State next semester—for Art, like Mack.”
Mackenzie squeals and claps her hands together, Sean continues to look falsely amused, and my mom is eyeing me carefully.
“College? Since when was that part of you plan?”
“Shouldn’t it be part of everyone’s plan?”
She smiles. “Yes, but you and Walker were doing the tattoo thing. I honestly didn’t think you would go.” She pauses, embarrassment creeping into her cheeks. “Yale is so expensive, we—uh, we used most of the money for her tuition.”
Mack’s face falls and I quickly cut in. “Don’t worry. I have plenty of money saved.”
Sloan remains quiet, but arches a brow. She knows where that money comes from and I hope she’s smart enough to keep her mouth shut.
Mack stares across the table at me with tears in her eyes. “Are you sure, Perry? I can go to a cheaper school.”
I shake my head. “No way. You earned it and you’re going.”
“You’re the best brother, you know that?”
I smirk. “I do.”
The mood around the table starts to shift from awkward to celebratory. Now I just have to figure out how to tell Walker and Tess. I can still work at the shop sometimes between classes, but at least now I can prove to Sloan that I’m not just going to walk around being a thug all my life. I can give her a life she can feel safe in, the right way, because it’s what she deserves. Finally, everything seems to be going in the right direction.
Later that night, Sloan spends the night in my bedroom. My parents typically frown upon it, but the ride to campus is almost an hour and we are adults after all. It’s just after one when I hear a commotion from down the hall. I assumed Sean left hours ago, but the sounds are coming from down by Mack’s room.
I slowly move my arm out from under Sloan and make my way to the door. There’s hushed shouting and when I get close enough, I can see Mack backed against the wall. I know now why the voices sounded so muffled. He has his fucking hands around her throat.
I burst through the door and grab him by the back of the neck so fast, he releases his hold of my sister. His eyes are wide as I hold him up off the ground.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I growl.
Sean tries to pry my fingers back so he can breathe, but I only squeeze tighter. Mackenzie is huddled in the corner, shaking. Even from a distance, I can see the prominent red mark across her face.
I grip Sean’s neck and slam him back against the wall.
“Did you fucking hit her?”
He sputters, but nothing coherent comes out. I’m still cutting off his air supply.
“Perry, stop,” Mack chokes out.
I shoot her an incredulous look. “Stop? You want this fucktard to throw you around?”
She shakes her head, tears pouring down her cheeks. “You’ll get in trouble. He’s seventeen.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” I turn my hard eyes back to him. “I’ll kill any motherfucker who messes with my sister—regardless of who they are.”
“Perry, please,” Mack begs. She’s standing now, pulling at my sleeve.
The light down the hallway flicks on and I know I’m running out of time. Sean gives me a sick smile because he thinks he’s saved. That’s when my internal switch flips. My fists reign down on him so fast I have no idea what part of his body I’m hitting. Soft—maybe stomach, hard—breaking some bones, warm—blood flowing everywhere.
I hit him over and over until I feel several pairs of hands pulling me back. One of them is my father, the other—I can’t be sure.
I hear my mom screaming in the background, “What have you done! What have you done!”
It’s all white noise to me. Sean’s lifeless body lays in a pool of blood on Mack’s bedroom floor.
Mack gives me a shove. “Get out of here, Perry!”
I steal a glance back to Sloan, lingering in the doorway. She looks terrified. I can only imagine what I look like. I walk to her and she’s crying. I wipe a tear from her eye and surprisingly she wraps her arms around my neck. “Be safe,” she whispers. “I love you.”
I hug her as hard as I can. “I love you, too baby. Look out for Mack.”
Our embrace is cut short when I hear my dad yelling to call 911. I take the leap out of the second story window and weave my way through yards until I reach town. I make it to the one place I know I need to be. Regardless of the impromptu brawl, Walker and I had extremely important business tonight. If he makes this deal without me, he’s as good as dead. I have to stop him.
Sirens ring into the night as I jog through alleys to avoid the main roads. If I hadn’t beaten him so badly, my parents wouldn’t have needed to call the cops. No one could have talked me out of it when I saw the fear in my sister’s eyes. I wanted to kill him.
I think I did.
When I make it to the shop, Tess pulls the door back and gasps. She brings her hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“Tess, it’s nothing. I need your help.”
She starts to cry as she takes in my blood covered clothes.
I plant my hands on her shoulders. “It’s not mine, sweetheart. I’m okay.”
She shakes her head, the tears coming faster. “What did you do?”
“I did something bad and I need your help.”
“Anything.”
I really hope she means that. There’s more than one terrible thing going to happen tonight if I don’t get where I’m supposed to be.
36
Better Than Yourself
Tess- Then
Perry is covered in blood and the metallic scent is invading my nostrils. I haven’t even had a moment to ask what he did. At this point I don’t care. All that matters is Perry’s safe—for now.
Frantically, I grab towels from under the sink and hand them to him. He wipes his face the best he can, but the blood is already starting to dry. After he lifts his shirt over his head, his eyes lock with mine.
The lump bobs in his throat when he swallows. “I didn’t have a choice, Tess. Sean was hurting Mack.”
“I believe you,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself.
Perry’s bare chest heaves silently. “I think I killed him.”
I struggle to get words to come out. One the third try, I manage a whisper. “Was he breathing?”
Perry shakes his head.
“Did someone call for help?”
He nods.
“Okay,” I say, taking a shallow breath. “He’ll be fine. An ambulance will come and they’ll take him to the hospital.”
The stoic expression on his face is starting to scare me more than the horror scene in my foyer. He tosses the blood-stained rag into the trash and takes a step toward me. His hands are balled at his sides when he comes to a stop in front of me.