by Chloe Walsh
Without thinking twice about what I was doing I let go of Hope's hand and pushed forward, butting several other spectators out of my way until I got to the front.
The other guy looked so much worse off than Noah and a tiny part of my body sagged in relief, briefly – very briefly. My relief ended the second the other guy began punching Noah repeatedly in the face.
But Noah…he just didn't seem to feel it, smirking with each blow as if he was feeding off the pain.
And then he let rip and the crowd went berserk.
I'd seen boys my age fight before. Liam had been in plenty of scuffles over the years – both on and off the football pitch. I'd seen blood drawn in fights, hell even a broken rib or nose.
This was different.
Noah was like the terminator. I'd never seen a man's fists move like I did in that moment. He was everywhere, the crowd were deafening, and I realized pretty quickly that I was in the middle of something I really didn't want to be involved in.
The display of brutality I had just witnessed wasn't normal. There was a level of viciousness in Noah's dark eyes as he pounded his knuckles into opponent's face that chilled my blood.
Turning my back on the fight, I tried to push my way through the mob, but no one would budge. I banged off some huge guy's chest and twisted around, trying to steady myself, but I was shoved in the back and then I did something incredibly unattractive.
I fell forward into the makeshift ring and face-planted the ground.
I tried to climb to my feet but the people behind me surged forward, either too engrossed in the fight or too ignorant to care that I was still on the ground, leaving me with no choice but to curl into a ball and protect my head with my hands.
People rushed forward, some stepping on me, and I held my breath in fear. I felt a sudden sharp spike of pain when some asshole's boot connected with my face. Another one stepped down on my ankle, hard enough to make me cry out, and I braced myself for the stampede, every muscle in my body locked and coiled tight in fearful anticipation. You could imagine my surprise when I felt a hand wrap around my arm and drag me along the dirty, blood-stained gravel and out from underneath the masses.
"Have you got a goddamn death wish?" Noah demanded as he dragged me roughly to my feet.
The second he let me go and stepped away I fell forward, unable and unwilling to put any weight on my ankle.
It was hurting so bad and I was having a mini-breakdown.
I nearly died.
I could have died.
I almost died.
Oh Jesus…
Noah cursed under his breath and caught me again, slipping his arm around my back to hold me up. "You're a goddamn thorn in my side," he snarled as he walked me over to where a small group of men were standing beside a sweet looking wine colored Subaru.
I tried to limp along with him but failed miserably and after another muttered curse Noah lifted me into his arms.
"She yours, Messina?" I heard a man ask but I couldn't hear Noah's response.
To be honest I was still in shock that he'd dragged me to safety in the first place. Noah hated me enough to leave me there – he'd said it himself; I was a thorn in his side – and I doubted I would have helped him or Ellie if I'd been in his position.
With my chest-heaving I tried to catch my breath, but I could feel the blood trickling from my lip and that did nothing to calm my emotions.
When we reached the men Noah sat me down on the hood of a car.
The metal was cold against my bare thighs and I welcomed the feeling. The backs of my legs were burning from being crushed, the front of my thighs were stinging from being dragged over gravel, I was covered in dirt, and my hair was knotted and hanging limply over my breasts.
Yeah, I wasn't a pretty sight.
Noah clutched my jaw for a brief moment as he studied my face with eyes full of anger. He gently ran his thumb over my lip and wiped some blood away before dropping his hand from my face. He growled and ran a hand roughly through his thick black hair.
His chest was bare, his knuckles were swollen and the white tape covering them was blood encrusted. He had a nasty looking cut over his eyebrow that had started to clot, and the faded jeans he had on were covered in a mixture of blood and dirt.
"Do you mind telling me what the hell you're doing here?" Noah demanded, eyes wild and frantic as he pushed his black hair out of his eyes.
I opened my mouth to respond but a sharp stinging sensation caused me to shut it fast.
Noah shook his head in disgust and stalked around me. He opened the door of the car I was sitting on, and rooted around for a couple of seconds before coming back to where I was sitting and dropping a white shirt on my lap.
I immediately picked it up and pressed it to my mouth, desperate to rid myself of the horrible taste of blood – blood that I suspected was coming from my lip. "I'm looking for…Cameron!"
I spotted Hope's brother less that ten yards away from us and tossed the t-shirt at Noah before shimmying off the hood of the car. "Hey, Cameron, get back here."
Landing awkwardly on my ankle I bent forward and placed my hands on the ground to stop myself from falling. I tried to stand but my ankle wouldn't hold me, so I stood there for a moment with my butt in the air, contemplating what the hell I was going to do next.
"Where'd you think you're going, Messina," I heard a deep male voice demand. "You're not finished here. Get your head in the game."
"And how exactly do you expect me to do that?" I heard Noah snarl. "When she's got her fucking ass in my face."
"I don't give two shits how you do it," the man warned. "Just fucking do it. You know better than to bring pussy here."
Moments later a large hand clamped around on my lower hip, holding me still, and another hand grabbed the fabric of my skirt and pulled it downwards – covering me, I realized and I reddened in embarrassment.
"I'm done for the night, JD," Noah stated coldly.
"We'll talk later, Messina."
I didn't catch a glance of the man Noah had called JD because he had already turned around and was walking away.
"Thank you for helping me," I whispered, knowing I owed him my gratitude. He'd saved my butt – big time.
"Don't talk to me," Noah hissed as he lifted me into his arms and carried me over to where the cars were parked. "I mean it, Teagan. I'm so fucking angry right now I could strangle you."
That was not a comforting thought considering my sore ankle would hinder my chances of escaping. I remained silent and rigid in Noah's arms as he walked over to my Honda Civic and dropped me on the hood.
"Who did you come here with?" he demanded, standing between my legs, looking fierce and furious.
"Hope," I replied as I gingerly rubbed my lip with my thumb. "She's looking for Cameron."
Noah's brown eyes widened in surprise before he threw his face up to the sky and muttered a string of curse words.
"So you didn't come here with Cameron?"
"No, I didn't come here with Cameron. The idiot must've…" Noah snapped his mouth shut and glared at me, a look of pure disgust.
"Must've what, Noah?"
"Let's get something straight right now," he hissed, leaning towards me until his face was only inches from mine. "You don't get to question me. In fact, you don't fucking look in my direction again unless I tell you to."
"Fuck you," I shot back heatedly, feeling hurt and angry. "You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Your little stunt cost me a lot tonight, Teagan," he roared. "A lot more than what you already owe me for my fucking car."
Backing away from me, Noah clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. He glared at me like I was the most disgusting creature he'd ever seen. "That's a long list of things you owe me for, Thorn. One of these days I'm gonna come looking for payment."
"Teagan? Oh my god, where the hell have you been?" The sight of Hope walking towards us did little to comfort me.
"What happened to you?" Hope demanded
when she reached us. I must've looked a mess because she flinched when she studied my mouth. "What the hell did you do to her?" Hope demanded as she swung around and glared at Noah, jabbing her finger in his chest.
"Hope, he didn’t…" I began to say but Noah exploded before I had a chance to explain.
"What did I do?" Noah roared in outrage before running a hand through his hair. "I just saved her ass from being trampled on." Noah paced around in circles, clearly furious. "Because your girl here can't seem to keep out of my business."
Hope took a step back from him.
I leaned back a little further.
"I lost a shit load of money tonight because of her," Noah roared. His eyes were black as coal and locked on my face. "She cost me…Just keep her out of my way, Hope," he snarled before stalking back towards the bonfire.
"Are you okay, Teegs?" Hope asked with a sigh as she leaned against the hood and watched Noah walking away from us.
"No," I managed to grind out through clenched teeth. "I'm not."
"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she reached over and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "I shouldn’t have dragged you into this crap."
"What's done is done." I wasn’t going to make her feel worse than she obviously did. "Did you see Cameron? I saw him earlier. He was watching Noah's fight."
"Oh, I saw him all right," Hope snarled as she helped me into the car. "About ten seconds before he sped off in a car with Amy Valentine."
I scrunched my nose up in distaste. I'd only met the girl once or twice, but Amy Valentine wasn’t the type of person I would like my brother to date – if I had a brother.
"What are you going to do about Cameron?" I asked as I fastened my seatbelt and glanced over at Hope.
"I was going to ask you the same thing about Noah," she replied in a worried tone as she slipped into first gear and pulled out of our parking spot.
I have no idea…
"Men suck," I grumbled.
Hope chuckled. "Amen to that, Sugar."
****
Chapter 12
Teagan
Thankfully my ankle wasn't broken – just badly bruised – but my brain was the part of me that hurt most – from Uncle Max's two hour lecture on the dangers of bouncing on a trampoline without a safety net.
Yeah, that was the best I'd managed to come up with.
The weather took a turn for the worst on Saturday – with torrential rain settling over The Hill – so I spent all day at Hope's house, watching movies and eating junk food with her and Ash. There wasn’t much else to do and the girls were good company. Besides I felt safer on this side of the street, away from Noah…
"I still can’t believe Noah did that," Ash chuckled as she placed a fresh bowl of popcorn on the table before taking the seat beside me.
Grandma Tracy, who obviously was not as over-protective as Mr. Carter, had kindly excused herself for the afternoon, granting us some privacy.
Hope and I had filled Ash in on the shenanigans of last night – much to her delight. And of course Ash had her own theories for Noah's actions. "Swooping in and carting you off to safety." She winked at Hope, who was making the hot-chocolates, before fanning herself. "Told you he likes her."
I stared blankly at her. "Likes me." I shook my head and muttered, "He's more likely to kill me. You should have seen the way he looked down his nose at me, Ash." I shuddered thinking about Noah's furious expression. Ash looked at me like I wasn’t speaking a word of truth and I groaned in despair. "Help me out here, Hope."
"She's telling the truth," she told Ash, passing her a mug of hot-chocolate.
Grabbing two more mugs from the counter, Hope took a seat at the table. "That guy is topping my shit-list, Teagan," she growled as she pushed a mug towards me. "I'm thoroughly disgusted…"
The kitchen door flew open, causing Hope to stop mid-sentence and me to glower at the guilty looking man-child. "I stand corrected," she hissed through clenched teeth. "He is topping my shit-list."
"You." My eyes narrowed in disgust. "Do you have any idea of the trouble you caused me?"
Cam shrugged uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled, red-faced. "About that…"
"I am so pissed with you right now, Cam," I told him, glaring. "I would've been trampled to death if Noah hadn’t…." I stopped talking the moment I realized I'd mentioned Noah.
Cam's eyes lit up with mischief. "Oh yeah," he snickered. "I heard all about you flashing your ass to Messina – you cost him the fight," he added with a flirty wink. "Though I doubt anyone blames Messina for hauling your ass to safety considering the dude is bagging you."
"No," I snapped. "You cost him the fight…hang on." My head snapped towards Hope. "What the hell does 'bagging me' mean?"
"It means the both of you have been really trying," Cam burst into song and I gaped at him in surprise.
"Tryna hold back this feeling for so long," Cam continued as he stalked towards me.
Wrapping his hand around my wrist, he pressed a kiss to my hand before swaggering over to the fridge. "And if you feel like he feels, baby," he crooned. "Then come on, uh, come on, whoo, let's get it on," Cam husked with a shit-eating grin etched across his handsome face. "Giving yourself to Me…ssina…"
"You just made a complete show of yourself," Ash managed to choke out through fits of laughter.
"Unabashedly," Cam shot back with a cocky grin before winking at her. "You want a private performance, gorgeous?"
"Hot damn," Ash breathed.
"You ready Cammy?" a female voice purred from the doorway and Cam turned his full attention on the raven haired beauty standing in the doorway.
"Amy," he purred as he swaggered towards her with a hungry look in his eyes.
"Ugh," Hope muttered as she cast a disapproving look towards Amy Valentine. "Can you please stay away from my brother?"
"Sure." Amy nuzzled into Cam's side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "If you can stay away from my cousin," Amy shot back with a smirk before turning her attention to me.
"Your ass is nothing short of amazing," she stated calmly before asking, "How do you keep it so tight?"
I spat a little of my hot-chocolate back into my mug with shock. "Excuse me?" I sputtered, wiping my mouth.
"There's a photo of you online with Noah Messina," Amy tossed out airily like it wasn’t the huge deal it was. "And I would die to have your figure. What's your secret?"
"Kettlebells and cardio…hang on…" Shaking my head I held a finger up. "What photo of me with Noah Messina?"
Amy looked at me like I was stupid. "You know, the one with you twerking all over a very sweaty, half-naked Noah."
Twerking?
The memory of Noah fixing my ass-ridden skirt as I balanced on my hands with my ass cocked in the air impaled my mind and my blood boiled.
Rising quickly from my chair, I grabbed my bag and stalked past the couple, stopping when I reached the kitchen door. "I wasn’t twerking, you twat, I was trying to remain in an upright position."
"Tell that to everyone at school," Amy snickered. "Everyone's talking about it."
I rolled my eyes and waved at Hope and Ash before turning back to the guileless one. "At what point in time did I give you the impression that I gave two shits about what everyone at school thought of me?"
Amy stared blankly at me and I decided to leave it be. She wasn’t worth wasting my breath on.
"I'm off," I muttered before stalking out of the kitchen.
****
Noah
"Let me get this straight," Ellie hissed as she paced the kitchen floor, clearly livid. "You threw the fight for her?"
"I didn’t throw the fight," I shot back calmly. "It was as good as over before Teagan showed up."
Ellie's disgusted expression proved she either didn’t believe me or wasn’t satisfied. Either way I didn’t care. I'd done what any guy in my position would have done.
"And the consequences?" Ellie snarled, nostrils flaring as she stood in front of me with her ha
nds on her hips. "What about those, Noah?" She shook her head in disgust. "Or have you forgotten what kind of a psychotic freak my brother can be?"
"Fuck the consequences, Ellie," I muttered wearily. "And fuck JD." I'd already had this lecture. I didn’t need another, and if it wasn’t for the blatant concern in Ellie's eyes I'd tell her a few home truths on what a psychotic freak her precious daddy was.
"Oh my god, Noah," she screeched, throwing her hands in the air. "You can't be serious?"
"What do you care, L," I mumbled, shifting awkwardly in my seat. "It's not your problem."
Dropping to her knees beside my chair, Ellie grabbed my hands and squeezed. "I care," she whispered with tears in her green eyes. "And I won't sit back and watch you destroy everything because of that girl."
"I picked her up off the ground," I growled in anger. "She was being fucking trampled on. How is that destroying everything?"
Ellie didn’t answer my question. Instead she wiped her eyes, climbed to her feet and walked away.
Stopping at the doorway, she turned her dark head in my direction and sighed. "You have a visitor," she mumbled, lip warbling. "In the living room."
My body stiffened. "A visitor or visitors?"
Ellie nodded sadly. "Plural. You know the way my family works, Noah," she choked out. "It's called remuneration for damages owed."
Yeah I knew, but that didn’t mean I was ready for what was about to happen to me.
Shit…
****
Teagan
I was having the week from hell.
First thing Monday morning, when he returned from his trip, Hope's dad killed our dream of spending Valentine's together in Galway, thus spiraling Hope into a meltdown of epic proportions. Seriously, the girl was not nice to be around when angry and Hope was still very angry with her dad.
And yesterday I ended up with lunchtime detention for using inappropriate language in History class when I called Reese 'a thundering whore' for purposefully pulling my chair back just as I was about to sit down.
