Ruthless knight

I could have stopped it. I could have stuck up for him. 

But I didn’t.

I’m about to leave, but Jace spots me. Given the expression on his face, I assume he saw the tail end of what went down with Liam. 

“Where’s Liam?” 

Or not. 

I shrug. “What do I look like, his keeper?” 

“Cole,” he grits through his teeth.

I paraphrase Tommy. “He ran home crying like a little bitch.” 

“Why?” 

“I’m not sure,” I begin. “Tommy and Liam left the gym for a few minutes. When they came back, Liam was crying and Tommy was gri

It’s not exactly a lie. It’s just not the whole truth. 

“Shit.”

“It gets worse.” I wince. “Tommy started pointing and laughing at him. Calling him a prissy fag. Pretty soon everyone else joined in.” I avert my gaze. “Liam tried defending himself, but he was so upset he—”

“Got stuck on the first word.” 

I snort. “More like the first letter. It was pretty brutal, even I felt bad for him.” 

I’m about to tell him the full extent of it, but the disappointment in his eyes feels like acid to the face. 

Jace is the only person I care about in this world now that our mother’s gone. 

If he finds out what Tommy did…and that I did nothing to defend Liam. 

Or worse…that I actually participated. 

He’ll hate me. 

Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

“Liam is so mad at you,” Bianca says the moment Jace and I walk through the front door. 

I wanted to patch things up with Hayley, but Jace read me the riot act about being a shitty brother to Liam and forced me to come home with him. 

A lot of good it did me. The bastard ratted me out. 

Jace looks at me. The disappointment is back.

“It’s not my fault he ran out of the dance crying,” I shout. “Blame Tommy DaSilva.”  

I’m so tired of everyone constantly reprimanding me for Liam’s problems. He does it to himself. 

“Not you.” She looks at Jace. “You.” 

Jace looks surprised…that makes two of us. 

Unlike me and Liam, Jace and Liam get along great.

So great Jace denies his real feelings for Dylan. Which is a heaping pile of bullshit if you ask me. Anyone with a pulse can see Dylan and Jace are perfect for one another. 

“Me?” Jace questions. “Did he say why?”

Bianca thinks about this for a moment before replying, “Nope.” Smirking, she looks up at the ceiling. “But he did ask me where the bat was.”

As if on cue, there’s a loud crash upstairs. 

Well, shit. Looks like Liam isn’t a pussy after all. 

I let out a wolf whistle. The drama train express has officially left the station. “I’m go

Bianca blows on her nails. “Duh.” 

“Thanks a lot,” Jace mutters before charging up the staircase. 

I’m right behind him. “What did you do?” 

I gotta hear this. Jace and Liam never fight. 

“I have no idea.”

I don’t buy it. Given Liam’s taking a bat to shit, he must have done something. 

“I’ve never seen him so mad before,” Bianca whisper-shouts behind us. 

That makes two of us. Which means she needs to stay on the couch where it’s safe. 

Jace and I turn around. “Go downstairs.” 

Pouting, she slinks down the staircase. “I hope Liam takes a bat to your balls.” 

Glass shattering assaults my ears when Jace opens his bedroom door. 

My mouth nearly hits the floor as I step inside. His room is completely ransacked. 

The jerk even managed to destroy Jace’s most prized possession, a giant computer monitor. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Jace shouts. 

Bat in hand, those angry eyes swivel to us. “T-t-taking s-s-something you l-l-love aw-w-way.” Liam swings again, attacking the tower this time. “Maybe n-n-now you’ll k-k-know w-w-what it f-f-feels lik-k-ke.” 

Jace looks every bit as lost as I am. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t take anything away from—”

“Dylan,” Liam seethes, moving on to his Xbox. Various pieces of plastic and metal propel across the room. “I s-s-saw you two k-k-k-kissing in t-t-the c-c-c-loset.” 

Mic. Drop. 

Well, shit. Go Jace. Finally. 

“About damn time,” I tell him. 

For years, Jace has been stuffing his feelings for Dylan down in hopes of not hurting Liam, who laid some stupid claim to her the second Jace brought her home. 

“S-s-shut up,” Liam screams, his voice breaking. 

Jesus Christ. What a baby. 

I hold up my hands, attempting to get a handle on the situation. “Bro, you’re acting like a psycho. Put the bat down.” 

“No.” He hits a stack of video games next. “You k-k-knew how m-m-much I l-l-loved her.” 

Jace looks like he’s going to be sick. “How did you find out?”

A smug face belonging to a certain bully flashes through my head.  

I have a sneaking suspicion it was Tommy DeSilva. 

Like both my brothers, he’s had the hots for Dylan too.  

Only unlike them, Dylan wants nothing to do with him. 

Although they were awfully close tonight. 

Then again, Jace went to the dance with Britney who everyone knows is Dylan’s enemy. 

I rub my chin. Maybe that’s why she said yes when Liam asked her to the dance. Dylan was jealous and hurt. Perhaps she wanted to return the favor and give Jace a taste of his own medicine. 

And what better way to do it than to use Liam, the brother who has a crush on her. Only, Liam probably thought she said yes because she actually liked him. The sucker. 

Meanwhile, Dylan spent most of the dance cozying up to Tommy of all people.  

And then somehow, ended up kissing Jace in a closet…where surprise, surprise Liam was magically there to witness it. 

I smell a rat. Actually, I smell two of them. 

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. 

And a tormenter who likes to stir up shit. 

“I j-j-just t-t-told you, dumbas-s-ss,” Liam screams. “I s-s-saw—”

“How did you know we were in the closet?” I can see the moment it finally dawns on Jace. “Goddammit.” 

Yup, this shit is bad. Real bad. 

Especially considering what Tommy did to Liam right after. 

Talk about kicking someone while they're down. 

Liam smashes Jace’s television next. “Tommy t-t-told me you were s-s-sneaking around b-b-behind my b-b-back. I didn’t b-b-believe him, but he s-s-said he could p-p-prove it.” 

Damn, that asshole is good. 

Jace’s face falls. “I’m so—” 

A Jimmy Eat World song fills the room. Dylan’s ringtone. 

The girl has some balls calling him after what she’s done. 

Liam eyes him like a hawk. “Is t-t-that her?” 

Of course it is, dumbass. What other girl do we know who’s obsessed with that stupid band?

Jace swiftly presses the ignore button on his phone. Smart move.

“Doesn’t matter.”  

Liam places Jace’s brand-new Apple laptop on top of his desk. 

My father offered to buy it for him for his birthday, but Jace declined…just like he always does. 

Instead he saved up every cent he earned cutting lawns for the past year to buy it himself. 

Jace takes a step toward him. “Liam, stop!”