Rika thinned her eyes on him, probably expecting more of an argument, but that wasn’t Damon’s style. He didn’t talk. He acted.
She then turned to Will and Kai, carrying on, “And you guys beat up a cop. Nearly to death. They found him on the side of the road.”
Another video that had surfaced.
“That cop,” Will shot out, moving into her space, “is Emery Scott’s brother. Her abusive…older…brother, and you’re damn right I beat the shit out of him!”
She pinched her eyebrows together. “Emery Scott?”
“Yeah,” Kai joined in. “We caught wind of it earlier that summer, so we jumped him, and I don’t care what you think. We’d do it again.”
Rika knew Emery Scott—went to school with her—and she must’ve remembered Will burning down her gazebo on Devil’s Night. He’d wanted her for a long time, so he fucked with her to get her attention, but when he’d found out she was being abused by her brother, Will, Damon, and Kai beat the crap out of him.
And Damon had recorded it on the phone.
Unfortunately, there were pieces where Will and Kai had flashed their faces to the camera. I hadn’t been there, because I’d been at a basketball camp for most of the summer.
The morning after Devil’s Night, I woke up to a nightmare. My social media was flooded with messages, posts, and even a few news articles that had already been uploaded. Somehow, the videos from our phone had wound up online overnight, and everyone within a thousand mile radius knew about us. Or my friends, anyway.
It wasn’t long before the police were at their houses, putting them in handcuffs, and while we could get out of a lot of things, the realization soon set in that they weren’t coming back. Damon had fucked with a connected girl, and Kai and Will were screwed, as well. You don’t hurt cops, no matter what.
Damon was sentenced to thirty-three months for statutory rape, and Will and Kai pleaded down to twenty-eight months for assault.
And then…after all that…after everything I’d been a part of as well, I’d escaped without a scratch.
No videos with me were posted, and even if they had been, my face wouldn’t have been visible in any of them. I’d always kept my mask on.
It didn’t take us long to figure out who’d uploaded the videos.
“You threw us under the bus, because Michael had hurt you that night,” Kai accused, “but did you really think we weren’t going to come after you?”
Her eyebrows pinched together, looking confused.
“Being a rat is one thing,” Will interjected, “but betraying people who trusted you is unforgiveable.”
“Betraying?” she breathed out, and then looked to me, a question in her eyes. “What…?”
But Will just kept going. “You’re going to make amends,” he commanded. “And if you don’t, then maybe we’ll
go dig your mother out of whatever hole we stuck her in to take your place. I’m sure she’s a good fuck. She landed your dad, after all.”
Rika’s eyes flared, and she lost it.
Letting out a growl, she drove forward, launching her body into Will’s and shoving him backward, her hands pushing against his chest, the power of her whole body sending him stumbling back onto his ass.
Shit.
He landed, and I dived around the island, seeing her immediately jump on him and straddle him, her fists flying down on his face as he shot out his hands, trying to shield her.
“Fuck!” he yelled, swinging his arm and knocking her to the floor.
Before either of them had a chance to launch into another attack, I came in front of her, blocking both of them and pulling her off the ground.
She bared her teeth, seething, and tried to dart around me, but I cut her off, shaking my head.
I stared into her eyes, noticing the way she took a step backward, away from me.
Dropping my eyes, I curled my fists. I can’t hurt her. I couldn’t do this.