“When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.” His voice shook as he grunted. “Fuck it all, and fuck you.”
Then, all of a sudden, he hooked Will in a headlock and pulled him down, restraining him. Then he flipped over, taking Will to the bottom as the latter just kept hitting him, throwing punches, thrashing, and growling from the bottom. Damon just sat there, his forehe
ad bowed into Will’s chest, breathing hard and taking the hits.
“Stop them,” I begged Kai. “Please.”
But he just stood there, letting Will get his revenge.
Blood matted Damon’s hair, trickling down his face with the rain. He gripped Will’s shirt and buried his head, trying to shield himself but not trying to stop it.
He knew he deserved this.
Will threw him off, stood up, and swung back his leg, kicking Damon in the head. I turned away.
I knew what he was doing, just letting Will punch him. If he was in pain on the outside, he wouldn’t feel it on the inside.
I bowed my head, staring at the raindrops hitting the blades of grass as the fight went on and the sounds of grunts and hits filled the courtyard.
Too long.
And then I heard nothing. Slowly raising my eyes, I saw Will sitting on the ground next to Damon, his hands behind him, propping him up and breathing hard.
Damon laid on his back, his knees bent up but unmoving.
Slowly, he started to turn over, and with shaking limbs, got himself up on his knees and sat there on his heels, looking like he barely had enough strength to hold his head up. Water cascaded down his face, making his black hair hang over his eyes, and I knew I couldn’t ever not love him. Bleeding, broken, lost, and alone, he was back up, wasn’t he? He would always be able to take whatever anyone did to him. Twist it. Turn it. Swallow it.
Kai approached, and I followed. He knelt down, staring at my brother.
“We didn’t choose Rika over you,” he told him calmly. “Or Banks.” He leaned in, his tone firm. “You left us.”
Will watched Damon out of the corner of his eye, anger still raging through his eyes but they glistened, too.
Kai stood up. “Where is the body?”
Rika and Michael inched closer, and I watched Damon take a deep breath. “Gone,” he said.
Kai bent down and grabbed the top of his head by the hair. “Where?”
Damon raised his eyes, almost amused. “You didn’t kill her.”
I stepped toward him, and Kai let him go, straightening.
“What?” I asked.
“She was fine when you and Kai left the hotel.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Kai demanded.
“Because she was breathing when you left, wasn’t she?”
“Well, where is she, then?” I asked. She’d need money at some point. It was too long for no one to have seen or heard from her.
“I need proof she’s okay,” Kai told him. “I still hurt her.”
“No, she was hurting us.” Damon pushed himself to his feet, struggling to square his shoulders. “And you stopped her. End of story.”
“So, she was fine when I left the hotel?” Kai challenged him. “Was she fine when you left the hotel?”