“Anderson,” I ground out through my teeth. “I saidnot fucking now.”
“This is fucking unbelievable. Both of you. Unbelievable. You’re fucking better than this, Crew. Open your fucking eyes.”
“You open your fucking eyes, Anderson!” My voice is raised now and too fucking shaky. I don’t want to have this conversation in front of Kalen. I don’t want to have it at all, but he’s not giving me much of a choice. “I’mnotbetter than this. This is who I am, Anderson. I’m the guy who lies to the ones he cares about. The guy who does the drugs behind everyone’s backs. That’s me, and I’m so fucking sorry you’re having to see it now, but you need to accept it. This is me.”
“Fuck off. That’s horseshit, and you know it.” Anderson’s hand swipes his tears away as he tries to step up to me.
“You should really put a muzzle on your bitch, bro.”
Godfuckingdammit.“Kalen! Read the fucking room, dude. Shut the fuck up!”
Anderson growls beside me, charging toward Kalen like he’s a fucking linebacker, tackling him to the ground.Holy shit!It happens so fast, there’s no time for me to stop it. He has him on the ground, straddling him, and throwing punches in his face before my brain catches up, and I race toward them.
My hands wrap around his arm, trying to pull him back, but he’s got Hulk fucking strength right now. “Anderson!Get off him!”
It’s not working. He’s throwing hit after hit, and Kalen’s face is becoming a bloody mess as his arms try to push Anderson off to no avail. Trying again, I tug on his arm, harder this time. “Anderson!Fucking hell. You’re going to fucking kill him. Getoff!”
This somehow snaps him out of the raging trance he’s in, his hard, fiery gaze snapping toward me. “You’re un-fucking-believable, Crew. You wanna wither away and kill yourself? Do it. I don’t fucking care. But I fucking refuse to sit here and watch.” He spins on his heel, heading toward the backdoor.
Sheer panic wraps around me as I watch him go. “Anderson, please don’t leave!” I’m stuck in place, unable to move, but desperately needing him.
“No, I fucking can’t do this right now. I just can’t.” He storms through the door without looking back, and then he’s gone.
He left me.
I drop down, the concrete unforgiving under my knees, my head going into my hands, as I fight to get oxygen into my lungs.He fucking left me. I ruined another relationship, made another person not want anything to do with me.
Fuck!I’m such a fucking idiot.
A fucking letdown.
Disappointment.
Loser.
Movement out of the corner of my eye grabs my attention. Kalen’s getting up, wiping the blood off his face with his shirt. Anderson did a number on him, that’s for damn sure. “Go clean yourself up. You’re dripping blood everywhere. Then come back out here. We’re getting fucked up.”
If Anderson wants to leave me, that’s fine. I’ll just get so fucked up, I won’t even remember my own name.
***
Anderson
I don’t know what I was expecting to accomplish going over to Crew’s house, but I certainly wasn’t fucking expecting to see Kalenorkick his ass again. That’s stupid of me, though, isn’t it? Why wouldn’t Crew have Kalen come over at a time like this?
He understands and supports this part of Crew in a way I never will. And it’s bullshit. He’s fucking killing himself, and he couldn’t care less.
Putting my car in park outside my house, I slide out, slamming the door harder than I should. My fucking fists are sore and bloody, once again, and I need to clean them up. The adrenaline is still coursing through my body, my hands are shaky, and the pounding in my ears is finally starting to simmer down.
Stomping up the stairs, I’m almost to my room, when Aston’s door opens and out walks Knox.Great.
“Bro, what the fuck happened to you? You look like shit.”
“Gee, thanks,” I grumble, walking into my room. I don’t bother shutting the door, because I know he’s following me.
“I’m serious. What happened?”
“Your cousin fucking happened.”