Though I didn’t know everything about my best friend, I could be certain that she hadn’t witnessed something like this before. But she didn’t look shocked or traumatized. The bitch was smiling…
There wasn’t time for wonder at that because I wasn’t done telling Swiss off.
“We should not have kept this from you for so long,” I admitted. “ButIwas the one who wanted to keep it quiet.” I pointed to my own chest as I continued to glare. “Although I’m sure you like to think you’re pretty special, and I would tend to agree with you when you’re not waving a gun at my man and threatening to kill him.” My eyes narrowed on Swiss. “Right now, you’re not being special. Or kind or funny or anything like the man I know you are. You’re acting theexactway I thought you would. Like I don’t have a mind of my own. Like I don’t deserve to choose who I want to be with.”
“How about someone who’s not almost two decades older than you?” Swiss snarled.
“It’s too late for you to argue about whether or not he’s age appropriate,” I rolled my eyes. “But even if it wasn’t, I’m an adult. I’m going to make my own decisions, and I just buried a father who liked to control me and my mother.”
Swiss was the one who flinched now. It was a low blow, and maybe he didn’t deserve it. But then I remembered the feeling of seeing a gun pointed to Elden’s head.
“So you better make some choices.” My voice was no longer loud and passionate. I was tired. Already. And I knew this battle had just begun. “You need to realize that you can pound your chest, wave your weapon and make declarations of violence. But those actions have consequences. And your word is not law. I’m pretty sure this whole fucking club was founded because of your mutual distaste of laws. You may have been founded in a time when women didn’t have a voice, didn’t have much of a role beyond procreation and pleasure, but it is not that time now.” I put my hands on my hips. “I fuckingdareyou to try and tell me what I should do with my life now.”
Swiss appraised me for a long time. It hurt, much more than I let on, to see that coldness in his gaze, that disappointment. I hated that although I might’ve been talking some big talk, I felt very small and vulnerable.
At least I had a good poker face.
Mom was watching me with glassy eyes. I knew she was torn between me and Swiss, trying to gauge who needed her most in that moment. I hated that this was hurting her, that she was in the middle of this conflict. But it wasn’t me who chose to turn it into a conflict.
Swiss didn’t say anything more. He just stared at me for a beat longer, glared at Elden then stomped out of the room.
Mom looked at me helplessly. “He’ll come around, sweetheart.”
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, giving her a weak smile. “You should probably go with him.”
Her lip was trapped between her teeth, obviously torn between going to make sure her husband didn’t burn anything down and comforting her pregnant, unwed daughter.
“Mom, I’m fine,” I lied. “Please go with him so he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
She nodded, blowing me a kiss before quickly chasing after her husband.
There was a very long, very loaded silence that followed.
“It’s official, Iloveit here!” Sariah cheered with glee.
I didn’t have the opportunity to respond to her or respond to anyone for that matter because Elden grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hall.
I didn’t fight him because I knew doing so would be pointless. He was mad. I expected him to be mad. I’d just stood in front of him and made a whole speech in front of him, a speech for him. For us.
So yes, I expected him to be pissed.
I did not expect him to slam the door to his room closed then sweep everything off his dresser to send it crashing to the ground.
I jumped, my back pressed against the door. I wasn’t scared, exactly. But it was unnerving, very unnerving to see him like that. Completely out of control.
“I told you tostay in this fucking room!” he roared, turning back to face me.
He was shaking. Literally shaking with rage. I’d never seen him like that. He’d never yelled at me. Not once. He’d gotten pissed. He’d done the growling and glowering thing. He’d manhandled me. But he’d never yelled like that. Never turned into the man standing in front of me.
“It was Sariah,” I said quietly, not moving from my spot against the door. “I knew it was Sariah.”
“You only knew it was her because youleft this fucking room,” he spat out. He wasn’t yelling anymore. Or smashing things. But this was somehow worse.
“It was fine,” I argued with him.
Elden stood in the middle of the room, his hands fisted at his sides. “It was not fine, Violet. Because you stepped in front of a gun for me.” His voice shook.
“Swiss lowered the gun the second I stepped in front of it.”