Tom jumped ten feet into the air, sputtering and knocking the girl off his lap. The girl screeched, her hair soaked as well. That had been a full can of beer.

"Holy shit," I mumbled, grinning despite myself. Quickly, I went to stand beside Lia and pulled her back.

Tom stood up, his pants half zipped. He turned, his face thunderous and dripping bear. "What the f-"

His words died when he saw Lia. His anger melted into shock, then into one of reconciliation. If he thought he could sweet-talk his way out of this, he was more delusional than I thought. He held his hands up and took a step closer. "Babe-"

Slap.

Lia's palm made a satisfying contact with his cheek. A commotion broke behind us. Someone turned down the music, and in seconds, it seemed like the entire party had migrated to the second floor.

Someone whistled after the slap.

Tom's expression changed so fast it was scary. An ugly sneer claimed his face.

"You cheating asshole!" Lia said, her voice echoing loud and clear above the sudden silence that claimed the house.

Tom wiped his face, wet with beer. "For fuck's sake, Lia, it's not like I'm going to beg you to sleep with me," he said. "Since you have the right to make that choice, I have the right to make this one."

The nerve!

"Damn dude!" A guy said nearby. He was among the crowd watching the show. "You didn't even get to bang that virgin pussy-"

I turned and glared at him. He snapped his mouth shut, looking a little pale. Disgusting pig, and that was unfair to pigs.

"Let's go, Lia," I whispered, pulling on her arm. The stench of beer and sweat was stinging my nose. Lia's eyes were wide, and I knew she would regret giving these people a show after it was all over.

Lia shrugged off my hold. "You could've had the balls to break things off with me then, you spineless asshole," she told Tom.

Tom chuckled. "I was pretty close, though. You would've slept with me tonight if it wasn't for this nosy bitch."

Lia's eyes watered. Damn it. I pulled her back and gave Tom a sweet smile. "Tom, you couldn't get Lia even after one year of dating. I think it's pretty clear that problem is not her." I waved at his crotch area. "Maybe you should get things checked out down there."

Laughter rolled through the crowd. I pulled Lia and walked away. It was enough. She looked about ready to break down.

"I don't understand why you're mad, Lia," Tom said behind us. We pushed through the crowd to reach the stairs. "It runs in the family, after all. Your mom isn't throwing your father out for fucking half the women in town."

Oh, no. He didn't go there. Lia froze next to me, her shoulders stiff and tight, and her head lowered. Hair covered her face. I saw a tear drop to the ground.

I couldn't take it. My chest was going to explode. Furious, I marched back towards Tom.

Tom smirked, watching me come closer like I was a harmless kitten. "What are you going to do, Sapphire?" he said, "Punch me?-"

I closed my fist and punched him in the nose.

Tom crouched down, holding his bloodied nose. Someone cheered. Someone screamed. His two buddies looked shocked. "You bitch!" he said, his voice muffled and his eyes wide with disbelief. "You actually punched me!"

What did he think I was going to do? Tickle him?

One of his friends took a step forward.

"I wouldn't do that," a familiar low voice warned, standing close behind me.

Tom's friend stepped back. The jerk face was still moaning over his nose. I really hoped it was broken.

"Let's go," Hunter mumbled, his voice right next to my ear. People were holding up their damn phones to film.

Lowering my head, I walked back to Lia, escorted by the looming figure of Hunter. People parted out of our way. I wrapped my arm around my best friend's shoulders and we descended the stairs. People were already speculating and retelling the entire thing. I bet it would be circulating online in about ten minutes.

Hunter stayed close behind us all the way outside. Fresh air never felt better.

Lia was still quietly tearing up beside me. My knuckles throbbed from punching Tom. But I wished I could do it again. Several times.

I unlocked the car and Lia hurried to the passenger seat, closing herself in the car. I sighed. It was going to be a long night. At least it was the weekend.

I looked at Hunter. He'd ditched the cigarette, thankfully. "Thanks for walking us out."

He looked at my hand. "Why don't I drive you home?"

"No," I answered quickly. Shoving down the anxiety that reared its head at someone else driving me. I smiled. "No, I got it."

He frowned, but nodded. The throbbing was growing worse. I knew my knuckles would probably be swollen and red by tomorrow. I could drive now. I would just have to, unless I wanted to walk all the way home.

I tucked my hands in my hoodie. Ow. My knuckles were definitely going to be bad.

"Thanks for telling me about it," I told Hunter. With the streetlight behind him, his features were barely visible. He was haloed in light, like a fallen angel with glittering obsidian eyes.

He shrugged. "I said I would."

"Yeah. I know. Thanks anyway." I stepped back. Hunter's eyes followed me. I opened my mouth. I wanted to ask about the girl from earlier. Was she his girlfriend? Maybe.

"See you later!" I said and jogged to the car.

I glanced at the rearview mirror as I strapped my seat belt. Hunter was still standing there, his hands tucked into his pockets, staring at the car. I started the engine, honked and drove off. My hand was killing me.

"Are you okay to drive?" Lia asked, her voice scratchy. "We can just walk and have the boys come back for the car later."

"I'm fine," I said. "Your car is automatic, I don't have to do much with my right hand."

"Okay," she mumbled.

After a few minutes, I stopped the car at a red light. "How are you, Lia?" I asked, looking ahead of me. "And don't say fine."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her look at the window and shrug a shoulder. "It sucks. I feel like I should've seen it coming. It just..." She paused for a long minute. The light turned green. The car rolled forward. She continued. "I really liked him. I can't believe I didn't see his real face until tonight."

"In your defense, he's been pretty good to you," I told her. "Anyone in your place would've liked him."

"You didn't like him," she reminded me.

"I wasn't the one dating him," I said. "I never liked him even before you began dating. It's not like I knew something you didn't. I just hated his guts on sight."

A watery laugh. I'd take that. She sniffed and patted my thigh. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Just... for being here."

No more words were needed. I drove in silence. Occasionally, Lia would sniff or wipe a furtive tear away. I took the long way home and drove slowly. She wouldn't want to go to her house tonight. Her mother would be alone, her father would be out, and it would be a sharp reminder of Tom's harsh but truthful words at the end.

When I finally turned to our street, it was to see Stefan running down the porch steps heading for our SUV. I flashed him with the headlights. He saw me coming and veered his course, standing with his hands on his hips.

"Uh-oh," Lia said, her voice clogged. "Someone is pissed off."

"Yep," I said. "I bet he saw the video of me punching the prick."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Oh, please. I loved every minute of it," I said, stopping the car. "Go straight to my room. I'll bring in more snacks and we can order something nice."

She smiled a little and got out of the car. She walked right past Stefan, her head low. He didn't glance at her. For once, they acted like adults.

Stefan zeroed in on my right hand as I closed the car. "Yes, that's me in the video," I said before he opened his mouth. "And yes, I hurt my hand punching him."

"You should've just broken things off and came back."

I remembered Tom's bloody nose. "Oh, we broke something alright." I hoped.

He shook his head. "Should've gone for his mouth. Get a tooth or two loose."

I snorted. We both knew the likely hood of that happening was slim. But I appreciated his positive attitude.

Stefan glanced at my window in the second floor. The lights were on. "How is she?"

I shrugged. "As good as you'd expect," I said. "At least she got to empty a can of beer on his head."

Stefan rubbed his hair roughly, messing it up. "You should've let me know. I would've come with you, me and the guys. What if Tom got handsy? Or one of his friends?"

I shifted on my feet. He had a point. But I hated bothering others, especially my brothers. "Hunter was there."

"Yes, I saw," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me. "Is there something going on between you two?"

I rolled my eyes and walked past him. "You guys need a hobby. There's nothing going on between Hunter and me."

Stefan followed me inside. I went by the living room to the kitchen, where the two idiots were still playing video games.

"Shit! Sapph punched someone!" Jason said, his elephant footsteps following me to the kitchen. I opened the freezer, got a bag of frozen peas and pressed it to my knuckles. Ow.

When I turned, Scott, Jason and Stefan were standing there, looking at me. "What are you waiting for?" I asked. "Charity?"

"Who did you punch?" Scott asked, pointing at my knuckles.

"How do you know I punched someone? Maybe I just hurt my hand," I said.

"Doing what?"

"I don't know," I said. "A bike ran over it?"

Jason snorted. "And you were what? Lying on the ground?"

"Wait until Sam hears about it," Scott said. "He's going to flip his shit."

I fixed Scott with my glare. "Sam's not going to hear about this."

"You take over my dinner duty for a month and he won't hear about it," Scott said, a satisfied grin on his face.

Stefan shook his head. Jason snorted. "Dude, you never threaten Sapph," Jason said. "Should've learned by now."

I grinned. "You can tell Sam all about it, Scott," I said. "And I'll just have to tell him all about how you shaved his eyebrow four years ago."

Scott's eyes widened. Jason slapped him upside the head. "That was you?!" Jason said, looking betrayed. "He thought it was me the entire time!"

Scott scowled at me, rubbing his head. "How the hell did you know?"

I leaned forward and lowered my voice to a theatrical whisper, "I know everything. Sleep with one eye open tonight."

He faked a shudder.

"I can't believe you did that, Scott," Stefan said. "He's been going to work like that until his eyebrow grew back. He'll kill you if he finds out."

Scott's phone pinged. Then pinged again, several times in a row. Here we go.

Stefan opened the fridge and started taking things out. Scott pulled his phone, his eyes almost bugging out of their sockets. I could hear the video playing. I moved around the island and watched along with Jason.

It was a video of the party, as I expected. Thankfully, it was taken from the side, so neither Lia nor my face were visible with the way our hoods were pulled up.

"Damn dude! You didn't even get to bang that virgin pussy-"

Now I could see why the guy had stopped talking. Hunter was directly behind him. He put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something. The guy snapped his mouth shut and looked about ready to pass out. Huh. So it wasn't my glare that made him almost piss his pants. Well, that was a blow to my ego.

My heart warmed. I knew Hunter was a decent guy. He stayed there during the entire exchange, he even made a couple of people who would've caught our faces stop filming. It was nice having him around as backup.

People seemed naturally scared of him. That fact alone should scare me off of him. It didn't. Because I knew he liked kittens and he helped me when he could just watch like the rest. He was a decent guy.

"Damn, sis! That was pretty badass." Scott said when we reached the part where I punched Tom. Scott ruffled my hair roughly, his grin wide. I shoved his hand away with the bag of frozen peas.

"Should've gone for his mouth," Jason said. "He'd look better without his teeth."

Stefan pointed a potato chip at Jason. "That's exactly what I said."

I rolled my eyes. "I would've ended up with a tooth in my knuckles."

Unlikely, but the image was funny enough to make Scott crack up.

"So worth it," he said, then he sobered up. "How is Lia? I always knew that bastard would end up screwing up."

"She'll be fine." She would. I'd make sure of it.

Stefan was making a grilled cheese sandwich. His weird version of grilled cheese that no one but him and Lia liked.

"Here," he said, sliding the plate on the island.

I raised my brows. "You usually throw a fit when we eat your Pringles."

He washed his hands. "Just tell her you stole it. She'd feel better about it."

She would. I cocked my head aside and eyed Stefan. Hmm. Interesting. Very interesting.

I left the boys rewatching the video and went up with the weird sandwich. Lia was sitting on the bed, the light on, my laptop on her lap. She was staring at the screen, unseeing, tears rolling down her cheeks quietly. My throat closed up. I forced a smile and held the plate up. "Look what I got you!" I said. "Grilled cheese!"

She wiped her face and looked at me. "With pickles?"

"With pickles."

"And Pringles?"

"And Pringles."

She frowned. "You hate Pringles."

"I stole Stefan's. So don't tell him," I sat down and gave her the plate.

She bit into the sandwich, chewed, swallowed and sighed. "That's so good," she said. Her eyes filled with tears. "You didn't make it, did you? Stefan made it."

I didn't bother lying. She shoved the sandwich in her mouth again. Tears streamed down her bloated cheeks. She chewed and sniffed. I moved the laptop from her lap and put the empty plate on the nightstand.

I hugged Lia while she wolfed down the last of her sandwich. Then I cried with her, because I couldn't stop my tears if someone was crying next to me, especially if it was my best friend.

"There, there," I whispered, rubbing her back while she sobbed.

It would be a long night. But we had to go through the tears stage before moving on to plotting his death stage. It would be a long weekend.

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M.B.