Death Screams (19 page)

Deliberate.

Still, he came. There was a crowd growing but I saw them as background, it took all my concentration to engage my opponent. Who was definitely a martial arts guy. No doubt.

Everything melted away as I fought him, and to my intense shame, I didn't even have a bead on Jade.

He punished my ribs with his hands and I struck him hard with the instep of my foot in the middle of his chest and he flew back and landed with practiced hands, his butt never hitting the ground.

He'd landed like a cat. Nine lives. I moved forward again and then suddenly Chen was there.

*

"Nice, Hart," some random kid said. Carson came up and clapped Buddy on the back. Buddy shrugged it off. Probably thinking about his unconscious girlfriend with her head in Jonesy's lap. Nice turn-of-events.

Chen gave Buddy and I looks. She took in Sophie in a heap, Jonesy pushing her hair back, her cheek swelling with a red mark like an angry comma on her face. I looked at Jonesy and saw that he had tears in his eyes. His heart in his face.

I know what I would have felt like if I hit Jade. Accident or not.

I looked around for her and didn't see her. Panic struck. Where was Jade?

But Chen's next words stole my thoughts away from Jade and back to her. "My office, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Hart. Now." She walked away knowing we'd follow.

I didn't. I needed to know Jade was okay. I searched the crowd.

There! I saw a flash of black hair and pink. Someone was with her.

Who? I moved between kids, parting them like a human sea and as she was revealed so was Brett. He had a hold of her wrist, its delicate diameter captured in his big hand and all I could think of was last year. Him dragging her off for his molestathon.

Jade's eyes got wide and she yelled, "No Caleb, it's not what you think!"

Thinking? Who the hell said anything about that? I was a roaring inferno of male rage, my female threatened by a known threat. A primal siren sounded and that's what I listened to. It led my fist straight to his face, my other one following like a loved one, one right on top of the other.

Until he was on the ground, Jade screaming. Someone huge picked me up from behind and I knew how to get out of that. But I couldn't move, whoever it was had arms of steel. I literally couldn't move.

But I took heart. I looked down at Brett, a bleeding disaster at my feet and smiled, spitting out the blood from my own mouth as I did, where it hit the floor with a splat.

*

"Settle down, Hart!" Alex bellowed in my ear. "Chen's gonna call the cops," he said more quietly. I settled down and he let me drop. I stood on my own without those crushing arms of his holding me and looked at Jade.

She looked back. I didn't like the look on her face. She looked scared.

Of me.

That's not what I'd been gunning for. I didn't want Brett touching Jade. Period. It wasn't complicated. He was a proven asshole with bad intent and he wasn't going to train those plans on Jade.

"Come here," I said to her, using my palm to gesture for me, cupping my hands toward myself.

She hesitated and I had an awful moment where I thought she wouldn't. Then she gingerly stepped over Brett and came into my arms.

Chen literally shoved students aside. Her rage was a palpable thing. A living, breathing thing in the commons. I don't think I'd ever had that level of rage directed at me before.

Well, in the spirit of new experiences...

Jade held onto me like I was the last solid thing in the world. I treated her the same. I glued her onto my body, tucking her underneath my chin as I faced off with Chen.

"Get away from Miss LeClerc, Mr. Hart." She looked at me, her words vibrating with unmasked hatred. It was a little confusing. So I had a fight, big deal. Was it really worth her foaming at the mouth like a rabid bat?

"He won't hurt me," Jade said in a voice that trembled. I stroked her hair.

"Obviously! Mr. Hart is so nonviolent. Jade, move away from him. Now." She did, her fingers reluctantly trailing down my chest as she backed away. I looked for guy support and found Bry's eyes. He gave me a nod. He knew what the deal was.

Brett supporters making an appearance and all this shit going down without me, but with Jade there in the middle.

No.

I walked over to Chen and she didn't say anything. She pointed to her office though, using a stiff finger. She was pissed beyond speech. I saw Mom and Dad were already there, twin expressions of pissed off riding their faces.

And Gramps was there. He wasn't pissed, a slight smile curved his lips.

Nice.

Jonesy's eyes met mine from the floor, Sophie cradled like a fragile doll in his arms. God help the poor schmuck that would try to move her right now. We had a moment and then he gave me a nod.

I had it. His gratitude.

That was the most important thing to me.

I turned my back on my friends and walked toward my family, my guts churning.

"We're trying to be supportive, Caleb, really," Mom said, her elbows planted on the kitchen table, palms spread. She clenched them back together again and sighed. "But you leave us no choice."

My hands were in tight fists by my side, my supper untouched in front of me.

Gramps was scrubbing his face. He crossed his arms in front of him. I noticed that his plate was clean. Onyx lay covertly beside him, hoping for a morsel.

"Alicia," Gramps began.

"No, Pops. I need to handle this."

"And that's worked out so well, Peanut," he said levelly.

Dad sighed. "Mom's right, you've become more violent."

"Humph!" Gramps cackled. "In my day that little altercation would have been swept under the rug." He looked at the Parents steadily, his gray eyes darkening. "This is part of becoming a man. Before everything got sissified, boys would hammer out their differences and move forward. Then, if you involve girls, well, it becomes even more important. Chen would do to think about that. She'd probably cut down on the fights if she just let a few run their course." He folded his arms across his chest and flung out his legs in front of him.

"Hammer things out? What? with fists?" Mom asked.

He nodded slowly and Dad sighed. "Yes, if that's what needed doin', fists worked very well. Or kicks, or a ..."

"Mac," Dad said in warning.

"Right," Mac said, realizing Mom was getting the Big Picture. Gramps turned his attention to me. "That was some fine hand work, Caleb."

"Thanks, Gramps," I said.

He continued looking at me. "Not bad on that other boy...?"

"Buddy," I supplied.

"That's it!" he snapped his fingers. "How old is he?"

"Senior," I said.

He palmed his chin, raking his hand over the stubble. "Seems older."

"Yes, that's what Helen said," Mom remembered.

"He take judo too?" Gramps asked, digging around.

I shrugged. "He does something. I was havin' to bring it."

"Pullin' out all the stops, eh?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Anyway," Mom looked at all of us, "Andrea is going to see this as a real problem. Jade's father is a known violent offender. She will see Caleb's actions in the worst possible light. And... I can't say I blame her." She narrowed her eyes on me.

I shifted in my seat.

"Ms. Chen mentioned that Brett claimed that Jade's hand was hurt in the scuffle between you and Buddy. That he was just looking at her injury."

I was calling bullshit on that.

"I'd like to believe that, Ali, but given his track record with the boy... " Dad shrugged.

Gramps asked, "What did Jade say?"

That was the thing, I hadn't had a chance to pulse and get things straight with her. "I haven't pulsed her yet."

Gramps stood, clapping his hands on his thighs. Onyx took that as his cue to jump on Gramps. He laughed and pushed him off gently. He looked at me. "I was there at the school to bring you your wheels, Caleb."

Right! My car. Totally overshadowed by the crap at school.

I stood and Dad put a restraining hand on my arm. I looked him in the eye. "It's Jade or the car, Caleb. We have to begin to discipline you for this behavior."

Gramps hung his head, saying nothing, but shaking it in mild disgust.

I looked at Gramps with an apologetic expression. "The car. I'd never let Jade go."

"Unless she let you go, Caleb," Mom said and I looked at her.

Thanks for that gem. Whatever.

Gramps clapped my back. "It's okay, tiger. The car you can wait on, the girl won't wait."

Glad Gramps got it. My parents were certainly not
there
yet.

I left my supper cooling on the table as I followed Gramps outside.

First time ever.

*

Initializing
: Top Five Contact

Hot One

Hey-
JLeC

Hi... are you okay?-
CH

sighs
yeah... but, it was really scary today, Caleb. I'm not gonna lie.-
JLeC

I know. I mean, I wasn't scared but it was scary with Sophie and all the fighting recently.-
CH

Andrea knows, Caleb. She's totally not wanting me to go out with you now. It's like the whole thing, just... put her over the edge. She just sees my dad when this violent stuff happens.-
JLeC

Eff.

Emotive stress evaluation medium
I am nothing like your
profanity-block
dad! You know this! I don't use and I don't beat girls. Everyone I beat deserves it.-
CH

laughs
I agree with that.-
JLeC

Brett got what he deserves. He put his hands on you Jade. I'm gonna do more than beat the
profanity-block!
outta him next time.-
CH

Caleb, no. He seriously wanted to see my wrist.-
JLeC

Emotive stress evaluation med-high
you were hurt?-
CH

No! He thought he'd seen my hand get hit when you and Buddy began... what... you did.-
JLeC

I knew it. He just wanted an excuse to touch her. The interfering prick. I got an idea.

What did ya read off of him?
CH

Pause in pulse communication.

A lot of stuff. Maybe it'd be embarrassing.
-JLeC

I was seething inside, my blood like lava.

Try me
.-CH

sighs
well, he definitely has some... romantic feelings for me. And... I don't know the rest but there was some disturbing impressions...

Like what?-
CH

Big surprise on the romance vibe. Dick.

Idk exactly but it had a similar feel to the DI sample that's disappeared.-
JLeC

Great, that's all we needed was for Brett to pop some kind of murder. Just the thought of him having those ideas swirling around in his small brain made me tenser, knotting my muscles as my hand clenched the pulse.

He's not the guy, Caleb. If that's what you're thinking.-
JLeC

Some Empath you are
laughs
-
CH

You don't help me anymore by keeping your thumb depressed.-
JLeC

Good, a guy's gotta have some secrets.-
CH

So... did your parents drop cattle over the fighting?
JLeC

Yeah they did. You're soundin' like Tiff.-
CH

laughs
kinda. She's rubbin' off on me!
JLeC