At some point, I hear footsteps in the snow, but I don’t care. I’m too wrapped up in Beau and the fire he’s causing inside my body.

“Are you taking my sloppy seconds, Bennett?” My whole body stiffens. I recognize that voice.

I’d recognize it anywhere.

Chapter 5

Ten Seconds Later – December 2012

THE SECOND I HEAR HIS VOICE I feel Kate’s body tense against mine. Anger radiates through my veins. I’ve wanted to beat Drew’s ass into the ground since Kate told me what he did to her, but the only thing that held me back is that I didn’t want to dredge up old memories for her.

And what the f**k is he doing here? At this party?

“Drew, you can turn around and get the f**k out of here!” I yell, keeping my body locked with Kate’s. She’s clenching the front of my coat tightly in her hands, as her body shakes against mine.

“What’s the matter, Bennett? Are you pissed that I got to Kate before you did?”

I lean in close to Kate’s ear. “I’m going to put you down. Go inside and tell Cory I need him. And then stay inside with Rachel.”

I carefully lower her to the ground and step back just enough so she has room to leave. She doesn’t need to hear anything else that comes out of Drew’s mouth and definitely doesn’t need to witness what I’m about to do to him.

“Beau, please come inside with me. He’s not worth it.” Her worry is visible in her eyes. I hate seeing her like this, but I can’t let it go; I’ve left it alone for long enough already.

“Please, everything is going to be okay,” I say quietly. She nods slowly and hesitantly walks away from me, keeping her hand on my coat until she can no longer reach me. My hands ball into fists while I wait for her to close herself safely in the house. I want to ruin this guy for everything he took from her, for every time he made her sad, and for every moment I missed with her because of him.

I hear Drew talking in the background, but I tune him out until Kate disappears from my sight. “Does she do everything you tell her?” he asks.

I can’t f**king take it anymore. I close the ten or so feet between us and push him back with more anger than strength. “Don’t you ever f**king say her name or talk to her again! Just stay the f**k away from her!” I yell as he stumbles back.

He regains his balance and comes at me with his arms outreached. “You’re going to pay for that one, Bennett.”

“I don’t think so. You think you can just take something from someone when they don’t want to give it to you? You messed with the wrong f**king person, and I’m about to show you what real pain feels like.” My fist comes up and hits the side of his face without giving it much thought. I don’t realize how hard I hit him until he falls to the ground and brings his hand up to the side of his bloodied face.

“Is that what she told you? She wanted it just as much as I did, or she wouldn’t have come to my bedroom!” Drew yells as he tries to sit up.

My temper flares deep inside of me again as I push him back to the ground. “You know exactly what you did, you stupid fuck.”

I don’t feel any guilt, and with nothing to hold me back, I straddle his waist, pummeling him with blow after blow. He deserves every single punch that lands on his body and so much more.

“Beau, stop!” I hit him again on the left side of the face.

“Beau!” Another hit, this time to the right side.

I hear my name, but I can’t stop. This is not the kind of person I am, but I’m making an exception for the douchebag lying under me.

“Beau!” I hear again. This time it’s closer, followed by two strong hands on my arms pulling me back. “You need to stop, man, or you’re going to kill him.”

I stop my fist mid-punch and look down to see Drew motionless below me. My chest heaves up and down as I try to regain my sanity. It’s not easy because there’s probably enough anger inside of me to pummel him for hours.

“Come on. Let’s get up,” Cory demands as he stands behind me.

Following his directions, I lift myself up, trying to shake the pain from my hand. I can’t see very well through the darkness but it feels swollen and torn up. Even with the ache in my hand, I’d give anything to finish the job. The f**ker doesn’t deserve to breathe.

“Why don’t you go inside and get some ice. I’m going to see if this guy needs some help.”

“He doesn’t deserve it,” I say, walking backward toward the house.

The second I turn around, I see Kate standing under the light out back, tears glistening on her cheeks. She glances between where Drew lies on the ground and me. As I start walking toward her, she shakes her head. It’s one of the few times I haven’t been able to read her, and I swear if she’s mad at me, I’m going to lose it. If this as**ole messes with what we’ve just started to build again, I really will finish what I started.

“Kate,” I say as I approach her.

She wipes her eyes and takes a couple steps to meet me. Just when I’m sure she’s about to yell at me, she wraps her arms around my neck. “Are you okay?” she asks quietly.

“I’m fine,” I whisper against her warm cheek as I hold her close. There’s a part of me that wishes we’d never come to this party, but there’s another part of me that feels like all is going to be right in the world again because Drew got what he deserved.

Stepping back, I cup her face in my hands, making her eyes focus on mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she says, reaching up to run her fingers through my hair. “What happened, Beau?”

“I was giving Drew what he deserved,” I reply.

“You shouldn’t have done that. If he’s hurt, you’re going to get into a lot of trouble.”

I glance over at where Drew lies wincing on the ground and then look back at Kate. “He’ll live. Plus, if he did report this, he’d have to explain why I wanted to kick his ass, and I’m guessing that he probably doesn’t want to do that.”

Resting her cheek against my chest, she wraps her arms tightly around my waist again.

“Come on, let’s go home,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders to bring her close to me. This is not the type of night I had in mind. I was trying to help her overcome another fear … I wanted so much to be that for her, too.

“Beau.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she says, resting her head against my shoulder. Hearing those words makes the excruciating pain in my hand worth it. I did this for her. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this girl.

I help Kate into the passenger side of the car before jumping behind the wheel. When I look over at her, she has her head against the window with her eyes focused on the darkness. As I pull away from the curb, I can only hope this isn’t a setback for her. Neither of us can afford to go back to the way we used to be.

Reaching across the seat, I grab her hand in mine to get her attention. The way the light shines through the window allows me to see a few stray tears trailing down her cheek.

I pull the car over and quickly unbuckle my seatbelt, sliding across the seat. I unfasten her seatbelt and pull her into my lap, holding her as tightly as I possibly can without hurting her. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here, and I’ll never let you go,” I say softly as I run my fingers through her hair.

“Am I ever going to be able to get away from it? No matter how hard I try, even if Drew’s not there, he lives in my memories. I hate it, Beau. I just want to forget,” she cries into the front of my jacket. I wish there was a way to go in and erase every memory of that night from her mind, but that’s not possible—not in reality anyway.

“He won’t come near you again. I promise.”

We stay wrapped up like that for minutes as I hold her until her body stops shaking. I remember a promise I made her years ago. It means just as much to me now as it did back then.

I ring Kate’s doorbell in hopes her mom will let her come out and play. I like to play with the boys in the neighborhood, but Kate is my favorite. We always have lots to talk about, and she likes to play the same things I do, even if she is a girl.

As soon as the door opens, I see Kate’s toothless smile in front of me. Lucky for her, most of the kids in second grade look the same way. “Hey, Beau, what are you doing here?”

I shrug. “I have an hour before dinner, and I wanted to see if you wanted to play.”

“Just a minute. I’m going to ask my mom,” she says before leaving me standing on the front porch.

I wait patiently with my back to the door. Our neighborhood is quiet except for a few barking dogs down the street and an occasional car that goes by. My mom always says I should thank my lucky stars that we live in a small town or she wouldn’t let me go outside and play. I’m glad we live in Carrington.

As soon as I hear the door click open, I spin around. “My mom said I could play for a little bit. She’s going to call me when dinner is ready.” She smiles and steps outside in her favorite pink chucks. Those things always make me smile, especially when she’s standing right next to my black ones.

“What do you want to do?” I ask, starting down the sidewalk.

“Do you want to ride bikes?”

“Sure, let me get mine from the garage. Be right back,” I say running back to my house.

I’m not gone for long, but as I come around the front of the house again, I see her surrounded by some of the other boys from the neighborhood. One has her handlebars in his hands while another has his legs wrapped around the back tire.

“Don’t touch my bike!” I hear her yell.

“Oh, come on twerp, you don’t really think we’re going to listen to you, do you?” It’s Jacob, the biggest bully at our school. He’s not really smarter than anyone else; he’s just so much bigger, and he knows exactly how to use the size advantage.