Fallen Crest Alternative Version (Fallen Crest High #2.1)(29)

She continued as she cleaned his entire face and hands.

I sighed as I held onto my washcloth. Mason looked up with one eyelid swollen. He only had one eye that met mine and my lip jerked.

No one spoke a word as we cleaned their cuts, washed the blood away, and put bandages where they needed them. When I started to take the shirt off Mason, he shook his head.

“Cut it off.”

“You sure?”

He nodded and closed his eyes.

Adam handed the scissors to me and I started from the bottom up. As I peeled it off him, his wounds started to bleed again. A bruise was already black over his ribs. It spanned from his pectorals and wrapped around to his back. It didn’t stop till the bottom of his stomach muscles.

“Oh my god,” someone whispered.

Some others sucked in their breaths and I heard a whimper come from Becky.

My eyes jerked to his and I choked out, “Why are you the worst?” I held his gaze steady and ran a gentle thumb over his cheek. A tiny bruise had formed underneath his cheekbone.

He shook his head again in a slight grimace.

“How many?”

“Enough.” Logan sent Adam a dark look.

“They should go to the hospital,” Amelia whispered to Cassandra.

Miranda whirled around. “They should go to the police.”

She raised her hand to Logan’s cheek again with a washcloth, but he shoved her away. “I’m fine.”

She sighed in disgust. “You need to be cleaned up. You could get infected.”

He grimaced and looked around. “Why are you all here? Sam hates you.”

A giggle escaped from Becky. As they turned to her, she scooted away and hid behind me. All eyes were on me now. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She ducked further behind me.

I rolled my eyes and moved from Mason. “You guys should go. It’s late anyway.”

“Can’t. Drunk.” Cassandra perked up.

Emily threw her head back. “We’re all drunk.” She threw me a smirk. “Your dad has a lot of booze.”

“Had.”

Amelia burst out laughing. When she teetered on her feet, she grabbed Cass’ shoulder to steady her, but they both went down. Then she snorted as she rolled to her back. “Oh f**k. I can’t believe I did that.”

Cass elbowed her. “Shut up.”

That made her laugh harder.

“Fuckin’ leave,” Logan snapped. His eyes were fierce.

“We’re trying to help.”

He whipped back to Miranda and glared. “You’re not doing anything. You’re a pain in the ass. Call a cab.”

“Who’s—” Cass opened her mouth.

Logan cut in, “I’ll pay. Just leave.” He reached for his wallet and threw a hundred dollar bill at Miranda. A sneer adorned his face. “I think that should cover it?”

Amelia leaned to Cass’ ear and whispered for all to hear, “He’s grouchy.”

She was given a dumb look in return. “He got jumped.”

When more curses spewed from Logan, I started to nudge them towards the door. “Adam, can you call a cab?”

His nostrils flared. “I’ll drive ‘em. I’m sober.”

Mason glanced over. A corner of his mouth curved up. “Now you’re sober?”

A dark loathing flared over Adam. His hands jerked up, already in fists, but he stopped. He froze and his chest rose up and down, but they slowed after a moment. In slow motion, it seemed his arms went back down. His voice came out garbled, “You know, I was trying to be concerned for Sam’s sake. I know she’s worried about you guys, but I’m not. I can’t pretend otherwise. I’m glad you got jumped. You’ve had it coming for a long time and I’m glad you got the shit beat out of you.”

All three of them shared an amused look, but Nate’s the one who surprised me. He cast a shrewd look over the group and spoke in a soft voice, “Fuckin’ leave because I’m starting to forget about the guys who jumped us …”

The threat lingered in the air for a moment.

The corners of Adam’s mouth flattened and he skewered me with a look. I felt torched by it and splayed a hand over my stomach. A storm had started inside of me, and I needed to calm it down. Everything tightened in me, and my heart beat was a slow loud thump as I waited for the moment to pass.

“Ass,” someone whispered in the back.

Nate rolled his eyes. “What a shock. Get out!”

Mason and Logan shared a grin.

“Fine.” Cassandra twisted her elbow clear from Amelia’s hold and started for the door. She took one step, and her knees buckled. Adam and Peter both grabbed for her. Adam’s hand held her up from the arm while Peter’s had a weak hold on her hand. They glanced at each other as Cassandra whooshed between them. A drunken giggle came over her again. She tried to steady both her feet, but one of her heels had fallen off. A frown came over her. “I can’t…stand. Why can’t I stand?”

Adam and Peter still studied each other.

Miranda rolled her eyes and shot between them. She grabbed Cass by the waist and propelled her for the door. Once there, she deposited her on the porch and whirled back. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s go. They don’t want us here.”