The One Without Words

❀ chapter fifteen | into the lake ❀

I found Jack in the kitchen. Cheeks flushed, his chest heaving as he stared at the guys circling him like predators. The guys in question: Douchebag from the pepper spray incident and his friend Mophead, laughing as they held up their phones to record the scene in front of them.

Then I heard Seth's distinct laugh, louder than the rest. "Come on, mute boy, put on a show for us."

"Stop recording me!" Jack yelled. He grabbed Seth's shirt and pinned him against the refrigerator. "You were supposed to be my friend."

The sound of his voice made me freeze. Loud, desperate, and so unfamiliar I questioned if it'd been his.

"You're real stupid then," Seth said under Jack's grip. "It was so obvious I was just messing with you, bro."

The other guys made howling sounds of approval. Was Seth really this predictable? Had this been his grand plan all along? Talia had been right—he'd convinced Jack to come as part of another trick, another game. And here I was, the onlooker I'd always been. The bystander in the commotion of flashing lights, blasting music and frat boy howls that for once, infused my blood with the heart-pumping adrenaline I so craved. But something else came over me, too. Something more... territorial. As if Jack, in that moment, was somehow an extension of me.

I pushed myself between Douchebag and Mophead.

"Get away from him," I snapped. "Stop recording."

Seth pushed Jack away from him. "Oh look! Mute boy's girlfriend is here to save him."

"What's your problem, Seth? Why did you invite these cavemen here?"

"Cavemen?" Douchebag cackled. Pizza tattoo guy stood away from the commotion, watching lazily and too drunk to care.

"Delete the recordings," I said. "Delete the recordings or else I will take each of your phones and destroy them."

They only laughed and pointed their phones at me. I felt profoundly aware of how they saw me then: short, high school girl wearing a floral t-shirt who posed no threat at all.

"Hey, she's the pepper spray girl!"

"C'mon, babe, spray us this time, won't you?"

I ignored them and turned to Jack. He'd been staring at me this whole time, but instead of gratitude on his face like I expected, he was glaring at me.

"You," he said. The music swallowed up his voice, but it was still the loudest thing I'd heard, ringing in my ears like an echo.

"You?" I asked. "I hope you mean thank-you."

"Don't," he breathed. "Don't... hurt yourself... for me."

"Please, like these cavemen could do anything." I stared them down, urging them to do it. Lay their crusty hands on me. I'd get out of here kicking and screaming if I had to.

And then Eli showed up. And the first thing he said, more like yelled: "Seth, I told you not to invite them!"

"There he is," Pizza tattoo guy drawled. "Seth's little bitch."

Eli jabbed a finger into his chest. "Get the fuck out of my house."

But he didn't budge. None of them did. They just watched, taunted, their phones still recording the mess. All while Seth leaned against the refrigerator, his face falling when he saw Eli's distraught expression.

"You too," Eli said to me and a stumbling Jack. "Get out. Hurry."

Mophead smirked. "They're not going anywhere. Not before mute boy finishes giving his speech."