𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝘄𝗼 | 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 | When Kay gets an emergency call from her mother, Brian takes her back to her hometown of Harmony, where she has to deal with old family drama and her ex-boyfriend, Mario, who just won't let her...
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I hadn't anticipated the fist meeting my cheek, but the crowd did.The gasps were audible over the sound of music, of rides, of the wind were clear enough. Because of them, I turned and reacted quickly enough that Mario's fist only grazed my skin.
"Woah." Fucker.
With two steps back, I made sure Kay moved farther away. "Brian, wait, wait," she whimpered, grabbing my hand.
I didn't look at her. I shook my head. "No," I said, my gaze focused on Mario's face. The guy had his mouth open as he took in a deep, hard breath. His brow was knitted together in anger, and annoyance. The expression alone made me grin.
He's scared. This takes me back.
Sliding my thumb over the still-healing cut on my lip, I straightened and popped my neck. I looked at Mario, wanting to fight, in front of him, and scanned the surrounding shocked crowd. This reminded me of when I was younger. The nights when I'd get into a fight at the bar after I played with my band; when I returned home drunk and covered in blood—might have been my blood or someone else's, but it hadn't mattered then.
I was toxic, then. Irresponsible. I'd made my mistakes and burned with them, choked on them, even. But when I realized what I'd done, I tried to fix it. Hide it. Tucked away and nestled inside the happier exterior made of coffee and cupcakes.
I only wanted to let go of my past; to heal and look forward to a future with Kay. But it looked like her darkness brought out mine, and Harmony would be a challenge for us both.
We needed to heal. This was a journey.
Breaking Mario's face would be a start.
I never thought I'd come back to this.
I rolled my head around my shoulders and laughed. "So, you want to fight? Why?" I asked.
Mario didn't answer. He scowled, growled, and tried to rush me.
I caught him by the shoulders as he connected at my waist, ramming into me. With a grunt, I pushed Mario off me and watched as he hit the floor. Little shit.
The crowd gasped. Someone in the corner said, "Call the sheriff!"
As Mario stood up again, I shook my head. "You won't even tell me why," I hissed.
"Why?" Mario came at me again, but rather than tackle, he tried to swing.
This one I saw coming a mile away. Rather than let Mario connect again, I quickly ducked to one side. My arm quickly followed as I returned the punch. My knuckles slammed into Mario's cheek; his skin folded against my fist. I hadn't punched someone in years, and it stung.
I shook my hand as I stepped back. "Shit."
"Brian, please!" Kay stood closer to the crowd. Her hands were at her chin, her eyes wide and red.
