Without warning, I reached down and gave her ass a hard smack.
"That's for spray painting my car," I said.
Her breath hitched, and she bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile. "You're such a caveman."
"Caveman? How about this?" I said, smacking her...
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CALEB'S POV
The walls of the campus security office felt like they were closing in, the air thick with the lingering tension of our fight. My knuckles throbbed, but I didn't care. The adrenaline was still in my veins, burning through me like gasoline on an open flame. Across the table, Trevor sat stiffly, his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw clenched so tight I swore it might snap.
I wanted to hit him again.
"Nice going, genius," Trevor finally broke the silence, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You really thought that would end well?"
I scoffed, leaning back in my chair. "Please. You didn't exactly help the situation."
"I wasn't the one throwing punches," he shot back.
"You might as well have," I snarled, leaning forward, resting my forearms on my thighs. "You think I don't see what you're doing? Acting like Esme's fucking owner—like you get to dictate every goddamn part of her life?"
Trevor exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. "She's my sister, Caleb. It's my job to look out for her."
"No," I snapped, my voice dropping into something more lethal. "It's your job to support her. But all you do is suffocate her, control her. You don't want her to live—you want her to stay trapped under your fucking thumb."
Trevor's glare darkened. "And you think you're any better? You show up out of nowhere, swoop in with your bike and your bad-boy act, and suddenly you care about her?" He shook his head, laughing bitterly. "You don't even know her."
Something twisted in my chest—anger, frustration, maybe something even uglier.
He wasn't wrong. Not completely.
I didn't know Esme the way he did. I hadn't been there through her childhood. I hadn't seen the things that made her who she was. But I sure as hell understood her better than Trevor did now.
"Maybe I don't know every little detail about her past," I admitted, my voice measured, controlled. "But I see her, Trevor. I see the way she hates being treated like she's fragile. I see how much she wants to break free of your goddamn expectations. And I see the way she lights up when she's around me."
That one hit home.
Trevor's face tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "You think she needs you?" he scoffed, his voice full of contempt. "You think you're good for her? You're a fucking disaster, Caleb. You wreck everything you touch."
Something inside me snapped.
I shot up from my chair, the legs scraping violently against the tile. "Say that again."
Trevor stood too, his body tense, his eyes blazing with unspoken fury. "You heard me."
We were seconds away from going at it again, fists raised, ready to throw down right in the middle of this goddamn office.
