Charlotte's world turned in slow motion. She watched Matt appear through the door. He was smiling, but she hadn't quite caught his words, before James had pushed past her. His teeth were gritted, his right arm already strained back as he caught Matt's shirt and pulled him around to face him.
Matt had barely noticed James when the punch landed.
Charlotte heard crunching bones. She saw blood. Matt collapsed, falling backwards. He crumpled, his head snapping back on the porch decking.
Ian rushed forward, shoving James back, squaring up to him. Ian was daring James to strike Matt again.
Charlotte didn't move, she couldn't.
Annakiya hurried forward, kneeling beside Matt. His nose was bleeding and disjointed. A dark bruise was blooming over his left eye, smudging his right. The side of his face that had taken the brunt of the blow was already swelling, a haze of purple and blue marking his skin.
"What do I do?" Annakiya breathed looking up at Charlotte. Her brown eyes were wide.
Charlotte gazed over at James. He wasn't putting up a fight, but he was glaring at Matt, his breathing ragged, his jaw clenched. Ian had his hands firmly on James' chest, holding him in place.
"Charlotte!" Annakiya snapped.
"Get Harris," she breathed, the world suddenly snapping back into focus.
Annakiya stood up and hurried into the house, leaving Charlotte to take her place. The sound of the door clattering shut seemed too loud in the strained silence that blanketed the porch. The triumph and fun of the afternoon had dissipated in one swing of James' fist. She gritted her teeth. She could hear Matt's breath whistling through his nose. The blood had already begun to congeal around his mouth and nose, gruesome against his bruised skin.
"What happened?" Harris asked, breaking into her thoughts as he burst through the porch door. He glanced at Ian's restraint on James and seemed to come to his own conclusions. Annakiya hovered nervously behind him.
"Shit!" Harris muttered, examining Matt's face.
Charlotte pushed away from Matt, her breathing becoming shallower as she started to internalise the damage to his face; the swelling, the bruising, the blood – all from one punch. Her stomach knotted. Her mouth was dry.
She couldn't bring herself to look at James. She couldn't bring herself to let the rising fury fade, or to force herself to stay calm. Her fingers were trembling. She ran her tongue over her teeth. She could taste her anger, like bile in the back of her throat. It had been unwarranted, unreasonable. James had attacked without provocation, without cause or injury.
"O'Connell, help me get him up," Harris ordered. "I need to get him inside. I have some treatments in my room that might help".
Ian hesitated a moment, appraising James' temper, before turning away and moving to Matt's side.
Daiki stepped forward offering to help, and with extreme concentration Matt began to rise off the ground. His unconscious body had become weightless, a feather floating on a breeze.
Annakiya rushed ahead pulling open the door wide, allowing Daiki to guide him through. Harris and Ian flanked Matt on either side, their arms outstretched, ready to catch him in case he fell. Freya and Alison hurried after them, glancing at Charlotte and James warily.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Charlotte breathed, clenching her fists as soon as the door had swung shut, leaving them alone.
James looked furious, glaring at the spot Matt had been. Blood marked the decking, black and shining in its half-dried state.
YOU ARE READING
Feared
Science Fiction'Play the game, she thought, remembering the only three words that had helped her to survive at Kingston. Only back then she had known the game, she had known what they wanted her to be, what they had wanted her to do - this man was different. She d...
