Thirty Reasons Not to Date a Player

29. He Will Break Your Heart (1)

I'm on my way to my second period class the following morning when suddenly, a smack, followed by a thud, catches my attention. A few bystanders stumble out of the way and I swear I can hear some senior boys cheering them on.

"Nice one, Kimball!" someone shouts from a few meters away.

I stop dead in my tracks. That name sounds familiar.

Kimball.

Aiden Kimball—April's boyfriend, none the less.

I make my way over to the center of the raucous hoping to get to the bottom of it. "Excuse me!" I demand, pushing past a group of freshmen boys who look like they've never seen a fight before. They unwillingly move out of my way.

Of course, I expected April to be furious. But I didn't expect to see Aiden punch Ryder square across the jaw in the middle of the damn hallway.

Ryder is on the ground, propped up by one of his hands, while he drags the other across his face. He murmurs something under his breath but I don't quite catch it.

Aiden is standing with both of his hands balled up into fists at his sides. He is glaring down at Ryder like he wants to murder him.

Ryder's surprisingly calm demeanor disappears when he lays eyes on me. "AJ," he says, sounding breathless. Aiden is looking at me too now, and his hostile expression doesn't change.

I gulp. "Does someone want to explain what's going on here?"

"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?" Aiden suggests coldly, "though he's probably too cowardly to admit anything."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ryder exclaims, springing to his feet. "And if you have a problem with me, leave her out of it."

The two of them stare each other down and I know if I don't do something, a fight will break out. For real this time.

"Guys!" I push my small frame in between them, holding my arms out to keep them apart. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure you can talk it out."

Aiden scoffs, before shoving me to the side. He doesn't hurt me, but I can tell that he's warning me to back off before he does. "This is for your own good, Amara," he warns. "Don't act like this jackass doesn't deserve it."

"Hey!" Ryder hollers, grabbing Aiden by the collar of his shirt. "I said, leave her out of this."

There's a harshness in his tone that I've only witnessed once before. Whatever is going on between them, Ryder is seriously angry about it. Things are about to get ugly.

"She has the right to know," Aiden counters, shoving Ryder backwards so that his body slams against the row of lockers. The loud crash has drawn the attention of multiple teachers, who are already making their way over to the scene.

"Listen to me," Aiden says, his eyes piercing into mine, "that is not the kind of guy you want to be involved with."

I open my mouth to respond, but both boys are on the floor again before I do. "Ryder!" I shriek, surprised at him for being so aggressive. He doesn't seem to hear me and within seconds he has Aiden in a headlock. "Stop it!" The two of them struggle against each other until they are forcefully yanked apart by three burly security guards, who then escort them to the principal's office.

But, as Aiden walks past me, he accuses Ryder of something far more serious than I could have imagined.

"He raped my girlfriend."

It feels as though time itself has stopped, as I take a minute to digest the information. My initial reaction is that Aiden must be lying to me. There's no other explanation.