Unlikely Places

Chapter 40 Holding You Back

I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears, my blood rushing hotly through my veins as jittery bubbles of anxiety popped inside me, making me tremble. My eyes flashed from Pierce to each friend in turn and back to Pierce again as I franticly worked to calm the bedlam taking hold of my entire body.

This had to stop.

Taking a shaky, shallow breath, I took an agitated step forward and started to speak.

"It's n...not what it looked l...like," I managed to say, my tone unsteady, not at all how I had wanted to project it. "Y...you're misunders...standing!" I continued, trying to sound more resolute.

I might as well not have wasted my breath for all the notice I was given.

"I cry bullshit!" Branson retorted.

"Going to have to second that," Noah concurred from over my left shoulder.

I whipped my head to look back at him and frowned in annoyance, slowly turning so that my expression encompassed everyone in the room. They were passing the point of ridiculous. As I went to say just that, Mick started talking.

"Think about it, Jackson. From day one he has been in some way abusive. First verbally, which is how it usually starts. And now he's physically manhandling you. The smack will come next. You can count in it!"

I stood dumbfounded as Mick talked and I watch with increasing alarm as heads began to nod in agreement at Mick's words.

I peeked up at Pierce and was not surprised to find he looked both parts appalled and totally pissed. My stomach churned as the scene continued to play out.

"I would never!" Pierce cut in to emphatically declare but he was interrupted once again.

"Yeah right!" Branson retorted.

"I think you just did!" Noah accused, pointing his finger at my wrist.

"But he d...didn't," I tried again, my voice sounding even weaker than before.

This wasn't how things were supposed to happen tonight! I was going to introduce Pierce and show my friends the side I knew and loved. Instead we had somehow ended up here and worst of all, I felt like I was failing Pierce.

Voices clamored ceaselessly over my head as each of my friends strove to criticize and point out every perceived fault, they thought Pierce had. As their voices beat like frantic shockwaves over my head, I struggled to calm the internal storm that was clamoring just as ceaselessly within my mind and body.

As I was just finding some semblance of control a booming voice ricocheted around the small kitchen area, shutting up the incessant voices in an instant.

All heads swiveled to the source. Pierce stood there, his face stern and cold, his arms down by his sides, his chest puffed out. It was an aggressive stance but not threatening. He made an imposing figure. Enough of one to shut my friends up enough so that he could speak.

"You know you all treat Jackson like he's a child," Pierce started, his voice calmer sounding than I had expected considering his expression. "He's not stupid. Far from it. He's a good judge of character as well. He can tell a good person from a bad. He knows I would never hurt him."

"Until you do!" Mick flashed back.

Several grunts of agreement followed his rejoinder.

I tried again to interject and again I was talked right over, this time by Noah. Pierce stood silently watching as one by one my friends made scathing comments and he watched as I tried more than once to get them to listen to me until it became embarrassing and I lowered my head and swiped at my face in dejection.