Come to Me Softly (Closer to You #2)(76)
Author: A.L. Jackson

This was the ass**le who was stupid enough to think he was supposed to be for my girl.

The one who wanted to take.

He shoved me back. “Fuck you. You think I give a shit what you think? What you say? You’re nothing but garbage. Look at you, you f**king freak. I have no clue what she sees in you.”

Blackness pressed into my sight. A frenzy of madness lit.

Somewhere in the murk, I heard Christopher’s low voice, “Oh, shit, this is not gonna be good,” in the same second I lunged forward.

“Jared, don’t!” Aly screamed. Her voice pierced through the hatred clouding my mind, and I forced myself to stop. Shaking with rage, I looked back at her pleading at me with her eyes.

I took a step back. And as I turned aside, I felt his fist connect with my face.

Pain split my consciousness.

Stunned, I stumbled. I touched my mouth and pulled back my fingers. Blood coated the tips.

Motherfucker.

Dickhead just sucker-punched me.

He swung another fist that connected under my jaw. My head rocked back.

Fury exploded with the splintering pain.

And God, I so desperately wanted to hold on to sanity. To the light that Aly had injected into my life. To listen to her pleas.

But I felt it all slipping away.

The dark rose up, glowered from the depths, and took over my senses.

All that f**king agitation that had built up for months raced through every inch of my being. The muscles in my back and arms flexed and jumped, spurring me on. My hands fisted as they gave in and sought out the flesh.

Because this f**ker was trying to take my girl. He wanted to take from me the one good thing I’d ever been given.

And there was no chance I was giving her up without a fight.

The crunch that landed on his jaw resonated all the way to my bones.

A second to his cheek.

Skin split and poured blood.

And I knew, knew I didn’t deserve her. Because I couldn’t stop. I just pounded into him, landing blow after blow, feeling this sickening satisfaction take me over as I gave in to the darkness I’d been fighting every single day since I came back into Aly’s life. “Stay away from my girl. Do you understand me? She is mine . . . she’s always going to be mine.”

A fist landed on my temple. But this blow was delivered by another hand.

Sam.

It nearly knocked me cold. Still I clung to consciousness, not about to give up this fight.

Sam rammed a sharp fist into my ribs. Breath gushed from my lungs.

Christopher’s face flashed as he descended in a blur of color, blinded with a fury of his own.

It took about five seconds until the four of us were a pile of limbs and fists and pathetic anger brawling in the dirt.

And I could hear Aly screaming, begging no. But I couldn’t stop. I had to beat all this aggression out of me, to take it out on the one person who’d been stupid enough to f**k with me.

Frantic hands tried to restrain us. Voices lifted.

Only Megan’s horrified voice was enough to get through. “Aly, oh my God, Aly.”

Aly.

I fought to get to my feet while a shot of dizziness attempted to knock me back down. I blinked, trying to make sense of the scene. A couple of Christopher’s friends restrained Gabe and Sam, hauling them back toward the house, and Christopher scrambled to his feet. Blood trickled from a gash on the side of his head, his green eyes just as wild as mine.

Everyone had backed away, making a wide circle. All except for Megan, who was on her knees in front of the fire.

Crying.

Fucking crying over Aly, who was curled up in a ball on the ground next to the fire. She had her hands on her stomach and her knees curled up. Protecting herself.

My heart seized before it took off at a sprint. “Oh my God, Aly, baby . . . baby, are you okay?”

I rushed forward.

Megan’s arm flew out to stop me, and she whipped her head around to look at me. Tears streaked down her terrified face, and she shrieked, “Stay away from her. You’re f**king insane.”

Dread knotted my stomach. I stumbled back.

Christopher tried to approach, and she lashed out again. “All of you. Just stay away from her.”

My eyes fixed on Aly. Megan helped her sit up.

“Are you okay?” Megan whimpered, touching her face, her stomach, her arm. “Tell me where you’re hurt.”

Aly winced. “It’s just my arm.”

Megan pulled it away from her body.

Redness flashed up the underside of her wrist.

Burned.

I clutched my hair. “Aly,” I whispered.

She looked up at me with tormented green eyes.

Somewhere in my consciousness, I heard Sam’s urgent voice, talking to the piece of shit who was trying to tear apart my family. “Come on, man, let’s get the f**k out of here. Told you this shit wasn’t worth it.”

Gabe glared at me. He spit a glob of blood from his bleeding mouth, his jaw clenched as he knocked into me as he limped toward the back of the yard. The ass**le was stupid enough to ask for another round.

I didn’t even f**king care.

The only thing I cared about was her.

I’d thought maybe . . . maybe I could change. That I could shove it all down. Hide from it.

But it always just came looking for me.

Didn’t matter what I did, I ended up on destruction’s path.

I always ruined the good.

Livid blue eyes flashed as Megan sneered in their direction. “I don’t ever want to see you again, Sam. You or Gabe. I’m not joking. This was it. I can’t believe you used my birthday as an excuse to come here and cause trouble.”

She turned back to Aly, murmuring soft words as Gabe and Sam jumped the back wall.

“Get him out of here, Christopher,” Megan demanded with her back to me, though it was completely clear who she was talking about.

Christopher hesitated, before he tugged at my arm. “Come on man, let’s get you cleaned up.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Just go,” Aly forced over the sob in her throat.

“Aly . . .”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please, just . . . give me a few minutes. I’m fine. I promise.”

But I knew she wasn’t fine.

I let Christopher lead me into the house and push me into the guest bathroom. He locked the door behind us.

I paced the small space, ripping at my hair.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What did I do?

“Hey man, calm the f**k down. That wasn’t your fault out there. That piece of shit backed you into a wall. He deserved to get his ass kicked. Everyone saw what he did. Everyone knows.”