Still, I want him to bleed, but not for rational reasons.
I want it because I know Southside isn’t out of his reach right now, like she’s out of mine. I want it because I know he’s fucked her before. I want it because showing up here today is gonna make him look like a damn hero to her, and me the villain.
Again.
It’s cold enough to see our breath in the wind, but I’m burning up, ready to explode. His eyes narrow and I know he sees he hasn’t talked me down, hasn’t scared the fight out of me. If anything, he’s lit a whole new fire, given me an option for letting off some steam.
He steps up again and we lock eyes, his anger matching mine. Tension in my jaw has me gritting my teeth, ready to fire off despite still being on school grounds, despite Coach’s warning.
“You got something else you wanna say Golden? ‘Cause I’d love to hear it,” Ricky adds, taunting me.
“Nope, but just know; if I ever run up on you in your hood, it’ll be to do more than deliver a fucking speech,” I say through gritted teeth.
My words draw a humorless laugh from him. “I hear you,” he says, nodding his head.
He takes a few steps away, but I keep my eyes trained on him. I can spot a loose cannon from a mile away and he definitely fits the bill. But still, even watching him like a hawk, I miss my chance to duck when he comes at me with a quick right-hook. I counter the blow before the stinging in my lip even starts, slamming my fist into the side of his face with the same fury. He doesn’t even stumble, instead cocking back a second time as I’m recovering from the swing. He connects again and the taste of blood isn’t as easy to ignore this time, but adrenaline has me numb.
We exchange blows, one after the other. He’s quick and he’s got one hell of a nasty jab, but speed means nothing if your feet aren’t planted firmly.
I manage to put just enough space between us to tackle him, grappling with him a few seconds before taking him down to the cold, stiff grass. I thought I’d pin him easy, but not even close. What he lacks in footing he more than makes up for in strength. By the time I finally draw my fist, I’m yanked back. Dane positions himself in front of me, creating a barrier between me and Ricky, who’s back on his feet freakishly fast.
“Take your fucking hands off me!” My rage isn’t focused anymore. Instead, it’s spewing from me like a geyser.
“And let you piss away what’s left of your reputation? Not happening,” Sterling answers with strained words, tightening the bearhug he’s holding me in.
Dane’s got eyes on Ricky when he asks, “We good here?”
“Fuck you,” Ricky snaps, swiping a trickle of blood from his lip. “We won’t be ‘good here’ until your bitch-ass brother pays for that shit he pulled.”
Dane manages to keep his cool, but even he has his limits. Seeing his breathing deepen as he stands before me, I know those limits are being tested.
“Walk away now and we can pretend this never happened.” He glances back, assessing my face before doing the same to Ricky. “Looks like you both whooped on each other pretty good, so I’d say that’s fair.”
“Is it fair that a little girl got jumped so bad she had to hide in a bathroom today? All because your brother thought it’d be funny to post that fucking video?” A bright red streak flies from his mouth when he spits blood into the grass.
I’m only confused for a second about what he just said, because my next thought is of that frantic call Southside got during lunch. The one that accounted for her rushing off to Scarlett’s rescue.
Damn…
All the fight is suddenly drained out of me, hearing yet another layer of damage I’ve caused. I only officially met the kid once, but she kind of grew on me. Partly because I’m fascinated with the dynamic between her and Southside.
“Who jumped her?”
“Does it matter?” Ricky snaps, swiping the keys to his bike from where they landed in the grass while we went at it. “Point is, that shit’s on you, dickhead.”
I don’t disagree with him. Not at all, but I do need to know more. Seeing as how I’ll never get a word of this out of Southside.
“I’m trying to fix it,” I admit, knowing the words could make me look weak in this moment. The rush of testosterone still surging through me after the fight keeps the hard edges of my voice intact, but I’m not even interested in rushing him again. Sterling doesn’t seem to be buying it, though, seeing as how he still has me in a death grip.
Ricky meets my gaze and I feel the same measure of hatred I got from Southside earlier, which is saying a whole fucking lot. It also leans into my theory that whatever he felt for her in the past is far from over.
“You’re trying to fix it,” he mostly says to himself, glancing down at the ground as he turns to walk away. “Don’t bother, man. I’ll look after Blue, like I always do.”
I bite my lip where it aches to hide how much I hate that shit, the idea of him being anywhere near her.
“Just go back to Daddy’s palace and swim in your pool of gold coins or whatever the hell you do all day,” he adds. “Last thing anyone in the Riley family needs is another Golden with his damn hands around their throat.”
There’s a sudden heaviness in my gut when he says that. Like a stone suddenly fell to the bottom of it.
“Wait. What’d you just say? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The distance between him and us grows and he’s taking whatever info he has with him.
Sterling’s grip tightens again but it only makes me struggle against him harder. He doesn’t understand what’s fueling the sudden resurgence of strength and there’s no time to explain. Getting to Ricky has nothing to do with wanting to kick his ass. I need to know what he knows.
Because he definitely knows something.
“Let me go! I’m cool! I just—”
Shouting this only makes me seem even more unstable, so Dane turns to help when Sterling starts to lose his grasp. By the time I do finally get free, it’s too late. There’s no point running after Ricky now because he’s got his helmet on and his bike’s roaring out of the parking lot.
“Damn it!” I kick my bag a few feet and glance in the direction where my only chance at answers disappears.
That statement meant something. More than Ricky let on, and I know he’s the key to me understanding just what the hell is going on around here.
Does he know about the connection between my dad and Southside?
Or … is there something more?
Something I hadn’t even considered before now?
One thing’s for damn sure, my chances of figuring it out just rode off on a motorcycle, and odds are I won’t find him again until he wants to be found.
Just fucking perfect.
@QweenPandora: Whoa! Did anyone catch that fight? I won’t name names, because SOME of us have ourselves deep enough in hot water as it is, thanks to my last exposé.
#SorryNotSorry
But let’s just say two run-ins in one day, both with guys connected to the object of his obsession, makes a certain King look a little unstable, folks.
Could he be spiraling?
In regret? Jealousy? Or is it both?