In the middle

Chapter 15

'So anyway are you going?'
'I don't know! Aren't we still on bad terms?' I asked Hannah. She was begging me to go to a party Karlos Milkavitch was throwing.
'It'll be fine!' She insisted.
'Hannah! I called him gay and said he was a loser.'
'Plus you called him retarded.'
'You still can't say that!' I replied. She gave me a slump look.
'There is going to be like a hundred people there. Maybe more, plus it'll be dark. We might not even see him.'
It was held on a private beach that Karlos's family owned.
'Please!' Hannah begged. Maybe a party would be good, it would help take some things off my mind.

I was sitting in my car with Hannah. Her hair glossed over her shoulders, she was wearing a denim skirt and a blue mid-drift with waves at the end. I envied how beautiful she was.
I was wearing black shorts and a green mid-drift. Hannah had forced me to wear the shirt, told me to relax more.
There was a bonfire going off on the sand. Beach chairs spread out everywhere. Some kids were already making out. There were four large speakers that blasted music into the night, it was actually quiet loud.

There was a guy filling up cup after cup of beer. 'Come on! Let's get a drink.' Hannah pulled me through the sand to the keg.
'Hey, I'll take two.' Hannah said cheerful. The boy handed us two cups but before we could walk off Karlos and two others blocked our path.
'What are you doing here? Thought you said my parties sucked.' Karlos spoke.
'Drop it Karlos. We're here to have a good time, plus apparently you two got even.' Hannah defended.
Karlos looked from Hannah to I.
'So we did.' He smirked.
'Where's your girlfriend tonight Zoie?' He questioned.
'I don't know who you're referring to.' I answered. We stood still, our eyes locked.

'You two have fun.' He walked off, his pals in tail.
'Well you were right, he is a douche bag.' Hannah whispered.

I had had maybe five or six drinks. The first few were to help cope with Karlos' stare from across the fire. A black haired Freshman sat on his lap.
He had a vicious smirk on his lips. Hannah was beside me making out with some guy called Chad. I clicked my phone open and scrolled through messages and then Facebook. Looking for something to distract me.
I saw an old photo of Taylor, Hannah and I. We were at the movies wearing cute outfits and having a good time. I don't even remember who took the photo.

I glanced up and across the fire Karlos was gone. A few feet to the left was Gabriel, he was with his two friends. Taylor wasn't with him, neither was Julian. He caught my eyes but I looked away.
I need some air.
'I'll be back.' I told Hannah though I don't think she heard me. Her tongue was too far down Chads throat.

I walked along the beach, the air bit at my skin but it was weirdly comforting.

'I said get off, you ass.' I looked to my right, in the darkness beside a storage shack were two kids messing around. 'STOP!' The girl called. I rushed over without thinking.

'What are you doing? KARLOS!' I yelled.
I pulled him off of her and he fell back into the sand.
'Are you okay?' I asked. The girl was much smaller than him, her face pale and tear streaked. 'Get out of here.' I warned her.
She took off down the beach towards the fire.
'You're a real scumbag.' I spat. I turned to leave but I felt a hand at my ankle.

Soon I was going down, face full of sand. I quickly spun around and smashed my fist into a long, bony face.
'What the fuck is wrong with you?!' Karlos yelled, flicking his wavy brown hair out of his eyes.
We both scrambled to our feet. I saw Karlos pull back and I swerved just avoiding a punch to the face. I kneed him in the balls and punched him again in the face. Then we were properly fighting.

'You just can't seem to mind your own! Can you?' He cursed.
'You just can't seem to not be a fucking ass hat.' I chastised.
In a sudden blur of darkness his fist went right into my throat, I started choking. I fell onto my knees.

'I believe girls and boys should be able to fight equally, none of that don't hit girls shit!' Karlos yelled. He kicked me into the stomach and went to do it again when someone tackled him. My throat was still so sore, for a moment I had forgotten how to breathe.
I looked up, tears blurring my view.
Gabriel was on top of Karlos pounding him viciously into the face.
I just stood there, not sure what to do. Gabriel was pushed onto his back as Karlos fought. I ran over and kicked Karlos in the stomach. He fell to the side, he was about to take another swing.
'Stop! Just stop!' I cried out. Gabriel laid back in the sand, blood on his face. Karlos looked just as bad. Knowing I had done some of that filled me with pride.

'Stop!' I called again, even though no one was moving.

'Leave!' Karlos commanded. I pulled Gabriel to his feet. Suddenly, his two best friends appeared. 'What's going on?' One spoke. I knew him as Bailey, he had moved here a few months before Taylor.
'All of you fuck off, NOW! Before I call the cops.' He threatened.
'Should I tell them you assaulted someone?' I fumed. 'What? Are you...'
'It wasn't me, some freshman.' I corrected.
'Leave!' Karlos repeated.

I stormed off towards my car. Did I not say coming to this party would be a bad idea? I'm pretty sure I said it would be! I argued to myself.

Gabriel staggered past me. I pulled him back by the shirt.
'I didn't need your help.'
'Clearly!'
'What did you do that for? I asked.
'Couldn't just let you get beat up, Julian would have kicked my ass.' He spoke.
'What?!' How did this have anything to do with Julian.
'If you didn't notice I was the one winning.' I barked.
'Sorry, I guess I didn't notice.' He said. He roughly pushed past and walked off with his mates.

When I got to my car Hannah was there. 'Hey! I didn't know where you went, wanted to make sure you hadn't ditched. What happened to your face?'
'Nothing, I'm fine.'
'No you're not, you're bleeding.' I looked into the side mirror. Blood streaked my forehead and right cheek. It must have happened when I face planted into the ground.
Come on! I'll drive home.' Hannah said. She pushed me into the car.

I was at Hannah's house. If I went home like this mum would have a fit. I was sitting in the main bathroom on the edge of the tub. She was wiping blood, sand and dirt off me.
'Did that fight have anything to do with Julian?' Hannah asked.
'No! I saw him assaulting a girl.' I informed. She just nodded.
'Lucky you found her then.'
I stared back at Hannah. 'What are you doing?!'
'I don't know, what are you doing?' She stopped and leaned against the sink.
'You can fight your feelings out all you want but it won't make them any less there.' She was right, maybe I was just mad at Julian. I wasn't sure how to fix it and despite Ezekiel's warning to back off, I wanted to fix it.
That fight was less about the girl and more about me. I wanted to hit something.

I looked down at my bruised knuckles. When I was younger Harry taught me how to fight. Said I'd probably need it. Harry was ten years older than me. He'd probably be like 26 now. I missed him.
He was a good brother, always looked out for me when dad was in a mood.

A little knock sounded at the door.
'What?' Hannah barked. 'Hurry up, I need to pee!' It was Hannah's little sister.
'Me too!' Hannah's younger brother chimed in.
'Jesus, we won't be too much longer.' She rolled her eyes but kept them waiting outside.

I looked at the pile of bloody tissues in the bin.
'You should talk to him!' Hannah said.
'What am I meant to say?' I pleaded.
'Anything!'

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Hey everyone, how annoying is Karlos? Every story needs a bad guy or two.

If you like how the story's going please rate and leave a comment, it's much appreciated.

Thanks,
D.