Page 79

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Chucky snarled as he leaned around Dash to see me. Dash moved, trying to block his view of me. “But you sure as hell have. You and that other guy lied to me. You said you were coming back to school and you never did. I told you that I need to see you and that something happens to me when I go a long time without being around you. I can’t help myself. How do you not care about that? How could you do this to me? All I want is to be around you. What’s so wrong with that?”

Everything was wrong with that. Absolutely everything. I didn’t care what Quinton said about there not being an antidote to his love potion. I would talk to all of them and they were going to come up with something because this was so out of control it wasn’t even funny. I couldn’t handle having Chucky show up where ever I was at. I couldn’t handle having him stalk me like that. It wasn’t just creepy, it was just a touch on the scary side. And I really didn’t need anything creepy and scary in my life at the moment, or ever for that matter.

Dash took a step back, trying to shield me from Chucky’s view. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t want the other man to see me, but he kept shifting around to hide me from him.

“Get it the house and close the door, Ariel,” Dash ordered. “Lock it. Quinton should be here any minute now and we’ll take care of this. I don’t want you out here with this guy, though. Get inside. Now.”

I hesitated, not wanting to leave Dash out here all alone with an angry Chucky.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Chucky screamed in Dash’s face. “What, are you fucking her too now?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked in a shocked voice.

Chucky’s head swiveled to the side and he glared at me with hostile eyes. I flinched at the rage I saw burning in his eyes. I didn’t deserve this kind of treatment from him.

“You need to leave,” I told him. I was proud of myself because my voice came out strong, confident.

“Ariel,” Dash snapped. “Get your ass in the house. Right now.”

“First you’re hooking up with Tyson. Then, that other guy who said he was Tyson’s Uncle. And now you’re with this ginger fuck. People were right about you, you are dirty girl, like your gold digging whore of a mother.”

Apparently, Dash had had more than enough of Chucky’s mouth and he was over the whole situation because one second he was standing guard in front of me and the next second he put his hands on Chucky’s chest and gave a mighty shove. Chucky stumbled back but didn’t go down and Dash moved right back into him.

I let out a relieved sigh when I spotted Quinton’s black car speeding down the dirt driveway.

“What?” Dash grunted.

I quickly looked away from Quinton’s car and back to Dash. His voice scared me because he sounded both surprised and in pain.

My breath caught in my throat and my entire body froze for a second because I rushed forward.

Dash’s hands were pressed to his stomach red covered his hands. He was bleeding. Why was he bleeding.

Silver flashed in the sunlight as Chucky moved closer to Dash, plunging a silver knife into Dash’s stomach.

“No,” I screamed as I ran towards them.

I made it to Dash’s side as his legs gave out and his knees buckled.

I grabbed ahold of his arm as his knees hit the stone pathway.

“Dash,” I cried.

His face was pinched in pain and his eyes were closed tight. I looked down and what I saw made my entire body start to shake and a sob leave my throat. Blood. There was so much blood seeping out of him.

“Ariel,” Quinton screamed, and I heard the sound of running feet but I didn’t look away from Dash.

Quinton was here. My light in the dark. Everything was going to be okay.

My head was jerked to the side as pain exploded in my face and my cheek felt like it had been ripped open.

My feet came out from underneath me and I crashed into Dash, taking us both down to the stone pathway. I landed hard on my side and Dash hit his back. My cheek burned, and I didn’t care. I only had eyes for Dash and all the blood coming out of him. I hovered over him in shock as wetness ran down my face, blood and tears. I sat beside him in silence as Quinton pressed something into my face and I didn’t even flinch. I didn’t feel anything anymore, I was numb inside. I sat there in numb silence and watched his chest rise and fall until the paramedics showed up and they took him away from me. After that, I blacked out.

Chapter Thirty-One

Quinton Alexander

I stared down at my hands in my lap and willed them to stop shaking. It didn’t work, and I hadn’t really expected it to.