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“Get your hand off me.” I jerk my shoulder, but he must be hard of hearing because he doesn’t move. All I see is red and without thinking, I grab his wrist and face him, locking his arm behind his back as I cup his throat. “I fucking warned you.” I release him and he falls to the ground. “Get out of my goddamn house!”

“Travis! Stop it!” Viola squeals, but it sounds distant, and I ignore it.

“Fuck you, asshole.” He stands up, adjusting his shirt. “She ain’t worth it.”

“Wrong answer.” Viola Fisher is worth every damn thing. My mind blacks out on me and all I can do is react.

I lunge at him before I can think twice. My fists collide with his face, over and over, until he’s on the floor. He covers his face with both arms, but that doesn’t stop me. The anger is too much and this guy deserves every piece I’m serving him.

“She’s not a fucking piece of meat, you piece of shit!”

Viola locks her hands around my bicep and attempts to pull me back. I barely flinch, but it’s enough to break me out of my trance. I let my guard down and the asshole releases one arm and throws a punch at me. I quickly dodge it, twisting my fingers around his arm and intercepting the blow. I feel him flailing under me as I try to cover another hit he’s aiming at me.

“Ah!” I hear Viola’s scream, paralleled with a hard smack against the wall.

I turn and see her against the bookcase, clutching her right shoulder as she leans her body forward.

“Viola,” I call out, jumping off Andrew and rushing to stand in front of her. “Are you okay? What hurts?” I kneel down and look for any sign of blood.

“No, I’m not okay!” she yells. “While you two idiots were wrestling down there, you knocked me into the fucking bookcase.”

“Don’t blame me. Blame your psychotic boyfriend who tried to pummel my face in,” Andrew hisses.

“Trying would insinuate I didn’t succeed and by the looks of your bloody nose, it appears I have.” I glare at him.

“Fuck off, jackass!” He wipes his face with the back of his hand and walks toward the front door.

“You motherfucker!” Viola screams as the front door slams shut and then he’s gone.

I look back at Viola and see her rubbing the spot on her back. I feel terrible she got put into the middle of all this and ended up hurt.

Fuck, I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I haven’t lost control like that in years.

“Let me see.” I stand up in front of her, and grab one of her hands to spin her around, but she doesn’t budge. “Viola,” I say firmer. “I just want to look at it.” Finally, she corporates, turning around so I can examine the injury.

I slide my hand down her spine and finger the bottom of her shirt. Slowly, I lift it and watch as her entire body shivers. “Lift your arm up so I can pull the shirt up higher.”

She winces as she attempts to raise her arm. “It hurts like a bitch.”

I finally see the area where she hit on the corner of the bookcase. I slowly rub the pad of my thumb over it, feeling how soft and smooth her skin feels against mine. The area is red and a little puffy, but no cuts or bleeding. “Well, that’ll teach you to bring assholes like him back home.” It’s a snarky comment, I know, but we need to talk about the elephant in the room.

“Screw you,” she hisses, putting her arm back down and shifting away from me.

“Excuse me?” I ask, following behind her as she walks toward the kitchen. “You come home at three in the goddamn morning with some fuckface who only wanted to use you for sex and you’re pissed at me?”

She digs around in the cabinet and grabs a bottle of Advil. She slams the door shut, scowling at me. “Maybe I wanted to be used. Did you ever think of that? Maybe, just maybe, I wanted to have a guy want me, even if for a night, even if it was just sex.”

She walks around me and heads to the fridge, where she grabs a bottle of water.

I stand there like an idiot, my jaw locked. I’m seething, certain she has to be testing me.

“Guys do it all the time.” She shrugs casually, twisting the lid off and shaking two capsules out. “Hell, you’re a walking, breathing example. So why can’t I?” She swallows the pills, keeping her eyes locked on mine, daring me to challenge her.

My jaw ticks again, taking a step toward her. “You aren’t like that, Viola,” I tell her sincerely.

“And how would you know?” She steps toward me, closing the gap between us. “You only assume I’m not. Just because I like to read and don’t flaunt my body doesn’t mean I don’t like to have meaningless, one-night stands, too.”