Page 99 of Here With Me

“You wanna fight with the big boys, huh?” Wilder taunts, rolling up his sleeves.

“Wilder, knock it off!” I step around him to face Jase. “Walk away. Before you give my brothers a reason to hit you.Now.”

Instead of heeding my warning, he slams me back into Wilder, making me bounce off his chest.

“You're fuckin' dead!” Landen takes the first swing, sending Jase to the ground.

“No, stop it!” I shout, but it's too late.

Tripp kicks Jase's knee when he tries to stand.

Wilder throws an uppercut to his face, and Jase stumbles backward. Blood gushes from his nose, but it still isn't enough to stop him.

“Fuckin' sissy,” Jase spits.

Waylon fists his shirt and headbutts him.

Fisher tries pulling them off as I scream for them to stop. Magnolia does her best to intervene, but when my brothers get to this level of anger, they are unstoppable.

In the middle of Fisher trying to protect Jase, Landen throws a punch and hits Fisher in the nose instead.

“Oh my God, stop it! You're gonna kill him!” I yank their shirts from behind, hoping to snap them out of their rage.

It's not until blasting cold water sprays full speed at everyone do they scramble like a bunch of birds.

“The fuck?” Wilder snaps, wiping water off his face.

My dad rushes behind Magnolia, taking the hose from her and turning off the nozzle. “Get on, boys.Now.”

My brothers mutter curse words as they scatter. I kneel next to Jase as he holds his hands to his face, blood running down his wrists and arms. “Jesus. Are you okay?”

Fisher comes beside him, an expression I've never seen on his face before. His nose is bloody, too. I wish I could reach out and make sure he's okay.

“You need to go to the hospital. I'll take you,” Fisher tells him.

“Fuck you.” Jase spits more blood, leaning to his side as he tries to lift himself.

“Jase!” I scold since Fisher has done nothing to warrant his attitude. He should be thanking him for trying to stop my brothers. “Stop bein' an asshole and get checked out.”

My dad approaches, lifting Jase by his shirt as if he weighs nothing. Jase groans in pain.

“You're comin' with me.” Then he looks at Fisher. “Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt him. Gramma Grace will get him cleaned up, and then we're gonna have a chat about touchin' my daughter.”

Fisher looks lost, unsure if he should step in or let Jase deal with his own consequences.

“Dad, please don't be rough.”

“He already got his punishment, but now he's gonna get a man-to-man talkin'-to,” he says in a deep, rugged voice and gives Jase a little shake.

Looking defeated, Fisher nods as if he's giving him permission.

I see the regret written over his expression as if he knows he should have been the one to raise him properly. Jase has a history of running his mouth and acting overconfident, but he's never lashed out this badly. I could always talk him down to be reasonable, but this time, it was like he wanted to give them a reason to hurt him. I can't figure out why he'd want that, but we'll discuss it later.

Turning to Magnolia, she looks between Fisher and me.

I wrap my arms around her. “Thanks.”

“Not the first time I've had to hose your brothers. Won't be the last.”