Page 142 of River of Deceit

“Get the fuck out of here,” River snarls.

The guy coughs, then reaches up to adjust his mask. “You think you’re untouchable?” he growls. “You might have the administration wrapped around your fingers, but we know who you are. We know what you do. And none of us give a fuck about your mommies and daddies.”

I stand next to River and get into a defensive stance. “You think this is all because of our parents? Fuck off. I’m going to track you down, asshole, and I’m going to destroy you.”

One of the other masked guys lets out a loud laugh. “Yeah? With what army, Bouchard?”

I look toward the others. Only Asch is still on his feet, with Tate, Brock, Zayden, and the others moaning on the ground and curled up into balls.

Franklin tries to get up, but I put my foot on his shoulder to keep him in place.

“Funny. Next time, we won’t be playing with toy guns,” I snap back.

“Enough!” the masked guy in front of me shouts. “This is a warning to all of you Chaos assholes. If you try any of your usual shit again, we’ll come back, and that paint is going to be real blood.”

He picks up his discarded paint gun and waves for the others to follow him. I notice one of the guys lingering, but another barked command has him following the leader.

I want to chase after them, but my fists are killing me, and I can feel the bruises on my stomach and chest growing.

Fuck.

In the distance, I can hear the distinct sounds of motorcycles starting up.

“Um, Blaze?” Franklin asks. “Can you let me up?”

I glance down, then remove my foot from Franklin’s shoulder. “Sorry.” I extend my arm to him to help him up. “You did good, Franklin.”

He beams at me, then looks toward River. “I helped?”

“You helped,” River confirms, clasping his other shoulder. “But next time, you can be a little less brave.” He glances over at Asch, who’s approaching us with narrowed eyes.

“You okay, Blaze?” Asch asks, glancing between us. He looks a little worse for wear, but his voice is steady as he looks me over. When he’s satisfied, he glances at Franklin and gives him a slight smile. “What about you, Franklin?”

Zayden and the others get up too, grumbling and plopping into the camper chairs around the still blazing firepit.

“I’m good!” Franklin says with excitement. “I helped in a fight! I did my fist like River showed me!” He motions punching, with his thumb properly covered by his fist.

I bite my lip and don’t mention that he’d mostly used the spatula to swat at our attacker.

“I saw.” River grins at him and ruffles his hair. “Well, we’ll have to have more lessons. You should be able to knock their asses into the dirt.”

There’s no universe in which Franklin will be able to knock someone like that big guy onto the ground, and trying could get him seriously injured, but Franklin looks so excited that I can’t really bring myself to say it.

Who’d have thought I’d develop a soft spot for anyone, especially some freshman?

“I’ll help,” Asch says, and River looks at him with narrowed eyes. “What?” Asch shrugs. “We have different styles. Some of what I know might be more suited to him.” Grinning, he adds, “I don’t fight fair.”

Everybody grumbles, until smoke starts billowing from the grill.

“Ah, fuck, the burgers!” Keegan shouts. He hobbles over to the grill and curses. “Fucking burnt to a crisp.”

Franklin walks over to help Keegan, and I drag myself over to the chairs and grab another beer from the cooler. I hold the cold bottle against my cheek and enjoy how it feels against my bruises.

Zayden sits down beside me. “We need to find out who they were.”

“Yeah,” I agree, my eyes still closed. “Tomorrow. Let everybody recover first.”

My phone buzzes, and I pull it out, not sure what to expect.