Page 25 of Soul So Dark

Mason skids to a stop, and so do I. Colson is on top of Bowen, beating him bloody. Colson’s face is smeared with blood and the front of his royal blue shirt is dotted with dark spatter. They’re evenly matched, and as long as he has the upper hand, neither of us are going to lift a finger to stop this.

But a few seconds later, as soon as Bowen rolls on top of Colson, we lunge across the grass and start trying to break it up. By that time, everyone’s heard the commotion and both Josh and Rory come flying off the hill to help us pry Colson and Bowen apart. Scott, Jay, Wells, and Jay’s father soon appear, all descending on whatever poor sap’s grave they’re brawling on top of. And, soon enough, Tate comes barreling down the hill, too.

Colson and Bowen give no sign that they’re done, clawing at each other for a better grip while eight men try to drag them apart. Everyone is yelling, there’s blood everywhere, and finally Mason wedges himself between them enough to loosen their grips.

“What the hell is going on here?” Tate bellows, shooting scornful looks at both Colson and Bowen.

Neither of them responds, only continue to snarl at one another over the bodies holding them back. Then I hear Hildy’s grating voice somewhere among the chaos.

“Are you serious, Colson?” she screeches from behind Tate.

“Why are you even here?” I shout, trying to maintain my death grip around Colson’s waist.

“Because Evie’s my best friend,” she spits, her voice dripping with attitude, “why areyouhere?”

“Because we didn’t murder Evie like your brother did,” Mason growls back from between Colson and Bowen.

At that, Hildy lunges at Mason, but Wells swings his arm out and catches her around the waist. He lifts her up, legs still pumping in the air as she flails to escape his hold. And as soon as Wells lets go of Bowen, he tries to come at Colson again. This only makes Colson do the same, until we’re all pinned against a large headstone trying to keep hold of him.

“Leash your bitch, Rhinehardt!” Mason shouts at Jay.

Jay shoves Bowen out of the way, but before he can close the space, Tate steps in his way and points a finger in his face with a warning look. Right then, a few sets of flashing lights appear at the edge of the parking lot. An ambulance and two Canaan police SUVs park at the edge of the lot, much to Tate’s chagrin. Apparently, someone thought they might need backup.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Tate barks before turning to Jay and his father. “Get them out of here and get Bowen checked out.” Then he turns back to us and motions to Colson. “Gethimback up there and calm him down. And I swear, if anyone else loses their shit, Iwillplace you under arrest.”

Scott, Rory, Josh, and I keep hold of Colson and start guiding him back up the hill. His face is frozen in a scowl, scarlet blood smeared across his face like war paint. He doesn’t take his eyes off Bowen until we reach the top where Dallas is standing with Christy, her hands clasped in front of her mouth as they watch the shit show.

It’s only when we pass the ambulance and continue on to Scott’s truck that I realize none of the blood is Colson’s. There are no lacerations or cuts on him, only welts from the blows Bowen got in.

“Oh my god, Colson. Is he alright?” Christy asks Scott frantically.

“He’s fine,” Scott says with an impressive amount of nonchalance, “you all stay and wrap things up, I’ll take him home.”

Christy doesn’t argue, probably deciding she’d rather tie up the loose ends of her stepdaughter’s funeral rather than deal with her son’s violent outburst in the middle of the cemetery. If Colson’s allowed to leave, it’s a good indication he won’t be arrested.

After piling Colson into the front seat and making sure he doesn’t try to escape to continue the fight, we walk with Christy and Dallas back to the church. Mason and I come to a halt at the sidewalk where Aiden and Sydney are, having also witnessed the chaos. Unsurprisingly, Aiden wasn’t going to take any chances leaving Sydney alone. Besides, he probably hoped that Colson would kill Bowen and take out at least one Rhinehardt while he was at it.

Christy extends her arms to Mason. “Thank you, boys,” she sighs as he leans down to receive her hug. “You’re good friends—to both Colson and Evie.”

I never realized how similar Christy and Dallas actually look, with the same small stature, blue eyes, round faces, and full lips that stretch into wide smiles that reach the corners of their eyes. Not that either of them are smiling now.

Christy turns to me, wrapping me in her embrace. “Colson will be fine,” she nods, “he’ll be fine.” The way she says it makes it sound like she’s trying to convince herself more than us.

“We’ll keep an eye on him,” I reassure her as she gives me a final squeeze.

“I know you will,” she smiles, “especially you.” Then she casts Mason and Aiden a sideways glance. “And you two—don’t get him in any more trouble.”

“Christy,” Aiden scoffs, “I resent that, especially from you.”

That’s rich,I smile to myself. I can’t decide whether Colson’s mom is that naïve or just in denial; she has to know that half the shit we get into is Colson’s fault. All the same, no one is going to correct her, even Aiden who would normally bristle at anyone attempting to hug him. But he lets Christy, and for a split second, I think he might be hugging her back.

“Oh, Aiden, you shouldn’t lie,” she sighs, “especially in the parking lot of a church.”

Then she pivots to Sydney in the midst of our snickering. “I don’t know what to say, ifyoucan’t be a good influence on him, then all hope is lost.”

A pained look crosses Sydney’s face as she hugs Christy. But as soon as she lets go, it’s replaced with her usual warm smile. Standing a few feet back, Dallas briefly catches my eye, which seems to break her out of her listless stare. But, just like in school, she immediately drops her head and looks away until she can follow her mom back to the church.

“Well, now that the excitement’s over,” Aiden squints, gazing off into the distance, “let’s get the fuck out of here.”