Page 24

Hollis knew it had been a mistake to come back outside the instant they opened the door.

Jorge had clearly spent the time they took to get unpacked getting worked up. He pushed away from his friends and charged up the porch.

“So you’re staying with him?!” he shouted.

“Dude, calm down,” James interjected, to Hollis’s surprise. Their eyes met, and James looked away quickly, but he didn’t back down. “It’s not that serious, Jorge.”

Timothy Reid, James’s best friend, also looked very concerned. Tim was tough, and played soccer just a bit better than Jorge did. Hollis knew the taste of his fist just as much as he did James’s. Tim ignored Hollis completely.

Jorge pushed Hollis hard. He banged against the door behind them, painfully. “What’s he got that I don’t got?!”

“Leave him alone, Jorge!” Annie cried.

Hollis’s face still throbbed from James’s blows from less than a week earlier, so, quite frankly, he was in shock. He caught James’s eye, and for the first time ever James looked helpless. Like he wanted to say something to Hollis but couldn’t.

“I’m just sick of this, man. Tired of being disrespected,” Jorge was ranting.

Idiot.

“No one’s disrespecting you,” Hollis snapped. “But it doesn’t look like anyone respects you either, to be honest.”

“Hollis, shut up,” Annie hissed. “Jorge, Hollis is just a friend. Me staying in a room with him is none of your business. We’re not dating anymore.”

Jorge twisted and pushed Annie too. “How could you say that in front of my boys, man?”

“Hey!” Timothy yelled. “Don’t touch her! You can’t hit girls!”

Jorge’s face went frighteningly blank. Then without another word, he turned away from Annie and slugged Hollis in the stomach hard .

Hollis dropped to his knees and heaved. He rested his forehead on the ground. This wasn’t anything like the fights he picked himself. There was no adrenaline to save him. There was no joy in this violence, just pain and humiliation.

“No! Fucking stop!” Timothy yelled, and Annie screamed.

Hollis could hear the sound of a struggle, then a large hand clamped around his arm and yanked him off the ground.

“Go,” James said, thrusting him toward Annie.

“What—?”

It was strange to see James like this. Like he was scared for him, face pinched and upset.

“Get her out of here, Hollis!” he said, pushing Hollis’s shoulder hard, knocking him out of the shock of it all.

Annie grabbed his hand and dragged him off the porch and out into the night. They fled down the street until the light from the fire faded and everything was winter blue.

Annie stopped. She leaned against a rusted streetlight, panting hard to catch her breath.

“What... is Jorge’s fucking problem?” Hollis gasped. “Did he just hit you?”

“No, he was about to stomp on your head,” Annie said. “Tim pushed him before he could, and they started fighting.”

Hollis laughed; he couldn’t help it. What a miracle. He felt around his stomach for tender spots. It was a solid blow, but nothing seemed to be damaged.

“Definitely didn’t think James Miller and Timothy Reid would come to our rescue. Feels like some sort of miracle.” Hollis rubbed his new bruise and looked up at the stars. “You remember when Tim broke my nose freshman year?”

Annie shrugged. “Who knows why people do what they do.”

“Ugh, whatever. We can’t let Jorge ruin our night. Come on, we’re near the pond. You’ll like it there.”