Chapter 28

brOOKE

Iplanned this night out for Harper, but sitting here with the six of us is awkward as fuck. For one, the six of us should include Nate, and it's clear to all of us that this is the first time we've all hung out since the beach house. It's a little bittersweet, and you can tell we're all thinking of him. My heart hurts so damn much because he should be here.

Secondly the tension on this table is so evident it can be cut with a knife. Chase takes every moment he can to dig at Kyle. Harper and Asher haven't seen each other since the funeral. Kyle keeps making strange comments, and Asher is clearly fucking fuming.

"So, Harper, what are you gonna sing?" She's always the first one up. I watch her down the shot, uncomfortable but clearly grateful for the save I've just provided of having this silence as Asher and Kyle stare daggers at each other.

"I'm not sure, to be honest, I can't decide what I'm feeling."

Kyle throws his arm around her. "Whatever you choose is going to be perfect, baby." He leans in, kissing her, and is it just me, or does it feel a little too much? It's like he's being territorial, and I mean, I have that with Chase all the time, but I think Kyle is doing it to piss Asher off rather than it being about Harper.

She giggles as she pulls away, but then I see for a split second her eyes flit to Asher before going back to Kyle.

Why did I think this was going to be a good idea?

"So, other than Chase, none of you brought your girlfriends?" Kyle asks.

Jax laughs. "I'm not seeing anyone right now, I prefer no strings attached, less drama that way."

Asher laughs. "Yeah yeah, it's because you haven't found a girl that can put up with you for more than one night." He cracks a smile, and it's the first one I've seen from him all night.

"Hey, you can talk," Jax responds, punching him in the shoulder. Chase shakes his head, amused.

"Didn't I see you making out with some girl at that party last week?" he says to Asher.

Asher clears his throat. "No, not me."

"Yeah yeah, that girl, uh, what's her name, Charlotte? Cindy? Crystal?"

"Nope."

"Probably. He just can't remember he was pretty high that night, but that's what Asher does, gets high and fucks sluts."

The table goes quiet.

"Harper…" Asher says quietly.

"Oh please, you know it's true. Commitment isn't your thing, right? You prefer not remembering who you fucked so you can move on so quickly to the next girl."

"Wait, did you two…" Kyle asks.

"No," Both Asher and Harper speak at once.

"I'm getting a drink," she says, standing up. "Anyone want one?"

I wave my drink in the air, still full from earlier. Truthfully, I've barely drank. I feel like I need to be sober in case something happens tonight.

"Not gonna help her?" Jax asks Kyle.

"Nah, she's fine."

"Excuse me," Asher says, and I watch him walk over to the bar to order another drink. He places his hand on Harper's arm, and I feel like I shouldn't watch them, so I look away.

"So uh, Kyle, you gonna get up and sing?"

He laughs, shaking his head. "I'm not really a singer. My talents are all on the field."

"Yeah, I saw you play last season; you're really good."

"Not good enough to take Nate's spot, though."

"Well, that's because Nate is a beast on the field."

The table fills silent. "I mean…was…he was a beast on the field."

Chase caresses my hand slowly that he's holding on the table.

"Yeah, he was."

"We're holding a memorial for him when we get back. Our first game, during the half time. We have some stuff planned, me and the guys. It's gonna be weird without him, you know? He was our leader."

I nod, trying to blink the tears away.

His absence weighs heavily on all of us, "I uh…there's actually a song I was thinking of singing tonight for him. This used to be our thing you know? Me, Harps, and Nate. We used to come here a lot."

"I think that would be really nice baby." He kisses my forehead and I submit the request on the miniature device on the table in front of us. I look over at Asher and Harper, clearly arguing over at the bar, before I see her grab her drink and storm back over to us. She picks the device up, looking for a song choice and submits it. Oh shit. Fuck. See, the thing about Harper is she loves to sing, but the way she works out her emotions is to sing it out, and that song is gonna cause trouble.

She leans into Kyle, kissing his cheek. They speak amongst themselves before I hear my name get called out. I exhale deeply before standing up. Chase squeezes my hand, "You got this, baby."

I nod, letting go of his hand before walking over to the stage.

I stand behind the microphone before clearing my throat and talking.

"So, um. This is dedicated to a friend who passed away this summer. Some of you knew our quarterback, Nate Anderson."

So many people raise their glasses, the college banner clear at the bar. That's the thing about small towns; they follow college and high school football, and he was a bit of a legend around here.

"He was taken from us a few weeks ago, and I miss him so much. So, this is for him."

The music starts as Liv Harland's lyrics start showing on the screen beside me, and I start singing.

"Tell me what does it look like in heaven?"

This song I always thought was beautiful but there's something about it now that gives me hope that Nate is at peace.

I look up and see Chase looking at me, and even though I can feel myself breaking, I feel his strength from here, giving it to me in this moment as I manage to continue through the rest of the song.

Everyone claps when I'm finished.

"I hope you'll all join me in a toast to our quarterback."

Everyone raises a glass.

"To Nate."

Everyone shouts the same thing, and I knock back my drink in one. I glance over and see Chase and Asher quietly talking amongst themselves. Fucking assholes.

"Thanks, everyone."

I climb down the stairs from the stage over to the table.

"That was beautiful, baby," Chase says, trying to kiss me as he stands up.

"Just don't." I'm so angry he couldn't even join in raising his fucking glass to his brother.

"Baby, what?"

"Don't baby me. You didn't even toast with everyone."

"That's my fault," Asher says, and I just glare at him.

Well, fuck me. As if this night wasn't bad enough, they have to be so disrespectful.

I shuffle into the booth, leaning away from Chase, not wanting him to touch me right now. Jax gets up awkwardly, announcing he's going to buy another round of drinks for all of us.

"That was really beautiful, Brooke. I think Nate would have loved that." Harper reaches out from next to me, squeezing my hand. "I miss him every day." Her eyes well up, and I squeeze her hand back.

"Me too." Chase and Asher just look at each other rather blankly; meanwhile, Kyle shuffles in his seat awkwardly at mine and Harper's emotional outburst.

Jax comes back, placing everyone's drinks on the table. "So, I think I know what I'm singing."

I look up, meeting his eyes. "Oh yeah?" I ask, curious as to what he's going to sing.

"Yep, I'm gonna sing ‘Baby Got Back'." The table erupts into a mix of laughter and groans.

Asher starts in, "Jax, you can't sing that. Seriously, it's not really a song to sing anymore."

"What, why? I thought everyone would sing along."

"It's not really respectful to girls."

Harper glares at Asher. "Oh, you suddenly care about respect? Wow, when did that happen? Before or after you made out with some slut at the party last week because it definitely didn't happen at the beach."

"Harper, we've talked about this. Can we not do this here?"

Kyle pipes up out of nowhere, "Hey, if my girl has something to say, you're gonna let her speak."

If this was any other situation, I would think that's cute.

"Stop calling her your girl, she's not your fucking girl." Asher stands up, leaning over the booth. Which only makes Kyle stand up in response.

"Well, she ain't fucking yours, so you better back the fuck down."

"Guys, stop." I stand up, trying to put my arms out. The other guys fucking useless sitting there watching the show.

Suddenly Harper's name is called, and I know shit is about to get worse.

They both sit down in their seats, and I brace for the music when it starts. Kylie Muse blares through the speakers around the bar, and I hold my breath.

Harper leans close to the microphone, her hands around the stand as the first words fall from her lips with a seething attitude as her eyes lock on Asher's.

"I guess I misread the signs.

"I guess that you were never mine.

"And no, we never made it to officially dating.

"But you still fucked up my life."

I see him tense in his seat as it dawns on him.

"You would push, I would pull.

"We were scared it wouldn't work.

"So, we never gave us a try."

Chase looks at me, and I just look back aimlessly, knowing there's nothing I can do.

"To the boy who was never really mine.

"Why'd you have to go and waste all my time.

"Knowing you would leave me alone.

"Crying on the bathroom floor."

Jax clears his throat awkwardly, picking up his beer and chugging it.

"To the boy who was never really mine.

"Why'd you have to go and mess with my mind.

"Got me questioning if it was all just lies.

"Don't you ever get real fucking tired of lying."

Harper's attitude oozes from her with every word as she sings directly to Asher.

"Like a stupid little bitch."

Asher's blood boils with every word that falls from her lips, and by the time the last line is sung, I can see he's ready to explode. Asher jumps up as Harper leaves the stage to applause, meeting her halfway and grabbing her by the arm, dragging her outside.

Kyle goes to move, and Jax jumps up, blocking him. "Nope, this is nothing to do with you, so sit your ass back down."

"Get the fuck off me." Kyle pushes Jax, and that's it. Chase jumps over the table, our bottles and glasses smashing as they're knocked off, and darts to Kyle, punching, not once but twice, in the jaw. Kyle goes to swing back, but Jax grabs his arm, twisting it around and grabbing his hair before shoving his face into the wooden frame of the booth we're sitting in. I jump up out of my seat.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I run over to Kyle, jumping in between them, when I feel something smash against my jaw.

The pain erupts through my face as I fall to the floor and realize Kyle just smacked me out of the way, trying to get to the guys.

"You hit my fucking girl," Chase shouts. Jax runs over to me, pulling my chin to make sure I'm okay.

"I'm fine. Get off me."

I look back up to Chase, and he has Kyle on the floor, pounding his face with his fist. It's covered in blood. Jax jumps up, trying to pull him off Kyle.

"Chase, stop. You're gonna kill him. This isn't the ring, bro."

"Baby, stop," I scream.

And with that, the fire goes from his eyes as he jumps off Kyle, leaving him bleeding on the floor, and comes over to me.

"Where does it hurt?"

I shrug him off. "I'm fine—stop, please."

The bar is deadly silent except for the bouncer and the owner standing over us all. "Get him out of here, Ben." Charlie, the owner, nods to the bouncer. The bouncer pulls Kyle up to his feet. He pulls his arm over him to help him walk. His face is swollen, black and blue, blood covering him where his face has split.

"Okay, we're closing, everyone out," Charlie shouts. Kicking everyone but us out. "Jax, get the girl some ice," he says as Jax snaps out of whatever thought he's in and walks over to the bar.

"You sit over there," he orders Chase before he looks down at me.

"C'mon girl, let me get a look at ya."

My head is pounding, and I can feel my face swelling. I wince as he prods the side of my cheek.

"This is gonna bruise." He takes the ice that's been wrapped in a towel and presses it to my face.

"Ow," I hiss.

He smiles sadly at me, his eyes warm. "I know, but trust me, this is gonna help. Do you want me to call the police?" My eyes meet Chase's, and I shake my head.

"No, it's fine, serves me right for trying to get in between a fight, I guess."

I press the ice against my face, taking the towel from him. Charlie walks behind the bar, wrapping another batch of ice in a towel and handing it to Chase for his fist. Chase just sits there in silence. At that point, the bouncer walks in with Asher and Harper. Harper's been crying, and you can tell they've argued, "What the fuck happened?" She runs over to me. "Oh my god, Brooke, are you okay?"

"Kyle hit her," Chase says blankly.

"He what?"

"It wasn't like that. The guys got into a fight, and I got in the way,"

"What the fuck is wrong with you all? For fuck's sake, this is insane." She turns to Asher.

"I'm fucking done. Leave me the fuck alone, and so can the rest of you guys."

I stand up. "Harper, wait." My head swims, and I find myself collapsing back to the floor. She runs back over to me. Her high heels clack against the wooden floor.

"Okay, I'm taking you to the hospital and getting you checked out."

Chase stands up, "I'll take her."

"No," I whisper meekly. "I need some time to think. Just stay."

The bouncer, Ben, grabs his keys from his pocket. "Charlie, you okay if I take them? I'll come back and clean up after."

Charlie nods, "It's fine, bud. Take the rest of the night off. These idiots can stay and clear up with me."

I walk out with Harper and Ben, not taking a second look back, needing space from all of it, including Chase.