26. July 4th

26

July 4th

A fter a long and silent ride, we make it to our destination. A patch of gravel a few hundred feet from the riverbank and near William's house. Even from the distance I can see there is a large crowd at the water.

I turn to Darius. "Is there anything else you want to tell me about this? How do you all know? Do you know who it was?" The questions roll out one after another.

Darius places his forehead onto the steering wheel. He turns his head to face me. He pauses for a few moments just staring at me. I can see the moment he decides to speak.

He sighs dramatically. "Tripp told us." His face is sad, washed in pain.

Once more, I have forgotten that I am not the only one suffering, but I am selfish and, in this moment, I am too angry to care.

"We don't know who it was. We just know that some fucked shit was going on." Darius sits up and his eyes stare past me down to the party. "But we have our suspicions. The men we are trying to keep you away from."

"What about the girls?" The words break as they leave my lips. I don't want to speak the evil that befell them into existence, but the truth of the matter is I am scared to. "They were rap—"

Darius's sharp eyes flicker to mine. "So you are figuring everything out." His tone feels scolding.

I frown. "And you're okay with how ever many more countless victims there will be?"

"No." He unbuckles his seatbelt and leaps across the cab at me. He's in my face. "But I can't help them. They aren't my priority. I want to keep you protected."

He speaks the words against my lips. His large hands come up to cup my cheeks. His rough fingers stroke my skin. He's lighting me on fire.

I can't tell if the flames are demanding me to fuck or fight.

"I wish I could save every girl from every horrendous thing the world has in store, but I can't. There is only one person I plan on keeping safe and that's you."

He pushes his soft lips to mine. Before I realize what he has done, he is pulling away and if it weren't for the heat he left in his wake, I might think I imagined it.

I bring my hands up and push against his chest. As soon as the brothers invade my space my brain goes to mush. But I'm livid, I won't let him distract me. They betrayed me. I need to remember that.

"My only friend left might have been hurt by these disgusting men. Mark, Maxwell, William. They're all guilty."

"So, what?" Darius shouts the words causing me to jump back. I've never heard him this loud before, not even when I leapt out his truck in the middle of the road. "So, what if they're guilty? Axel is right. Nothing is ever going to change. Tripp tried his way and all that happened was I lost one brother for years; Axel is never going to get over whatever the fuck he went through. And he wouldn't tell any of us. Tripp wouldn't let it go and he tried again and now he's dead. Now your brother is dead. And if you aren't careful, you're going to join them too!" Darius pants out the last word. His chest heaves with the exertion of his anger.

"I don't care." I am being a brat, but I mean it. Ripping my seatbelt off, I jump out of the truck before he can stop me. I know I'm not being rational, but they lied to me.

I want to break down and bury myself in my pain. Instead, I push my energy into something else.

I don't look back at Darius even as I hear him get out of the truck, I simply walk my way to the party goers.

As I approach, I see Maxwell, William, and Mark sitting in the water passing a joint between them. I keep my attention on the interaction.

One of those men murdered Auggie and Tripp, and I am going to find out who.