Sleet Sugar by S.J. Tilly

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

IZZY

This has, by far, been the longest night of my life. The fight at the club seems like it was years ago, not just a few hours.

Right after the cops took Zach away, Luke and the girls all came to my assistance.

Luke told me to wait before talking to the police. Obviously, I’d done nothing wrong, but I listened. Luke had the mind to call my dad, knowing he would want to intervene. And as expected, Dad dropped everything and came straight over.

At some point, the man who assaulted me was taken to the hospital. The lady cop said he’d be okay, but he needed some stitches. I wanted him to pay for what he did, but for Zach’s sake I was glad he wasn’t injured too badly. The guy’s drunkenness probably did a great deal to dull his pain, but I hope he’ll feel like shit in the morning.

My dad called the team lawyers and they immediately got to work helping Zach. When I finally told the full story to the cops, with Dad present, he lost his damn mind. I thought Dad was going to hunt the jerk down and kill him himself.

Once the cops were done with me, Dad and I argued until he insisted that I let Jackson drive me home. I wanted to go see Zach, but Dad made me promise to wait until he sorted everything out. I wasn’t happy with this decision, but if I was being honest with myself, I knew there was nothing for me to do.

I didn’t put up a fuss when the girls insisted they come with me on my ride home, but I did put my foot down when Meghan tried to get out of the car. She’d cried just as much as I had while we were still at the bar. And no matter what I said to her, Meghan couldn’t seem to shake the guilt over the fact that she wasn’t with me when it all happened.

But I don’t blame her, or any of my friends, for what happened. The responsibility lies on the man who struck me.

Usually I wouldn’t mind a girl sleepover, but tonight I need to unwind on my own while I worry about Zach. I trust Dad and the lawyers to help him. It’s not that that I’m worried about. It’s the look that was on his face before they took him away. His eyes reflected a sadness so deep it frightened me.

I can only imagine what’s going on in that beautiful brain of his, and I won’t be calm until I can once again wrap my arms around him.