The Boys Down South by Abbi Glines

18

dixie

Steel cursed under his breath and hurried after Asher. Both of them were now following Bray who had seemed angry. I must had missed something. I wasn’t exactly sure what that was since all my focus had been on Asher. I was watching him to see if he looked at Amber anymore. It was ridiculous of me, but I had needed reassurance he wasn’t really interested in her.

I followed behind Steel, who seemed to have forgotten all about me. Not that it mattered. Something else was obviously wrong. I wish Scarlet had stayed. Brent had been so determined to leave with her.

I had barely made it to the steps when Bray’s voice rang through the parking lot, “Don’t, Scar.”

I squinted in the dark to see Scarlet pressed up against Brent’s truck and Brent and her were obviously doing stuff. But the raw pain in Bray’s voice stopped me in my tracks. Caused me to stop breathing. Because in that moment, I knew. I knew what I had feared was true after all. Had Steel and Asher known? They’d ran out of there like they did? Surely they weren’t okay with this? Not when Asher was so determined that he couldn’t be with me because of his brother.

“Come here, baby,” Bray said. His tone was gentle yet demanding. My stomach turned. Oh, god. This was bad.

I stepped closer just as Scarlet looked up at Brent and said, “I’m sorry.” Then she left his arms and rushed into the arms of his twin brother.

Asher moved then. Fast. “What the fuck?” he roared. His voice was loud and full of fury. I’d never heard him so angry.

“Please tell me you’re shitting me,” Steel said, moving to stand beside Asher. Like they were a united front, ready to take on Bray.

“Oh shit, what have you done?” Dallas was here now, too. He was coming up behind me. His boots hitting the gravel as he moved to stand with the others.

I’d feared this. Deep down, I think I knew it all along. Scarlet loved Bray. But I’d not wanted to believe she would do this to Brent.

“She’s mine,” Bray said, turning to look back at the brothers behind him, then back to his twin.

“What have you done?” Brent sounded like he’d been ripped in half. I knew how that felt. My heart broke for him.

“She’s been mine. I wouldn’t admit it and you kept pushing to get her to go out with you, so she did. I should have said something then. I didn’t. I fucked up. But she’s mine. She’s been mine all along.”

How could she do this? I understood loving one Sutton and being with another, but I’d never do this. Or was what I was doing even worse? Was this what it would feel like for Steel if I kept this up, knowing he’d never have my heart?

“Dixie, you need to take Scarlet.” Asher’s voice was loud and cold. His gaze locked on Bray. Daring him to say anything. He moved toward Bray. “Let her go with Dixie. We got shit to clear up.” Asher wasn’t asking. His voice was tight and hard.

“Scarlet,” I said, taking a step forward. I would do whatever they needed me to do. I agreed with Asher. They all needed to deal with this on their own and Scarlet needed to leave. Her being here just made it all worse.

“Don’t touch her.” Bray growled as my hand touched her arm. In that moment, my heart skipped a beat from the sheer terror I felt. The look in Bray’s eyes was that of a demon. Evil. Cruel. Nothing like his usual self at all.

Scarlet was startled by his words, too, and I jumped. Moved away fast. Something was wrong with him.

Dallas was there suddenly, pulling Scarlet back, just as Asher’s fist slammed into Bray’s face. Scarlet screamed. I screamed. I heard other screams.

“Don’t ever fucking talk to her like that again.” Asher’s threat was full of his own anger. This was the first time I’d seen him like this, too. His fist landed again on Bray’s face.

Scarlet was trying to break free from Dallas. She was screaming, “Stop! Please stop!” She was begging Asher to stop.

He was going to kill Bray. Or it looked that way, at least. Bray couldn’t seem to get his head clear enough after each hit to do anything. None of the others were stopping Asher. He’d regret this. I knew him too well. If he truly hurt Bray, he’d never forgive himself. Dallas was too busy holding Scarlet, so I was able to go to Asher. I grabbed his arm before he swung again.

“Asher, don’t,” I said, hoping he could hear me over Scarlet’s screaming. He did. He stilled. Bray began wiping the blood running from his nose.

“Back up, Dixie,” Asher said, not looking at me. His glare remained fixed on Bray.

Bray moved then. But not toward Asher. He moved toward Scarlet. “Let. Her. Go.”

Dallas shook his head. “Seriously, Bray, you got some shit to work out. She needs to leave with Dixie.”

Asher finally looked at me. “Step away from this. If you’re hurt, I’ll end up killing him.” He wasn’t exaggerating. That wasn’t a threat. He was serious. I moved back then. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Knowing he’d physically hurt his brother over me.

“You need to leave with Dixie. And Dallas needs to take you both home,” Asher told Scarlet. I looked at her pleadingly. She needed to listen to him. This was only getting worse with her being here.

“Okay,” Scarlet agreed, “but don’t hurt him again. I did this. It was all me. I played games and caused this. I just wanted him…” She didn’t finish. She’d said enough. Enough to cause damage. Was this what Asher didn’t want to happen between him and Steel?

Asher swore again and shook his head, then pointed to Dallas’s truck. “Take ‘em home. Then you need to come back.”

Dallas nodded. No one was arguing with Asher. “Let’s go,” he said to both of us and I walked over to stand beside Scarlet. Dallas let her go and put a hand on both our shoulders. “My truck,” he said in a low voice.

Scarlet looked at me then. She was scared and she was sorry. I could read the regret in her eyes. But she also was worried about me. Because of Asher’s actions. He hadn’t hit Bray over Scarlet. He’d hit him because of how he spoke to me. But what did I do with that? I couldn’t hope. After tonight, after this, I couldn’t be what came between them and it was clear that I was. I’d end things before that ever happened. It was what Scarlet should have done in the first place. I turned back to see all of them squared off, bodies tense, and blue lights coming down the road. The cops had been called. Wouldn’t be the first time the Sutton boys were greeted by the police. It was a good thing. Otherwise, this could all get so much worse.