On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss

Chapter 78

Jenna

Boom boom clap.

I fall off Seth’s shoulders. Or, more accurately...

He throws me off.

Pillows break my fall like a soft, welcoming cloud. My heart clenches in betrayal.

Seth...

How could you?

The crowd gasps. The stomping ceases amid a wave of hushed confusion.

I look for Heidi and Drew. If I fell off, then she won. If she won, then why aren’t they chanting her name?

Drew is still standing where he was before, his shoulders as empty as Seth’s.

I search the pillows as Heidi’s head pops up. He threw her off, too.

What’s going on?

Seth extends his hand to me. “Come on,” he says. “Are you okay?”

He pulls me up, then I take my hand back.

“What are you doing?” I ask, angry.

“Are you okay?” he asks again.

“I’m fine.Why did you do that?”

“I told you.” He peeks over his shoulder at Drew. “I will not sit back and watch you get hurt. Neither is Drew.”

I bristle. “So, you two planned to ruin this from the start?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“This isn’t your fight, Seth!”

“You’re right. It’s yours.” He picks up my hockey stick. “But I’m going to fight it for you.”

“What?”

Seth places his hand on my shoulder and eases me toward the pool’s edge. “You might want to stand back.”

I shuffle backward through the pillows. “Seth...”

He smirks. “This could get messy.”

“Seth.”

He takes me in his arms and lands a hard kiss on my lips. He tips me back, and the crowd erupts with swooning shouts. I cling to his shirt, taken by surprise as my heart skips in my chest. It’s silly and over the top, but that’s Delta Xi.

That’s Seth Newbury.

“Seth!” Drew calls him out from the other side of the pillow pool. He points his hockey stick directly at Seth and sneers, standing tall and mighty like a knight awaiting a duel. “It’s time.”

Seth stands me up and releases me. “Stay here,” he says, his voice a protective growl.

“Wait.” I take his arm. “You guys aren’t going to actually beat each other up, are you?”

“Why not?” he asks. “That’s what you wanted to do to her, isn’t it?”

I hesitate. “Yeah, but...”

“But you don’t want me to get hurt? You don’t want to watch two people you care about fight and hurt themselves for no reason?” He stares pointedly. “You know how to stop this, Jenna. Just do it.”

Seth leaves me behind. He pushes through the pillows toward Drew with the hockey stick raised and resting along his shoulder.

His words cut deep. I stare across the pillow pool. Heidi glares back at me. I can end this with a single breath, but a wall of resistance holds me back.

“Delta Xi! Delta Xi! Delta Xi!”

The crowd chants the house’s battle cry, their voices a low rumble that trembles through the air. It’s not every day they see two Delta Xi gods pitted against each other on behalf of their women.

Oh.

Oh.

This is kinda hot.

Seth and Drew circle each other, gently wading through the pillows. They stare, unblinking and cold, as they ease a little closer to one another with their weapons raised.

“Arrrgh!”

I startle as Drew howls. He swings the padded stick with a blur, slicing Seth’s arm. It connects with his bicep, and I cringe as he stumbles to the side. That sort of blow hurt me when I was on his shoulders. And Heidi has the brute strength of a newborn kitten.

Seth stands up swinging, targeting Drew with a hard strike to the chest. I spot Heidi on the other side as her hand slaps over her mouth in horror. Drew hits Seth’s stick and shoves him away. They both stumble back, legs and knees wobbling on uneven pillows.

“Delta Xi! Delta Xi!”

The crowd goes louder, aching for fresh blood, but I still hear Seth over the rumble. He grunts and groans, taking hit after hit as Drew attacks him with several strategic blows. Seth manages a block here and there, but he doesn’t have the speed to keep up.

“Kick his ass, Drew!” Heidi shrieks.

I drop my jaw.

Jeez, Heidi.

My heart hurts. I could end this with a word, but so could she. Obviously, she’s made her choice.

Drew swipes horizontally. Seth tries to leap back in time, but the padded end connects with his face.

Seth drops his weapon and falls to his hands and knees.

I gasp along with everyone else. Phantom sympathy pains radiate throughout my jaw and down the side of my neck.

Drew approaches Seth. He raises the hockey stick high as he inches closer, preparing to land a vertical strike that’s sure to please the ravenous party-goers.

Seth smirks. He finds his footing, grabs a pillow from the stacks around him, and flings it at Drew.

The pillow slaps Drew in the face. Hard. It knocks him off balance, giving Seth enough time to stand up and backhand him with the pillow again.

The hockey stick slips from Drew’s fingers, but there are plenty more pillows to be grabbed. He takes one and flings it at Seth. Seth uses his own as a shield, slapping it away before it can hit. Drew throws another pillow. Then another. And another. All bounce off Seth’s shield.

Fed up, Drew lunges. He tackles Seth at the ribs and they both fall, getting lost in a sea of white lumps. They slap. They kick. They bash each other in the face with pillow after pillow and I realize...

This is silly.

But that was their point all along, wasn’t it?

“Stop!” I cry out. “I said stop!”

Drew and Seth pause, their heads popping up out of the clouds.

“Just... stop.” I kick a few pillows out of the way as I step forward. “Heidi, this... this is stupid.”

She leers at me from the other side, her arms firmly crossed.

“They’re right. This isn’t worth it.” I wait for her to speak, but she says nothing. “Heidi, will you talk to me? Please?”

“Why?” she asks. “You’ll probably just lie to me some more.”

“Yes. Yes, I lied to you about dating Seth. I admit it. I got caught up in a stupid secret fling, just like you said I did. I’m a big, dumb, attention-stealing whore, just like you always thought.” My eyes grow heavy with tears. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry and so are you. You’re sorry and you’re angry and I get it, but you can’t stay mad at me forever.”

“Why not?” she spits.

My words run out, trapped deep in my tight throat. I’m not sure if there’s anything else I can say to convince her.

But there’s something I can do.

I cross my left hand over my chest and tap my right shoulder twice. My right wing. Her left wing. We complete each other, so we can’t stay mad.

Right?

Heidi looks down. She doesn’t tap her shoulder, too.

My heart breaks. I’ve finally driven her away, just like I always feared I would. I’m all alone now, just like I always feared I would be.

I turn to Seth. He’s looking at me, his bruised, golden eyes full of love and support.

But I’m not alone. I’ll never be alone.

I take a step in his direction through the pillows.

Heidi speaks.

“What?” I ask, turning back

After a moment, she exhales. “I don’t think you’re a whore,” she repeats a little louder, full of remorse. “I’ve never thought that about you. I don’t know why I said all that stuff before.” She swallows hard. “I’m so sorry, Jenna.”

A tear falls down my cheek, but I’m relieved to hear it. It’s a step forward, at least. That’s all I can hope for.

“And I’m sorry I called you an awful couple,” she says, her breath catching. “You… you guys actually look pretty cute together.”

I chuckle. “Thanks.”

“I just…” Heidi steps forward. “I don’t get why you lied to me about.”

“I didn’t think you’d understand.”

“Why wouldn’t I understand?”

“Because I didn’t understand. I developed feelings for a person I hated and I didn’t know who I was. I thought…” The lump in my throat swells. “I thought you’d hate me.”

Heidi’s lips tremble. “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.”

I sob. “I’m in love with your brother, Heidi.”

She sobs. “That’s okay!”

“He kissed my ouchie!”

“I know!”

We stumble into each other’s arms. A sudden wave of applause sparks around us from a crowd I nearly forgot was even there. I embrace Heidi closer, not caring about the whoops and hollers. She’s my best friend. Left wing to my ring wing. Truth to my dare. Together, we conquer the world.

And look fabulous, of course.

Heidi releases me. She stands back and wipes her cheeks. Then she crosses her right hand over her chest and taps her left shoulder twice.

“I’m sorry I called you a bitch,” I say. “You’re not a bitch. You don’t have it in you.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. I mean, I totally slut-shamed you.”

I nod. “You did, yeah.”

“It just came out. I didn’t know there was a part of me that could even think like that.” She blinks twice. “I need therapy, don’t I?”

“I think we all do.”

Heidi bobs her head in agreement. “I’m sorry I made you leave the party. It was a really nice party.”

“Was it?” I ask. “I worked really hard on it.”

“It was so good! They played Pure Blue!”

“That’s my favorite song!”

“I know! I started crying and everyone thought it was because I was so happy, but really I was sad because you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry I missed it! And I’m sorry about Dickie Ironside.”

Heidi groans. “Don’t be. I looked him up. Let’s just say, bullet dodged.”

I laugh as a few more tears spill over. “You’re getting married.”

She bounces on her toes and shows me her ring again. “I’m getting married!”

“How did he propose?”

“You don’t know?!”

“Drew wouldn’t tell me! All I know is that it was on the boat and there were rose petals involved.”

She gasps. “Oh, my god! So, he picked me up for dinner and then—”

“Delta Xiiiiii!”

We startle as Drew releases a fearsome battle cry. He raises his padded stick high above his head and swings it hard at Seth, who barely blocks the blow to the head in time before performing a retaliatory swing into Drew’s hip.

“Guys!” I shout.

They continue, letting out a wave of manly grunts as they dramatically parry each other.

“Guys!”

They stop and look at us.

“You don’t have to fight anymore,” I say. “We made up.”

Drew pouts. “But it’s fun.”

Seth nods in agreement, eager to get back to their violent delights.

I glance at Heidi. “You wanna watch them fight some more?”

Her eyes widen. “God, yes.”

“Continue, please!”

We settle down onto the pillows to watch as Drew launches at Seth and tackles him to the ground.