Chapter 7

Remy

They got away scot-free, it’s just a matter of keeping your cool.

Now, they walked to their car on the parking spaces by the outer wall.

"Damn, for a second I thought they had us."

"They do have us. They know we were here."

They had arrived early, there were a bunch of cars lined up after them when they went inside the mansion, but this was ridiculous. He didn’t realize there were so many.

For a second, he couldn't find his own. The rows of cars seemed never ending. There, next to the lamppost.

"Yeah but Morgan's a popular last name,” Mark said, “easy to miss. They might figure out we were there uninvited but not—

"But not what?" Someone said to their right, coming from the other end of the row. It was Trey. God damn it.

Remy eyed Mark and his friend stepped back, his hands closed tight, ready for anything.

The asshole moved towards them, his demeanor like a high school bully. But this wasn't high school and he wasn't going to be bullied for the first time in his life.

"What do you want?" Remy said, trying to keep calm, taking the bite out of his words.

Fighting here would bring more attention to him than he needed. And that would fuck him over badly.

"What do I want? I want a couple of uninvited guests out of here."

He had to hold back laughter. Really, from the moment he saw him he knew this man wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but this was something else.

He shrugged.

"It's a good thing we're leaving, then."

Four other guys came out of the shadows, two to their right, two following Trey.

"Shit," Mark whispered.

He eyed him again. They would have to do this as cleanly and as silently as they could. But first, try to avoid conflict.

"You think you're smart?" Said Trey.

God damn it. What was the right answer to that? Who would reply with a "no"?

"Nah, man," he said, taking out his keys and pressing the button to unlock the doors, "just stating a fact."

He signaled Mark to get in the car.

Mark nodded and edged to the passenger side, Trey was still a few yards away.

Mark opened the door but did not go inside.

"You're not going anywhere before you answer some questions."

He blocked the way out. Remy had two options now: either get in the car and run the fucker over, the world won't be missing much, anyway, or getting into a fist fight right then and there.

Option A involves the cops. Option B… fuck, the Crawford’s. He couldn't decide which option was worse.

"Fuck you," he spat. He was tired of this game, tired of being polite. Mark closed the door and stepped forward.

"Five against two," Trey said, "you're not very smart, after all, right?"

Remy walked to him, not replying.

"I'm gonna fuck you up if you don't leave right now."

Trey stepped back, looking at his friends. It was far too late. He had to play the tough guy now, even if there was fear in his eyes.

"You're gonna fuck me up?"

Remy knew: stupid, ignorant people were the most dangerous. Especially when they were scared.

And Trey had something to prove now.

He was ten feet away from him. Music reached him from the manor.

This was the moment. Trey had to decide whether to back away or fight.

Mark stood by the car, his eyes glinting in the darkness.

"Okay," Trey said with a grin, "okay you've been good. We're going to let you go."

All the adrenaline suddenly began to waver. Trey knew he wouldn't come out unscathed from a fight. Maybe he was smarter than he seemed.

Five on two is never good. As much as he wanted to beat the crap out of this asshole, this was a much better solution.

"Cool," Remy said and turned to Mark, "let's go—"

Bright, burning pain on the side of his face, he crashed against the trunk of his car,

Trey had taken a swing at him.

Remy was dizzy, he connected a good overhand punch directly on his chin. Shouldn't have looked away.

Half a second later the chaotic screams and yells and the sound of earth being pressed beneath shoes and boots filled the air, and he was out of breath. Trey kicked him on the stomach while he was on the ground.

"Don't fucking come back," Trey yelled, his voice full of anger and frustration.

He turned away just in time to avoid the second kick, but it still got him good.

Not good enough.

He grabbed Trey's leg and got on his knees.

Trey punched him on the back of the head, but not very hard, he had to keep his balance, and that helped him.

Trey tried to grab his shirt but he stumbled back, giving him leverage, helping Remy stand up.

Remy put his foot behind Trey's and pushed forward, dropping him to the ground. He screeched, surprised.

Someone else came closer, to his right. Remy pulled his guard up just in time to avoid getting knocked out. This was a better fighter. He kept going, hitting him again and again, but the rush of adrenaline was at its peak now, and he was no longer dizzy.

He moved to the side right on the moment the fucker hit him, then stepped forward and grabbed his arm. Another step and a turn and he had him in a lock. The bastard screamed as Remy kept on pushing forward until his arm cracked, then slammed his head on the trunk of his car as hard as he could.

Mark crashed his back on the other side of the car, one of the fuckers tried to kick his gut but he moved away. Then another guy hit him in the eye.

"Mark!"

Trey kicked Remy on his lower back, pushing his body against the car, almost making him trip on the guy he just dropped.

"You wanna play, you fuck?"

That gave him enough time to swing at him, missing the first time, giving Trey enough confidence to think he was a good fighter, but not for long.

His left jab hit him square in the chin, spit coming out of his mouth like in a boxing match.

Trey staggered and fell on his ass.

Mark had knocked a guy out, but the other two bastards had him on the floor, beating him senseless.

Mark kept trying to fight, covering his head with one arm and the other trying to grab their legs each time they kicked.

Remy jumped at the nearest enemy and pushed him hard against his friend, making him trip and fall down, throwing the other one out of balance long enough for him to stand between them and Mark.

"You okay, bro?"

Mark replied with a groan, pain still coursing through his body. But he was still conscious, trying to get up.

The man is an beast.

Three on one. Not good odds, either. His whole body hurt. He wasn't sure what was going to happen after this, but he sure as hell wasn't going down without them knowing who they were messing with.

Mark slid forward and grabbed one guy’s leg. Remy didn't even think about it, he just swung at him and connected so perfectly he could have given his buddy a medal.

The guy next to him stepped back but the third one hit Remy on the ear.

Between all the pain and dust, Remy could not see well, and now this. Now he was throwing punches in the air, not able to hear anything but a horrible ringing in his ear.

He felt the warmth of his own blood fall down his nose and the side of an eyebrow.

Nothing felt broken, at least.

He was out of breath. Someone kicked him in the stomach. He didn't even register who.

The ringing began to dwindle, he was on the ground now. More kicks. Were they going to kill them?

They stopped. He swallowed and realized there weren't any dental pieces loose in his mouth. He was thankful for that.

"Motherfuckers! I'll kill you!"

Remy looked up and saw Trey take out a gun out of his belt.

"Fuck you," he coughed, and Mark, laying beside him, laughed.

"Yeah, fuck you, bitch," he said.

"You think I won't?" Trey said, offended.

"Shoot us if you're going to," Remy said, "stop talking about it."

He stared at him square in the eye. He only saw fear in them. He had a big mouth, but was really a coward underneath.

"Five on two, man," Mark said, coughing, "we almost did it."

Too bad. This had been a nice night. Meeting that girl back there was fucking awesome.

Who knows, if things were different, maybe he could have gone out with her, get to know her…

Shit. You didn't just want to fuck her, did you?

The moment he saw her, the first thing that went through his head was taking care of her, making her happy.

It was stupid, of course, but it didn't matter anyway. Not anymore. At least he got to meet her.

"We almost did," he said.

Trey raised his gun, Remy kept staring at him.

"No!" A girl yelled a few dozen feet away.

You could almost see fear running through Trey's veins.

His posture completely changed, looking to the side.

Her voice. He could recognize it anywhere. His angel was here and she had saved him. Wasn't this supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't he, the man, the one who was supposed to rescue her, slay the dragon and take her to his castle?

Maybe in another story.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Trey?" She spat.

He knew right there that she was more dangerous than he realized… and couldn't stop a smile from adorning his face.

"These fuckers attacked us!" Trey replied, "look at what they did to Tommy!"

He pointed down to the unconscious guy with a broken arm.

"They weren't even invited!"

"And you're going to kill them?" She said, standing in front of Remy. Mark began to sit up.

Trey moved forward, "you stay down you asshole!"

She moved to protect Mark.

"We just want to leave," said Remy.

Everyone turned to him.

"Oh, you're not leaving, you fuck," Trey said, raising his gun to him for a second time.

Julie stood before it. Trying to protect him. No one had ever done anything like that for him. This girl was risking her life for a person she shared a few words with just a few minutes ago.

"Get the fuck out of here before I call security," she told Trey.

"Julie, you don't even know who these people are!"

"I'm not going to say it again. Get. The fuck. Out. Of my sight. Do you want me to call my father?"

Trey pressed his lips until they were almost white.

"I don't want to see you again," he told Remy, then signaled his friends to pick up Tommy.

"I'm sorry Julie. But you need to be more careful, you have enemies everywhere—"

"I don't need you to take care of me."

"I'll make it up to you—"

"Dad!" She yelled and Trey stepped forward, his hands trying to put her at ease.

"We're leaving, we're leaving, I'm sorry dear, I'm sorry…"

She waited, watching them walk away through the cars and into the dark garden. They weren't going to go back to the party, that was for sure.

Julie turned, her eyes going from anger to worry in an instant.

"Are you okay?"

A shiver ran down his body, from head to toe.

"Never been better."

She took a few wipes from her purse and tried to clean his face.

The warmth of her skin on his own was like a gift from Heaven. If this was the reward, then the fight had been worth it.

"My gosh, they got you good."

"I'll be fine," he said, trying to avert his gaze so he wouldn’t get lost in her eyes again, but he failed.

"I wanna go home," said Mark, beside them, his face full of bruises, "I have to go to church tomorrow morning."

She and Remy shared a laugh. Then everything was silent.

They needed to leave, before someone else came and started asking questions.

"I'll drive you," Julie said.