Page 84 of Broken Butterfly
“Watch it, or I’ll make you take me to Vegas next.”
“Don’t let Fal hear you or he’ll have one of his jets up and ready within the hour.”
Fallon perks up. “Sounds like a fucktastic idea.”
Ryder gives him a firm “no” and shifts me to his other side, farther away from Fallon.
The noise levels have jacked up tremendously with growing excitement for the fighting to begin. Jayson catches my attention and smirks at me. He rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck as another guy walks into the circle.
Trevor claps Ryder’s shoulder, pointing to the guy Jayson is about to fight. “That’s him.”
“Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent.”
I feel Ryder go rigid as iron next to me.
“Who the fuck are we talking about?” Fallon asks.
Meredith gasps. “Oh, this just got interesting.”
It takes me a second to recognize the guy. It’s the preppy guy that came up to me this morning with his two meathead friends.
Fallon yells out, “Jay, that’s the motherfucker from this morning who talked shit to Elizabeth. If you don’t kick his ass, I will!”
Jayson’s eyes narrow on his opponent and I swear his arm and neck muscles grow thicker as he balls his hands into two tight fists.
I reach over and slap my hand over Fallon’s mouth. “Fallon! Stop it!” He’s egging Jayson on and I won’t have it.
“I’m with Fallon,” Ryder stonily replies.
“His friends are here too,” Trevor points out. One of the big guys Preppy was with this morning locks his eyes on me.
“Even better.” Fallon grins, nudging closer to Ryder. They have a conversation without words that I know means nothing good.
I’m about to chastise both of them when all hell breaks loose. Jayson shoves Preppy hard. “You think you can mess with my girl and get away with it?” he spits in the guy’s face.
Preppy takes a swing at Jayson’s head and misses by a mile. Jayson steps back and aims a kick to the guy’s solar plexus, taking him down, then jumps on top of him and wails punch after punch to his face. The crowd goes feral, smelling blood, loving every second of what they’re watching.
I see Preppy’s friends break through the raucous crowd, and I scream a warning at Jayson.
Ryder, Fallon, and Trevor rush in to intercept, and I swear I hear Fallon cackle with glee. I turn to Meredith in time to see her eyes go huge. “Elizabeth! Behind you!”
Somehow the fight has spread out and it’s now a free-for-all. Fists are slinging in all directions and bodies are being tackled to the ground. No one is safe from the chaos. Meredith’s warning gives me enough time to spin around to see a guy charging our way. Are you freaking kidding me? It’s one of Preppy’s football cohorts from this morning; the one who locked eyes with me moments ago. I shove Meredith behind me and drop low; all of the self-defense classes Daniel and Drew made me do coming back to me. I sucker-punch the guy’s balls as he reaches for me, and he falls to his knees with a guttural wail, cupping his crotch. From my crouched position, I kick up with my right foot. I hear the guy’s teeth clack loudly as my boot connects under his jaw. I’d be surprised if he didn’t lose any teeth after that hit. Meredith rushes forward and kicks the poor guy in the nuts again. I cringe at his long, high-pitched howl.
“Think you can mess with a couple of girls, asshole! Think again!”
Ryder’s arms circle around me and lift me up and away. Trevor grabs Meredith.
“We can’t leave you two alone for five seconds, can we?” Trevor says to Meredith, hauling her off as she continues to scream obscenities at the guy. His scolding tone does little to hide the approval on his face.
“Where are Jayson and Fallon?” I ask Ryder, yelling above the fray.
Holding tightly to me, Ryder pushes through the crowd, not stopping until we are back at his car. He jerks his head at Trevor who is shoving Meredith in his car. “They’re coming, but I’m getting you out of here now.” Ryder plants me in the passenger seat of his car and rounds the hood.
Someone yells something but I only hear Ryder reply, “I’ve got her.” He gets in and starts the car. “Buckle up, Cobra Kai.” He smirks and for some reason I burst out laughing.
I hiss, “Ow! That stings.”
