Page 108 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
“Reid! Stop it!”
I know it’s Clara, but that only urges me on. Along with adrenaline and the satisfying crunch of bone and muscle as I try to hurt him as much as he hurt her. Knowing he kissed her, touched her, only adds to the fury.
But despite the blood pouring down his nose, he recovers much quicker than I expect and throws himself at me with a savage force. A folding chair breaks our fall, and we land in a crash against the hardwoodfloor of the auditorium. But I barely register the hard ground or the shocked, horrified screams of the crowd.
Josh hovers over me, a wild look in his eye as he hits me so hard my head snaps back. Pain explodes through my head for a second. In the next moment, massive arms encircle him from behind, which allows me to scramble out of the way of Josh’s next blow. Mitchell holds him with one arm and shoves me back with another.
Even with my brother in the way, I lunge for Josh again, thinking of all the ways he lied, all the times he ruined everything. He struggles against Mitchell’s hold, too, but Mitchell’s a lot stronger than him. It takes Kenji, my dad, and Principal West getting between us before it’s over.
I’m panting and sweating, and my eye is already swelling, but I have never felt more satisfied in my life than knocking that smug look off Josh West’s face.
Principal West’s voice is gruff; the words come out through gritted teeth. “Both of you outside.Now.”
But my knee is screaming, and I don’t trust myself to walk. Not in front of all these people. Instead, I sink into a chair pretending like I need to catch my breath. Like I’m hurt worse than I am. Josh slumps in one, too, wiping the blood off his swollen nose. West seems to decide that the next best thing to do is end the brunch.
The crowd dissipates reluctantly. None of the Legacies or my friends leave.
Clara rushes over to me, her eyes wide and terrified. I feel her shaking fingertips featherlight across my face. “Are you okay?”
“Get your camera,” I say over a grunt.
“What?”
I grab her hand against my cheek and squeeze it gently. “Just do it.”
Though she looks exasperated, she does. She steps off to the side, pointing it at the surrounding group. Poised to capture everything.
Good. Let her get Josh’s confession on the record once and for all.
My dad sprints to grab the first aid kit from his office and several packs of ice. When he returns, a queasy feeling takes over seeing the stress and worry in his eyes. But I can’t see much more once he slaps an ice pack on my face.
He checks me and Josh both for serious injuries. Once he’s determined they’re nothing more than swelling and cuts, Principal West takes over. His arms folded tightly across his chest.
Anger makes his words quake. “A fight between my own son and the guest of honor. In all my years as principal, I haveneverbeen so disappointed. What could possess you to pull this in a room full of the wealthiest, most influential benefactors this school has ever had?”
I think Josh narrows his eyes, but I can’t quite tell from the swelling. “Askhim.”
West turns to me. “Well?”
“Josh took the video of Clara and played it at the assembly.”
There’s a collective gasp. Clara looking the most stunned out of everyone.
But Josh scoffs. “What the fuck?”
“Language, Joshua.”
Josh grimaces, then immediately winces at the motion. “I already told youon camerathat I had nothing to do with it.”
I gesture for Logan to step forward. He does so reluctantly.
He’s pale, clearly freaked out that his off-the-cuff comment resulted in all this. “Sorry, man, but you know you gave me that flash drive when I was working the projector.”
Josh opens his mouth to answer then closes it. He shakes his headslowly. “Yeah, I gave you the flash drive my dad told me to give you. I didn’t know what was on it. I was just the freaking messenger.”
I spin to face Principal West, and the motion makes my eye throb. I press the ice pack harder to it.
West holds up his hands to calm the murmuring of the group. “Clara submitted a flash drive with her documentary sample as part of her Legacy application. I assure you, and the selection committee can attest, there was no such video on it at the time we reviewed it.”
