Page 134 of Dirty Like Brody
Brody
Ifoundhim at thechurch.
He was onstage, with the band, and they were in the middle of playing one of the new songs—one of the songs Jessa had co-written; the one about Katie and Jesse… “She MakesItEasy.”
I didn’t know he’d be here, or so I told myself. Really, I figured I’d held myself remarkably together to make it out here. To convince Jessa I was just gonna head to the gym to blow off some steam after I took her back to my place and tucked her into bed. She was all tender and exhausted and I’d left her there, when I probably should’ve juststayed.
I barreled straight up onstage, past a curious Zane, a slightly shocked Elle, and right over to Seth, who barely had time to register what the fuck was happening before I punched him intheface.
I’d only done that twice inmylife.
I’d been in a lot of scraps when I was an angry kid with a chip on my shoulder and shit to prove. Had been in a few tussles at some bar or crazy party or another with the band over the years. Mostly in the early years, when we were still young and still had shit toprove.
But only twice in my life had I been pissed off enough to sucker punch a guy right in the fucking nose. Once, when that photographer had his lens up Jessa’sskirt.
And right thefucknow.
“You fucking raped Jessa?!” I bellowed inhisface.
“What?” That was Jesse, somewhere behind me, and there was a bunch of ugly feedback as someone’s guitar—maybe all of them—wentflying.
“No! Fuck, no!” Seth said, as I slammed him up against the wall of amps, but I wasn’t fucking listening as I drove my fist into his face, again andagain.
“No? What the fuck do you call it when you make a sixteen-year-old girl suck your cock fordrugs?”
I was gone by that point. I felt the hands on me, even as Seth and I grappled for control. He was trying to fight me off and we went down, him half on top of me, and not because he was on the attack—because I was holding onto him. I wasn’t fucking letting him go. But I hit something on the way down and then he was gone as someone torehimoff.
I was vaguely aware of someone holding my head as a shit storm went offaroundme.
“I would’ve killed him,” I said, panting. “I really would’vekilledhim.”
I wasn’t sure if I meant just now oryearsago.
“You’re not killing anyone.” It was Elle. She stroked my hair back from my face. “Just breathe.” She was dabbing something against mycheek.
Blood. She was mopping blood offmyface.
“Jesus Christ, Maggie, call an ambulance!” I heard her shout over the other voices, but I wasfadingfast.
Maggie was here? Hadn’t even seen her when Iwalkedin.
Tunnelvision.
“Motherfuckerhitme,” I said, words slurring together. “Gonnabesick…”
Then I was sick. And seconds after that, Iwasgone.
ChapterThirty
Brody
The next timeI walked into the church, the setting sun was turning the stained glass window to liquid gold, amber, and scarlet. Candles by the dozens were lit all across the stage on candelabras caked in months’ worth ofdrippedwax.
Jessa and Jesse were there, right where they should be: sitting cross-legged on the edge of the stage, facing each other, bent over their guitars, their heads bowed together as they scribbled in theirnotebooks.
It’d been days since I’d broken Seth’s nose. The rug where we’d both bled—and I’d puked—had been removed, and you’d never know what went down here. And Jessa didn’t, exactly. She knew I’d gotten into it with Seth, but I’d spared her the details. Pretty sure everyone else did, too. The truth was, if Jude and Zane and Dylan hadn’t been here to tear us apart, and I hadn’t hit my head on that amp and gotten a mild concussion, I didn’t really know what would’vehappened.
I’d had no plan when I walked in here other than talking to the band, then confronting Seth. But as soon as I saw him, that plan changed to making Seth Brothers hurt. And once Jesse realized why, he was on board with that line of thought. Not that Jude and the others weren’t, but everyone was so shocked by the sudden bloodshed, the situation was diffusedprettyfast.
