Peaches 'N Cream

24. Hellbent

THE BLOND CAREFULLY TRIED TO GUAGE JERICHO'S EXPRESSION WHILE EXPLAINING EVERYTHING HE COULD. The actual family business, Hunter, finding out Kylie went snooping around, and then the aftermath of him taking the fall for his brother.

"Couple days ago, he found out about you and I and said somethin' he shouldn't have, so I spun his fuckin' jaw. He's in worse condition than I am, so he'll be out of my hair for a lil' while. Still, he knows your name and face because if I didn't show him, he would've used other means to find out. And, I don't want or trust him near you."

Jericho didn't even bother hiding his exasperated expression. He dropped his head, breaking eye contact again and running hands over his face, and then fingered through his cornrows. Settling them on the back of his neck, mumbling something to himself before snapping back up and looking at him in shock.

"—ke knew Kylie too..."

Joseph missed the first part of his statement, voice muffled by the gold between his lips; he said it so fast, but the panicked expression on his face told him most of the story. He sat up as well. The quarterback felt his stomach drop, gently removing the chain from his open mouth and leaning forward.

"Baby. Slow down for me, okay? Who else knew her?"

His voice didn't come out as kind as he wanted it to, but this wasn't the kind of shit that warranted any sort of sugarcoating of the truth or indirect explanations.

"Zeke! He told me that he dated her at one point. Fucking cornered me in that damn bathroom after going through my phone. He thought y'all were some kind of psychopaths trying to run me out of town, but it was just your brother this whole time."

Ezekiel? Ezekiel... Zeke. He knew he recognized that fucking name, Kylie rarely ever mentioned him, and when she did, it was by nickname only. That's why that scumbag was still hovering around him. The only plus about it was that he obviously believed the lies Joseph instructed her to tell everyone.

He could hear his heart beating, blood rushing to his face while the tips of his ears began to burn; he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Joseph tried so hard, he did, to keep the other out of his mess. Hunter had somehow still managed to find a way to involve himself indirectly. He felt like shit.

Couldn't help but also feel like if he'd been honest about his feelings and his family at the very beginning, none of this might've happened, and they could've been happily together a long time ago. Jericho reached out to touch him, brows furrowed and his amber eyes warm with concern and affection.

"What is it?"

'Cho didn't hide behind that mask of his, instead letting him see every single emotion that flitted across his face. The blond carefully pulled him back into his lap while covering his hands with his own and burying his cheeks into the cool palms.

It was the only thing keeping him grounded. He was shaking, heat teeming underneath the surface of his skin. His carefully constructed mask was getting more difficult to maintain lately, give it a few more weeks and they probably wouldn't even recognize him at school.

"Joey?"

He looked up at him, frowning, his usual ivy green probably darkening to juniper, asking him a question while kissing the fingertips cradling his head.

"When was the last time he put his hands on you?"

Jericho's eyes widened slowly, but then he released a breath. He looked exhausted. The quarterback just wanted to take him away to a place where he'd smile more often. Somewhere Hunter and Ezekiel couldn't even dream about getting to him, but that was just wishful thinking.