The Hills (boyxboy)

Chapter 28

A sigh breaks the silence of my bedroom, but it didn't come from my mouth. Pepper shuts the book she's been reading all day and presses it to her chest, then curls in on it. Slowly she falls onto her side. Then I can hear her sniffling. My best friend has no shame.

"Bad ending?" I ask. She nods and continues crying. I leave her be. My bedroom door bursts open. There's Colton. I smile at him. But it quickly melts off my face when I see the worried look in his sweet, brown eyes.

"Something happened to ... Please just come downstairs." he pants. His hands are resting on his knees as he fights to get some air into his lungs. I get to my feet and rush downstairs. In the kitchen I find Terrence sat on a chair while Jason is pressing a bag of frozen peas against my brother's shoulder. Apart from a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks there is not a single emotion to be found on his face. Jason notices me and shoots me and awkward smile that looks more like a grimace.

I hear Colton walking up behind me and turn around. "Spill." I command him. My voice sounds even colder than the bag of peas. Colton gulps but starts talking immediately.

"We went to the gym cause we kind of got... Well... Inspired by the lengths you've been going to to help Terry and we wanted to pull our own weight, too. So we looked for the Jason guy you mentioned to sign up for kickboxing as well. But at the parking lot we ran into... Those pricks. They... They..." his voice cracks and he starts crying. "They tried to rape him." he finished in a whisper. "Jason happened to pass by just in time by some weird miracle and saved us."

I look down at the floor and clench my fists. Anger pumps through my veins. My eyes land on Terrence. He's shaking like a leaf. They've gone too far. I look at Jason. Our gazes meet. He knows what I'm about to ask.

"Can I get an extra lesson today?" the words leave my mouth. It's hard to maintain my anger, but I'm managing. Jason looks at me for a while. I'm not going to let him talk me out of this. He seems to get the message. With a sigh he throws the bag of peas on the table and pulls a hand through his hair while turning away from us. "I really shouldn't do this." I hear him mumble. Then he faces us again. "Alright. Hop in my car and tell me what you want to learn on the way there." he says. I nod and go upstairs to fetch my sports bag. Colton follows me.

"Are you serious!?" he yells. "You can't just fight all of them. This is not a prank like what you did last time. You're gonna get hurt! This is seriously dangerous!"

His words fall on deaf ears. I've made up my mind. Jason understands, why can't my boyfriend understand? I want to walk out of my room again but Colton is blocking the way. His eyes are red and tears are slowly trailing down his beautiful face. I reach out a hand and softly brush the salty liquid away. "I need to do this. They were going to rape my brother Colt." I whisper. "They can't get away with this."

"Then why don't we tell your parents, or the police. Just please don't do this I don't want you to get hurt." he pleads. More tears start pouring out of his eyes. He's scared. "If you do this..." he whispers. "I'm breaking up with you."

His words pierce through my chest like a bullet. There's not a single doubt in my mind that they hurt him just as much. But my decision is made quickly. Terrence has been my other half from birth until Colton moved here. I'm not blaming him for our brief estranged period. I'm just pointing out how how long Terrence and I have had each other's backs. I lean forward and leave a soft kiss on Colton's forehead. Then I brush past him and head downstairs where Jason is waiting for me. For now the angry fire burning in my stomach stops me from crying.

A voice in the back of my head tells me I should be at home, cleaning Terrence up and comforting Colton with hugs and butterfly kisses. But a louder voice in the front of my head tells me I'm doing the right thing and that quenching my thirst for revenge will somehow solve the problem.