Between You & Me || Luke & Jai Brooks

Chapter XIII - Façade

*Luke's pov*

"This has got to be it!" I yell as Beau turns a corner into a street with a huge house at the end. The music is audible from here, a loud, pumping bass. I can't imagine Meghan here, and realise how petrified she must be.

On the way here, I filled in the boys in on my situation with Meghan, and they understood how serious this is and how important it is to me, and agreed to help me find her. Skip seemed a bit pissed at first, but I was surprised at how quickly the others complied. Jai of course was practically beside himself and is now semi hysterical.

He leans over the side of the driver's seat to Beau and yells, "Beau, pull over the damn car! I can fucking run faster than this!" Then when Beau just keeps trundling along, he flings the door open, leaps onto the pavement and takes off up the street. Before I know it, my feet are landing on the road and I'm sprinting off after him. Jai's always been faster than me, but with my adrenaline, I'm not too far behind. By the time he's ripped the door open, I'm right behind him, and we force ourselves through the doorway together and into the swell of people.

*Meghan's pov*

The boy doesn't release his grip on my shoulder, he just lifts his other hand. "Looking for this?" My phone is in his sweaty grip, the screen lit up to show 7 missed calls from Luke and 6 from Jai. I don't give him the pleasure of seeing me cry. I shrug carelessly.

Before I know it, he brings the phone down on my jaw, hard and fast. The impact cracks the screen and I fight to hold back tears. I imagine that the bruise will already be forming. "You're gonna fucking give me something to work with, bitch! I'm gonna have you either way!"

Oh god, no. I know where this is going. This is worse than I would have ever imagined. A single tear slips out and down my cheek. His mouth twists into what I assume is a smile. Then he tugs my arm, hard enough to jerk it at the socket, and leads me to the edge of the party, just easily pushing his way through. He's tall, taller than Luke, and muscular. I think both Luke and Jai would be more muscular than him though. He kicks open the door in front of him and pulls me forcefully in. "You'd better cheer up a bit, bitch, or you're going to end up a lot worse than I planned."

I whimper. He pushes me onto the bed and takes his shirt off, revealing tanned abs and well muscled arms. His eyes are on me at all times and I don't dare move. Suddenly, the door opens, and I look up, hardly daring to hope, and my heart leaps.

"Tracey!" I cry, "Tracey, help me!"

She turns, her hair swinging, a red cup in her hand. "Help you?" She scoffs. "I've helped you enough already. I knew you'd be too much of a prude to get some yourself tonight, so I got someone for you! I know your boyfriend wouldn't put any pressure on you about it. In fact, you're probably a virgin!"

I flush, both in anger at being played, and in embarrassment that she would bring up my virginity.

She lets out a peal of vicious laughter. "See what I mean! You have fun with this one, Bruno."

"Oh, I will." Bruno says cruelly, and I slump back against the wall in despair. If I'd just stayed at home. If I had listened to my gut feeling and stayed away from Tracey in the first place. If I'd just turned around when I first felt nervous. If I'd replied to Tracey's text and told her I was sick. So many ifs. So many chances to change my future. And I missed every single one. I deserve what I'm going to get.

Bruno unzips his pants and pulls them down to his ankles, followed by his underwear. "Come a bit closer, girl, you can't reach from there!" He barks. I'll bite him. I decide, leaning closer like he wanted. Then he grabs my head, and forces me down-

"Get the fuck off of my girl!" Out of nowhere, Luke appears, bringing his fist up to Bruno's jaw. They collide with a horrible sound and Bruno's hand drops from my head. Then Jai's there, picking me up, taking me into his arms bridal style, while Luke continues to beat up Bruno, yelling out profanities. "How dare you fucking touch her! Youll be lucky if you get out of here alive you fucking bastard!"

Jai carries me out of the room and through the crowded, smokey room until we get outside and I can take in my first breath of fresh air. I breathe heavily for a while, until Beau is beside us, telling Jai he'll carry me because Jai has the keys.

"Just grab them! They're in my right pocket!" Jai replies sharply, gesturing with his head.

"I'll just hold Meghan and you can-"

"Just fucking take the keys Beau!" Jai yells, and Beau fiddles around just under my back for a while before pulling out the keys and flourishing them at his car.

"Put her in there and stay with her." He orders, handing Jai back the keys. "Lock the doors behind you. I'm going to get Luke." He doesn't wait for a reply, he just sprints off back to the house.

I'm not conscious to see Luke get back. Within a few minutes, I black out against Jai's chest.