Chapter 6

The girls gasped and I could hear them behind me, attempting to fix Shay's disheveled clothes.

The blonde guy smacked the curly-haired prick on the arm. "See, Guy? I TOLD you at the party that it wasn't her first orgy."

Curly just leered at us. "Hell, yeah. She was an absolute FREAK in the sack, and now we know why."

"Fuck you, you bastards!" Mia hissed.

I clenched my fists as I felt bile burn its way up my throat. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" I said, as I took one step forward, keeping myself between my girls and the two assholes.

Guy held his hand up in a calming gesture. "Wo ... wo, dude. We're friends of Shay, aren't we, Shay? Special friends."

Shay just whimpered. I didn't have to look behind me to know she was probably trembling and trying to crawl inside herself.

"Fuck you!" Mia said again, her voice dripping with disdain.

Guy never took his eyes off me, but I noticed that his buddy took one step to the side, putting a little distance between him and Guy. Guy smirked as he responded to Mia's outburst. "Yeah, yeah, Bitch. I heard you the first time. You just need to hold your horses and we'll get to that. Right, Alan?"

The blonde chuckled. "Fuck, yeah."

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"We just want a little more of what Shay was so willing to give out before. Tabby said the little hottie was a firecracker. She wasn't kidding! Whew. Anyway, we thought since you guys seem to be into the whole open relationship thing, you wouldn't mind us joining you today."

I took another step forward, and Alan took another step to the side. I was pretty sure he was trying to flank me in case things escalated. I heard Shay now openly crying, and I felt myself ready to go over the edge.

"Just leave us alone, you guys," Mia pleaded. "You've already hurt her enough."

Guy let out a derisive laugh as he glanced at Mia. "She didn't seem to be hurting at the time. Besides, maybe I just want a piece of YOU." He smirked at me again. "You know, Pal. I was all hyped up thinking I was boning a lezzie chick at the party, even though Alan said she was eying every guy there like a piece of meat. Now I see you and I realize Shay really is bi. Not nearly as thrilling a conquest."

I took another step closer, keeping Alan in my peripheral vision. I took stock of my enemy. I was bigger than both of them, but there was two of them and only one of me. I had no doubt that I could take one of them, but I'd never been in any real fights, so I wasn't sure I could handle two. I was close enough to Guy now that I could smell the pot. I hoped the fact that they were slightly impaired was another thing to my advantage.

Mia continued to argue with Guy. "You raped her, you son of a bitch. You drugged her and forced her."

"Oh, sure," Alan said, glancing at the girls. I moved closer to his buddy. "That's her story now, after all the guilt comes rushing in. Her body sure didn't act like it was being forced."

I knew they were goading me, but I didn't give a shit.

Guy leveled his self-satisfied grin back at me. "Back over Thanksgiving, after Alan fucked her the first time, she was begging for more. So he called me and Kevin in so she could take on three of us at once, but that ass wipe, Kevin, busted a nut on her face before we could get going. So we had to go for a DP, instead. He chuckled. "You know what, big guy? That was a pretty impressive orgasm you gave her just now, but you should have heard her scream when she was getting off on my dick."

I snapped.

With a roar I threw myself into Guy, my fists already flying. The look on his face just before my fist met his jaw gave me a split second of fulfillment. There was a satisfying crack when I connected, then I quickly buried my other fist in his gut. I grabbed his shirt as he tried to hit me, and his feeble punch glanced off my shoulder. I heard one of the girls scream my name.

I slung Guy around in anticipation of Alan's likely attack, and I was rewarded as the two of them collided. Guy hit the ground hard, but Alan was only thrown a little off balance. He came at me with a kick. I couldn't dodge it, so I stepped into him trying to soften the blow. His foot hit my thigh muscle, which instantly knotted in pain. I wrapped my arms around his waist, buried my head into his chest and drove him back. He was pummeling my head and shoulders. We stumbled back into Guy who was trying to stand, and all three of us went down.

I was on top of the pile, but that didn't stop Alan. His knee caught me between the legs.

"AAARGH!" I grunted, as pain shot through my abdomen. His angle was off so he missed getting me square on, but he got enough of my balls that I lost my strength for a second. It was long enough for him to roll me off. He followed me over and was now straddling my torso. Before he could hit me, I regained my strength and shoved him off me. Just as I rolled on to my hands and knees and prepared to pounce on him, I saw a flash in my periphery. I was too late to react. Guy's foot smashed hard into my ribs, which pushed the air out of my lungs. Another kick and my vision went blurry as I collapsed onto my side. I could see Alan moving around in front of me.

I heard a shriek behind me.

"OW! FUCK!" Guy bellowed. I rolled to my side facing him and through my foggy vision I saw my girlfriend's brown hair flying as she scratched and gouged him with her claws. Guy was trying to push her away. Thin red lines on his cheeks grew as blood began to ooze from the scratches. "FUCK YOU, BITCH!" he screamed at her. Her head snapped back when he smashed her face hard with the back of his hand. Alan took advantage of the distraction as Mia went down. He kicked me hard in the back, sending more pain through my body. I almost panicked when I tasted blood.

Guy was just beginning to rear back for another kick, when an awful wail filled the air from behind me. I'd read in our U.S. History book how during the American Civil War the confederate's "rebel yell" was so terrifying, it occasionally broke Union lines by itself. I realized at that moment just how the Yanks must have felt.

"Shit," Guy grunted in fear. The wail got closer and then behind me I heard Alan groan in agony.

"FUCK YOU! I HATE YOU ... HATE YOU ... HATE YOU... !" Each time Shay said the words, Alan grunted or groaned. I heard him hit the ground beside me. Shay continued whatever she was doing to a chant of "fuck you ... fuck you ... fuck you... ," each repetition bringing another groan from her tormentor.

Guy was frozen in place, watching in shock as the "little hottie firecracker" beat the shit out of his buddy. Energized by Shay's attack and Guy's reaction, I moved. With all my energy, I exploded off the ground, ignoring the pains shooting through me. Guy reacted just as I slammed my foot into the side of his knee, which gave way with ease and sent him down to his knee in agony. As he leaned forward to grab his wounded knee, my fist smashed him square in the face.

He screamed as blood sprayed out in every direction. He stumbled back a step, but with his damaged knee, fell like a sack of rocks. I turned back quickly to see the carnage behind me. Mia had pulled herself up and was trying to pull Shay backwards as she pleaded with her.

"Shay! Shay! Stop! You need to stop! You're killing him!"

The enraged, murderous, look in Shay's eyes made my blood run cold. She broke Mia's grasp and kicked Alan again. He grimaced in agony, but barely whimpered. Mia was right. Shay was going to kill him. I lurched forward between Shay and her rapist. She was in the act of kicking and caught me in my shin, which just added to my pain. Suddenly it seemed like she snapped back to reality. She blinked at me through her tears, as if only now realizing what was happening. Her face contorted in anguish and she started to sway. Mia caught her and wrapped her in her arms before she could fall, then slowly sat down on the ground with Shay.

I watched my two girls. Shay's was no longer enraged, but looked tortured and afraid. Mia soothed her, oblivious to the swelling in her cheekbone where Guy hit her. I glanced down at Alan, who was dragging himself over towards Guy. I could see the blood soaking through the crotch of Alan's jeans. Shay had obviously done some major damage to his testicles. Things seemed to move in slow-motion as I watched Guy pull himself to his feet, blood pouring down from his scratches and broken nose. He grabbed Alan's hands and helped him up. The two bastards supported each other as they limped and staggered towards the only exit from the battlefield.

'Stop!' my mind commanded them, only I couldn't make my mouth move. I needed to force them to wait until we could get the cops, but I seemed rooted to the ground. I actively told my feet to move, and suddenly a wave of dizziness and nausea hit me. Before I realized it, I'd crumpled to the ground again, sending a searing pain through my shoulder.

"Brody!" Mia called out. Within moments, I found myself being cradled in the arms of my two lovers. Just as quickly as the dizziness hit me, it cleared. I guessed the adrenaline rush of the fight was gone.

"We have to stop them," I croaked.

Mia looked in the direction of their escape and looked like she was ready to go after them.

"No."

We both looked at Shay. Her expression had changed again. This time she looked almost resigned.

Mia voiced both of our thoughts. "We have to. We need the cops..."

"No," Shay said again, more firmly this time. She looked down at me. "Are you OK, Brody?"

I did a quick mental checkup. Actually, I felt OK, all things considered. A little lightheaded and achy, but not bad. I forced myself to sit up, and winced at the pain in my rib. Other than that, I felt about like I did after I'd played a hard game or two of basketball. My shoulders ached where Alan had hit me, and my shin hurt where Shay kicked me, but those were superficial injuries.

"Yeah, I'll be OK," I said.

Shay nodded and looked at Mia. "Are you OK?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"No. I'm done with this. I want to move on."

"What?" Mia exclaimed, her voice rising. "You can't just let them get away with this!"

"Yes, I can," Shay said. She took Mia's hands and seemed to be pleading with her to understand. "What am I going to do? Call the cops, have them arrested and then fight some awful court battle that may or may not end with them being convicted, but will most definitely drag my name, and my family's name, through the mud before it ends? I don't think I can handle living through all that only to have them get off. It would be a slap in the face."

Mia was just as pleading. "But they won't get off! There were witnesses at the party!"

"Who, Mia? That bitch Tabby? Her brainless friend? They already betrayed me once. That Kevin guy? All three of them were obviously involved. I don't even know who else was in the room when it happened. They'll try to make it look like I was drunk or high or something and that I wanted it. I mean, regardless of whether they really slipped me something or not, I WAS drunk and I HAD been doing things. I know in my heart they raped me, but I can't go through trying to convince complete strangers that they did. Mia, you of all people, should be able to understand."

Mia looked like she wanted to cry. "Well ... well, at least press charges for assaulting us."

"If I do, everything about the party will still come out. If you want to, I can't stop you."

The emotion was too much. Mia burst into tears. "Then, they get away with it?"

I'd watched this exchange in silence, but finally felt the need to speak. "No, they don't." Both girls looked at me, so I continued. "I'm not saying I necessarily agree with everything Shay's said, but she has to do what she thinks is right for her. Still, I'm pretty sure they will think twice about doing something like this again after getting their asses kicked by a sophomore and his two freshman girlfriends."

Shay smiled, and almost like I'd flipped on a switch with that comment, her eyes lit up. "That's right, and even if it doesn't change them, I feel better. I'm not afraid of them anymore."

Mia still didn't look convinced, so I took her hand in mine. "Look, they were both beat up pretty bad. Much worse than any of us. Guy's going to be breathing through his mouth for weeks or longer, and I'm not sure Alan will ever be able to have kids."

Shay stiffened and frowned. "I really lost control, didn't I? Was it really that bad?"

I glanced at Mia, but she was looking at me, too, waiting for the answer. She'd been soothing Shay, so she might not have seen the carnage our little redhead spitfire caused.

I wasn't sure Shay would like the answer, so I hemmed and hawed. "Well, I mean, you kicked him pretty hard." Shay and Mia looked at me expectantly. I sighed. "His entire crotch was soaked with blood when he got up."

Mia gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Shay just looked sad.

"I'm not happy I lost control like that," she said. "It was a feeling I don't ever want to feel again. But I can't say I'm sorry I hurt him as much as I did."

We all sat in silence, unsure of what to say or where to go from here. Finally Shay sighed. "Listen, guys, I'm really sorry..."

"No way, Shay!" Mia snapped. "Don't you dare apologize for anything involving those two assholes."

"But you guys got hurt."

"Not badly. Besides, we'd go to hell and back for you, little girl. Right, Brody?" I nodded my assent as I grabbed Shay's hand and squeezed.

Shay's eyes misted over. "I love you guys. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

Mia leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. "Then don't ever do without us."

"Why do you think Guy was goading me like that?" I asked Mia. We were sitting outside the mall waiting for Ana to come back to pick us up.

We agreed that my condition—ripped shirt, scraped face, and cut up knuckles—was likely to raise more questions with Shay's parents than me not riding home with her. Shay said she would concoct some story about my mom meeting us at the mall and taking me home. I hated to leave Shay like that, but really, of the three of us, she seemed the most stable anyway. It really was like she had found closure in some odd sort of way.

All I had to worry about now was explaining everything to my mom and Shay's parents. No biggie.

Mia answered my question about Guy with a shrug. Then she shook her head. "I chalk it up to a combination of the marijuana and his testosterone. He was probably feeling invincible."

Just then Ana pulled up to the curb. The questions started as soon as we climbed into the back seat.

"Mia!" Ana gasped, "What happened to your face?"

"It's a long story. Can you wait until we get home so we don't have to tell it twice?"

Kirsten, Ana's best friend, wasn't about to let it go that quickly. "Did you guys get into a fight with each other?" the blonde asked. Ana's eyes opened wide and then she glared at me through the rearview mirror.

"No," Mia said.

"With someone else?"

"Kirsten, please," Mia said, obviously exasperated.

"Well, I'm not going home with you, so I won't get to hear it!"

"Well, don't be so nosy!" Mia snapped.

Kirsten wouldn't take no for an answer. "Mia..."

"Kirsten," Ana said. "If Mia says it's OK, I'll tell you all about it tonight."

Kirsten looked from one sister to the other. Then she sighed, turned around towards the front, and pouted.

Nothing more was said until Kirsten climbed out of the car. "Remember, Ana, you said you'd call me."

"Maybe," Mia grumbled.

I watched Kirsten wink at Ana and then she bounced up her sidewalk.

"Damn, why is she such a busybody," Mia said.

"She's just curious, Mia," Ana answered. "She won't tell anyone if I tell her not to."

"Whatever."

"Are you guys OK?" Ana asked, a look of concern in her eyes. "Your face looks pretty sore and Brody grimaces every time he moves."

I didn't think I was grimacing, but I couldn't see my face, so I'd have to take her word for it.

"We're fine," Mia sighed, but left it at that.

We eventually pulled into Mia's driveway and slowly got out of the car. I took Mia's shopping bags from her and even grabbed Ana's before she could get them. Both girls smiled at me. We walked up the front steps and through the front door. Well, they walked. I hobbled. I could hear our parents laughing in some other room of the house. Time for the fireworks.