“Wait a second.” I toss the kitchen towel aside and turn to face him fully. “Are you telling me that you were talking to Fauna about getting back together the entire fucking time you were with Ibbie?”
“Will you keep your voice down?!” he hisses, eyeing the door that leads towards the living room. “What do you even care? You can't stand Ibbie, you said so a hundred times.”
“I care because I never would've let you near her if I'd known you were gonna pull this shit!”
“I knew you liked her more than you let on.” He runs a hand through his hair. If he knew that I liked her then why the hell did he date her in the first place? “She's a nice girl, okay? Sweet and fun and great arm candy. But she's not the kind of girl you settle down with. She's an actress, for Christ's sake. I could never get serious with a girl like that.”
Rage takes over my body, darkening my vision. It's white hot and staggering in its intensity. Before I even know what's happening, my fist is flying out to meet my big brother's face. He stumbles back with a curse, holding his hand up to his nose. We've never fought before. Not once.
“What the hell?!” he demands.
“You don't get to talk about her like that!”
When he pulls his hand down, it's covered in blood. “You bastard!” he hisses, before hurling himself at me. We tear into each other, stumbling against the counter and knocking the rack of clean dishes to the floor. Plates and silverware fall to the ground with a deafening crash, but neither of us pay it any attention as we continue to throw out punches.
The sound of footsteps outside the door has us springing apart seconds before Grandma appears, Grandpops and the girls behind her. Each of them wear matching looks of horror on their faces. “WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON IN HERE?!”
The two of us freeze, glancing at each other then at the smashed plates on the floor. “Sorry, Grandma,” we mumble shamefacedly.
“What's this all about?” Grandpops demands.
I see Ibbie taking the scene in, and then her eyes widen when she realizes what must have happened.
“We slipped,” I bite out.
Aleix nods in agreement. “I got water on the floor. My foot slid and I bashed into Walt. He caught me in the face with his elbow.”
I think the only reason Grandma and Grandpops buy that piss poor explanation is because Aleix and I have never fought before. They nod slowly, then tell the two of us to clean up before going back to the living room. Ibbie, however, is more suspicious. She and Fauna watch us pick up the sharp shards of porcelain, then Fauna takes Aleix to the downstairs bathroom to clean him up.
In silence, I walk over and stand next to Ibbie, leaning against the door frame as I look down at her.
“You're bleeding,” she tells me softly. I close my eyes as she reaches up to touch my eyebrow – the one free of piercings. Even though I'm in pain, the feel of her skin on mine makes my heart beat faster. She pulls her hand away and I open my eyes; the tips of her fingers are coated in blood.
I lead her upstairs to the bedroom I always used when I slept here, and Ibbie sits me on the edge of the old twin bed while she goes to the bathroom for a damp washcloth.
“It's not too bad,” she says quietly when she returns, moving between my legs to press the cloth against my eyebrow. She's standing so close that my hands ache with the need to touch her, to grip her hips and pull her closer, to press my face into her stomach. “You won't need stitches, ya mo.”
“I'm sorry,” I tell her, looking up into her eyes. “About everything tonight. I had no idea he was back with Fauna, I swear. I never would've-”
“I know,” she assures me quickly before I can start rambling like. . .well, her. “I saw your face when they appeared at the door. Seriously, you were like what da fuh? It would have been funny if it wasn't, you know, horrifying.”
“Do you. . .do you wanna talk about it or somethin'?” I hesitate, because as much as I love the girl, I don't know if I can sit here and listen to her pour her heart out about my brother. There's only so much a guy can take.
She shakes her head, lifting the cloth to inspect my wound before pressing it back down again. “I'm good.”
“But are you okay? You're handling this amazingly well.”
“It's fine. Stop looking at me like I'm about to fall apart on you.” She rolls those bright blue eyes. “It's not like I was in love with the guy – we hardly knew each other. We had a fun few weeks, and I'm a little hurt, sure. I wish he'd have just called me to let me know that he and his fiancee were trying again.” She doesn't know that he was talking to Fauna the entire time. I don't think she needs to know, it would just hurt her more. “My pride has definitely taken a few knocks. Mostly I just feel like a dumbo. But I'll get over it. I'll hang out with my girlfriends, drink things through, then I'll move on.”
“You mean think things through?”
Her laughter is infectious. “No, I most definitely mean drink. I'll tell you something, though – I coulda done without that super awkward family dinner tonight. I had to fight the urge to empty that pot pie right over his head.”
“My grandparents love you.” I like this. Just being with her, talking to her. No cuts, no digs, no fighting. This is all I want. If I can't have everything with her, then this is all I want.
“They're sweet.” She sighs. “And so is Fauna. Aleix has to be honest with her. She didn't deserve to have it blurted out in front of everyone, but she should know the truth.”
I nod. “I know. I'll talk to him.”
“Good.”
“So, you sure you're gonna be okay?”
“Yeah. Give me a few days and it'll be like it never even happened. I mean, we didn't even sleep together, so. . .”
My head whips up so fast the cloth slips from her grasp and lands on my knee. I thought for sure they had. . . “You didn't?”
She tuts, picking the cloth back up. “I don't just go around sleeping with everyone. I'm not a total ho bag. I have a month waiting rule.”
I roll my eyes. “I never said you were a ho bag.”
“You sure?” Her eyes sparkle as her lips curl up teasingly. “I'm pretty sure you might've called me that once or twice.”
“Definitely not.” I try to hide my smirk. “A million other things, sure. But definitely not that.”
Her smile makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. She leans closer to inspect my wound, so close that her sweet smell engulfs me – coconut and lavender and something indescribably Ibbie – and I can see the flecks of gold in her bright blue eyes. I didn't even know eyes could come in a shade that blue. She mesmerizes me. “The bleeding has already stopped. Though I hope you scar, you ass jacket.”
I want to kiss her more than I've ever wanted anything in my whole life. “Now that's not nice.”
She takes a step back and folds her arms across her chest. I almost reach out to pull her back to me, but stop at the accusing look on her face. “You guys didn't really slip, did you? You and Aleix were fighting. I'm not stupid, you know, even though most people think I am just 'cause I'm blonde and happy and I talk a lot. You started a fight with him, I know it.”
“Yeah, I'm really sorry for giving that fucker exactly what he deserved.”
“Well that was more of a punchpology if you ask me.”
I shrug, because I could deny it, but I don't want to. Aleix really did get what he deserved. “You know what? I did. And I don't fucking regret it. He hurt you, Ibbie,” I say earnestly. Her expression softens then, and it proves to be my undoing. My hands reach out and slip around her waist, tugging her back between my legs. She looks down at my hands, then back at my face, her mouth parting in surprise. “So I hurt him. And I'd do it again.”
“Walt-”
I don't want to hear her telling me I shouldn't have fought with my brother, or questioning why I did it when I'm supposed to hate her. I don't want to hear her arguing with me or scolding me or demanding I make amends. So I do the only thing that makes sense to me, the only thing that will ever make sense to me. Before she can say another word, I lift my hand up to cup the back of her neck and I crush my lips to hers.