Rocky Road: Sequel Book Three

Chapter 17

Mike

I knew this would happen; I saw this coming. So why does it have my blood boiling?

It just does.

The dweeb is nothing like me, thank God… but still. Watching her with him – she seems content, not happy necessarily, but content. She met the dude. What? A few weeks ago?

With them sitting there on the bench going over notes or some s**t for a class they have together, he makes her laugh to the point that she covers half her face with her notebook. I can hear that cute snort of hers.

From what I understand, finals are coming up – wait. Did he just…

He dares to move a piece of her hair behind her delicate ear.

My hand grips the branch of this bush tighter, I could break it.

I glance at the ground feeling like a Peeping Tom again. Surveying and spying on her with him – Derek O'Riley. Yeah, I Googled him, pulled his records. I wouldn't let her be with anyone I didn't check on first.

The ground is covered with brown leaves, but the green grass and the red dirt are still visible. Georgia’s air is crisp as it hits my lungs; it’s getting dark outside and they’re still on that damn bench.

When my sights reach them again, I take in the fact that he’s leaning down to give her a kiss on that rosy cheek. I barely remember the softness of it, the way it heats up when I touch her.

They say something to each other as they turn towards her dorm building – he must be walking her back.

Frikken gentleman. This would be much easier if he were an asshole; but he actually seems like a decent human being – one that she should be with.

One that she deserves.

Carefully and as gracefully as possible, I follow but keep my distance and stay hidden. It’s on the chillier side, so most of the college residents are tucked away in a café or their dorms studying for their finals. There are a few stragglers here and there, but I keep myself hidden well.

Not many eyes have seen me, those that do, I just smile and carry on walking or pretend I’m searching for something. Although, it is amazing at how many people don’t notice their surroundings and are always buried nose deep in their phones.

So sad. If I wanted to, I could snatch anyone up these days.

Keeping myself against the corner side of the brick building, I lean around it just enough to see him tell her goodnight at the door. He doesn’t kiss her, but they do hug.

Lucky bastard.

When she enters the building, he starts his stroll towards me, so I lean back behind the wall and wait for him to walk past. As he takes one step after another, I can hear him getting closer; once I see his back and notice him putting an earbud in his ear I say, “You break her heart, I’ll kill you.”

I meant it. That girl has gone through enough pain to last a lifetime.

Wonder Boy turns at the sound of my voice; I’m hidden in the shadows so he can’t see me, it’s gotten darker out since their walk.

“Who’s there?” He seems anxious as he backs away and looks left to right, top to bottom.

“You heard me.” I step forward so he can see the outline of my frame but nothing else. This may be a mistake - coming out from hiding, but I need this boy to realize that if he doesn’t have good intentions with Elena, then he should quite while he’s ahead.

Those eyes widen when he sees me. “Who are you?”

“None of your concern. Just treat her right and we won’t have a problem.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Yes, sir.” His voice shakes, but it pleases me to know that he’s most likely a good kid.

“If you say anything about this to her, I’ll kick your ass,” I warn.

He takes a step back. “Yes, sir.” With that, he turns and runs away.

A chuckle leaves me at the sight of this scrawny kid running from me like I’m Michael Meyers from Halloween.

What was that?

A shrill of a scream is coming from the building. What the -?

Without hesitation, I run to the door, swing it open and rush inside.

“Get off me!” A girl’s voice that I’m all too familiar with cries out. There’s shuffling and a muffled man’s voice from a couple stories up. I take the stairs three at a time; my adrenaline is on fire and this hoodie is not helping the sweat crawling down my back.

The stairway is on the dark side, there is some light coming from the stairs itself, and a light at the top of each floor, but the areas of the steps are shadowed.

When I reach the floor, I see a man dressed similar to me who is actively trying to grope Elena! Possibly try to r**e her while her face is planted into the wall of the stairwell beside the door which leads to the hall for the dorms. Even though her back is to him, she’s fighting. Hard. She stomps on his feet, tries to scratch at his eyes, pushes herself against him to find space to get out from his hold.

But he’s too strong, too big for her.

She really needs to learn how to fight. No matter how big the other person is, there is always a way to overcome them despite your size.

Without thought, I grab him from behind, the element of surprise throws off his balance so it’s easy to launch him towards the stairs. I swing him around so he sees me – those dark eyes widen but I don’t give him time to react when a resounding smack from my fist meets his face; his head turns to the side - I know he’s about to collapse but I kick him in the chest for good measure, extra caution.

He tumbles down the stairs and the thumps fill the stairway from each step he rolls down. Finally, his body stops on the landing at the bottom of the next floor.

“It’s you.” A breathy whisper floats to my alerted ears.

Dadgum.

I don’t turn to face her, thank God my hood is still up – I keep my sights on the limp body at the bottom of the stairs.

The clicking of her boots tells me she’s getting closer, so I rush a few steps down to get away.

“Wait!” I stop with my back facing her.

There’s a moment of silence, but she doesn’t move closer. Then with a soft, broken voice she whispers, “Thank you.”

I turn my head to the side, just past my shoulder, and give her a nod when all I want to do is lift her in my arms and never let go. Unfortunately, I can’t do that… instead there’s a body at the bottom of the stairs that needs my attention.

***I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update :( Writer's block is real y'all! I know exactly how I want the story to go and how it will end, but it's all the in-between that gets me. Because I've made y'all wait so long, I uploaded three chapters that I was finally able to complete this week!

Thank you so much for your support and patience! Love y'all! ***