Blaire.
When April picked me up in my house, I wasn’t expecting her to be with some guys, whom she introduced as Jasper Litton and Elias Johnson. She was dating Elias on and off. Jasper was his friend.
On my way out of the house, I saw Zach’s car parked up front, which meant he was home all day. That was strange. I was expecting him to go to the party with Stephanie Bell wrapped all over him.
“Was that Z Reed’s car?” Elias asked, pointing at Zach’s car before he drove off.
I wanted to deny it, but Zach was the only one who drove an Aston Martin to school. Plus, his plate number says “ZEE,” so it was pretty much a giveaway.
“Yeah, it is,” I answered quietly.
“What’s it doing in your house?” Jasper Litton asked.
“Z is actually her brother, right, Blaire?”
“What?!” both boys asked in shock.
“I know. I couldn’t believe it at first too,” April said.
“How did that happen? You have different surnames,” Elias said.
“It’s not impossible. And it happens a lot,” I said. I couldn’t go tell strangers that Zach was adopted. Nor did I have to tell them that many years ago, the court nullified that adoption.
“That’s a relief,” Jasper said. “For months I’ve been hearing rumors that he’s threatening boys to stay away from you.”
“He’s protective,” I murmured.
“Too protective if he’s threatening even your term paper partners to switch.”
“What can I say? We’re very close,” I said.
At the party, I met April’s other friends, Sarah and Christine. They were both freshmen like me. I made it a point to stay with them. Jasper Litton was doing whatever he could to engage me in conversation.
He was actually cute, and when he talked, he sounded confident. Maybe even too confident sometimes, like he knew he was attractive, which made him less attractive to me.
I was in the bar with Sarah, getting water when Jasper came up behind me.
“Wanna dance?” he asked.
Shit! How do I tell him that I don’t wanna dance with him? As a group, it’s fine, but not alone with him?
“I’m actually a bit tired, I just wanna sit,” I said.
He grinned at me. I felt his hand on my back, which made me feel uneasy. I took a step away from him. He noticed this and quickly stepped toward me again. His hand went down a little bit, which made me even uncomfortable.
I started putting my hand on his arm and gave him a push, but he held his ground. He stared back at me, his eyes glinting with mischief.
“You’re playing hard to get, sweetheart. I know your type. You enjoy the chase,” he said. “Well, okay, if you wanna play this game, I’m going to play. But I promise, when I’m through with you, you’ll be ruined for other men.”
Then I felt him squeeze my butt.
This time, I really pushed him. I wanted to slap him, but I didn’t really want to make a scene. I was a big girl, and boys like Jasper didn’t scare me.
“I think you’re mistaken. I’m not asking you to chase me. I seriously am asking you to stay away!” I said bluntly.
But instead, he just smiled and pulled me to him. My eyes widened in shock. He wound both arms around my waist. He was too strong, and I couldn’t get away.
“Shhh… you don’t want to make a scene, do you?”
I put both my palms against his chest and started to push him.
“Let go, you asshole!” I hissed at him.
“No. You’ve been a cock tease far too long!” he said. His hands went to my butt cheeks. He gave it a squeeze, causing me to squirm.
I couldn’t believe this guy. He was groping me in front of all these people. I didn’t care anymore. My hand got away, and I gave him a slap on the face. He staggered back with the force I gave him.
Some people around us stopped what they were doing, realizing what was going on.
He walked toward me again. “Your brother’s not here to protect you this time, sweetheart.”
Just as he was finished saying this, he was suddenly pulled back by a force stronger than him.
“Who said I wasn’t here?” I heard Zach’s voice say behind him. “You should know when the girl is not interested, you filthy piece of shit!” And with that, he punched Jasper solidly on the jaw.
People around us gasped. They stayed away from the center of the dance floor, leaving me, Jasper, and Zach in the center. Even the DJ stopped playing music.
Jasper stood up on his feet, holding his jaw. He stared at Zach murderously.
“What the fuck!” he cursed. He went to hit Zach, but Zach was too fast to dock.
Zach gave Jasper a jab on the stomach, causing him to fall on the floor, squirming in pain.
“Stay away from her!” Zach shouted to Jasper. He was about to go to him again, but Drake Jones was on his side, holding him back.
“Stop it, man! Stop it!” Drake told him. “Not worth it. He’s down. Leave him.”
Jasper sat on the ground. Elias was beside him, trying to hold him back as well.
Zach stared at him murderously and said, “Next time you come ten feet away from her, I will finish the job I started today.”
Instead of getting unfazed, Jasper merely smirked. “You’re just jealous, because you can’t have her!” There was malice on his voice and the smile on his face. “Whatever you do, no matter how protective you become, you can’t have your sister.”