Page 137 of Maybe You

“Sutton, stop.” I grab his shoulder. “It’s not what it looks like.”

At my voice, he starts to turn, and Ethan chooses that exact moment to charge. I’m right behind Sutton, one step below, so when Ethan slams into Sutton, Sutton is pushed backward a step, and his elbow slams into my nose.

Everything seems to still.

“Shit,” I say, blinking. Not so much because of pain, but from surprise.

Sutton whirls around. His eyes widen, and he stares at me, nothing but sheer horror in his eyes.

“Wren,” he chokes out. “Wren. Oh, fuck. Wren.”

I gingerly wipe at the underside of my nose and make a face when the back of my hand comes away bloody.

Sutton’s in front of me immediately, palms on my cheeks, eyes wild, but the thing I feel most is how his hands are shaking. Shaking so hard, he can barely keep them against me.

And all the while he keeps repeating, “Wren. Oh, fuck. Wren,” in a steadily louder, increasingly panicked voice.

“I’m okay,” I say, which comes out a bit muffled because of the blood flowing freely from my nose now.

Ethan grabs the back of Sutton’s shirt and pulls him away from me.

“Ethan!” I snap.

He doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s on top of Sutton now, and I just know he’s preparing to land his fist in Sutton’s face, and that’s not happening while I’m here. I rush forward, grab Ethan’s arm, and twist it behind his back.

That finally gets his attention.

“The hell, Wren?” he grouses.

“Leave him alone!” I say.

I pull him off Sutton and push him back, so he staggers a few steps backward.

“Are you okay?” I ask and reach out to Sutton.

He looks at my hand, but instead of taking it, he scrambles backward, away from me, and then when he’s a good few steps away, he pushes himself up to his feet.

“This dude is nuts! I’m calling the cops.” Ethan’s already digging around in his pocket for his phone.

“No, stop!” I say. “I know him, okay? He’s my… he’s… Do not even think about it!” I point at his phone he’s finally managed to pull out.

He freezes and looks from the phone screen to me.

“What?” His voice is full of disbelief.

I wipe my hand over the underside of my nose and upper lip once again and close my eyes for a moment. Calm. Be calm. When I open my eyes, I aim my gaze at Ethan. “I think you should go.”

He blinks at me for a long time.

“What?” he repeats, still with the same confused expression.

“Go,” I say. “Home. Or wherever. Just go.”

Ethan’s brow furrows. “Are you serious with this shit?”

I look him straight in the eye.

“Very,” I say. “Go.”