Page 26 of Under the Waves

I didn’t have time for her.End of.

“Get the fuck off my beach, Poppy, and go back to wherever you ran home from.” My eyes burned and my chest felt like it was being crushed. I regretted the words as soon as I said them but it didn’t matter now.

It never did.

I was just a decoration. Just a means of other’s entertainment. She’d get over my words in a few days, or perhaps she’d pack up and leave again. I wished she would leave. I couldn’t think straight whenever she was near. This year, witheverythingI had on the line, was the worst fucking time she could’ve returned, and I’d make sure she knew that. Maybe it would scare her away. Maybe she’d just leave me the hell alone. I moved on.

Not like there was anything to move on from in the first place, but metaphorically speaking, I wasdone.

“I fuckinghateyou,” she said, quietly. The fire in her eyes burned, the very fire that mirrored the one burning inside my own eyes. She didn’t scream or cry or stay silent.No. Sheglared at me with an undeniable hatred in her eyes and prayed that my last breath would come sooner than later. The thought made me want to smile, it was so…her, but I forced myself to repress that urge.

“Thenleave,” I said with the same coldness.

But, just then, Nate Fucking Slater came up behind her and pushed her behind him.

“I can handle my own fights—”

“Oh, shut up and be grateful I’m here.”

That bastard.

He was going to fucking die tonight.

No one silenced my Wellsy.Fucking no one.

“Get the fuck off her,” I scowled.

She huffed like she was amused whilst Nate squared himself in front of me.

“Why should I? She’s not your whore,” he laughed, “and even if she was, that wouldn’t stop me anyway.”

I heard Lia gag behind me and immediately I turned to make sure she was okay. Jakson must have seen the worry in my eyes as he whispered something to Lia, tugging on her wrist gently. She shook her head, brows scrunched. With one look at me, Jakson slipped his hands around her legs and front-piggybacked her up towards the house.

“Jasper!” I heard someone yell just as a fist busted the side of my face and I kissed the sand. Spitting the grains back out of my mouth, I pushed back up onto my knees, but before I could, more fists and feet rained down on me from above. I couldn’t count how many people were beating me. I didn’t want to know.

Lia. She was inside, I reminded myself. She wouldn’t see this.Good. I didn’t know why I wasn’t stopping them. I could’ve easily gotten up and started smashing in their faces. They knew that too. But I didn’t make any move to fight back.

Maybe it was because this was what I deserved. Maybe it was because the pain in my head now felt like it was real—you could ice a bruise, not a thought. They yelled at me to get up and fight them back. Spat their words at me as they kicked my chest. The pain blurred with every beating. But it went quiet. Their words. The pain. Everything washed away into silence. Peace.

“Stop it, you fuckingidiots!”

Wellsy. I knew her voice. I always heard her voice.

I wanted to smile but I could barely feel my face anymore.

Arms wrapped under my own, pulling me up to my feet. I was about to punch them with every inch of strength I had left until I realized it was my boys. They said nothing to me, only stabilized me. Their glares were fixated on Nate and his minions.

“You aresopathetic, Jasper. It’s actually laughable! Didn’t your daddy teach you how to be a man? Oh yeah…you don’t have one.”

People snickered and whispered to their friends. I didn’t care anymore. In that moment, I didn’t care what they had to say about me. Tomorrow, I would deal with it and threaten anyone who gossiped about what happened here tonight. I’d make sure Lia and Poppy were kept out of their fucking mouths.

The blaring sound of cop cars echoed in the distance and immediately people began to pick up their stuff and frantically run away.

Poppy held up her phone and waved it under Nate’s nose.

“Want me to call your precious daddy too? I’m sure he’d be thrilled to know all about tonight, don’t you think,princess?”

All the strength I had left went into the smile that hung desperately to my lips.