wrong house

6. after shook.

Too late had David noticed Oscar joining the party. When he did see him, Oscar was already marching toward his ex making out with someone. So he did what he always did: acted out on jealousy and impulse. He pushed the guy away and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Oscar yelled, catching the group's attention. Arya widened her eyes and grabbed Sarah's hand in comfort.

"Let him go!" Sarah demanded and tore Oscar from Gabriel, who had seemed to just now realise what was happening. "Enough!"

"Oh, shut up!" He yelled back at her, getting a little more attention. David tried to hold him back as well and shot daggers with his eyes.

"Don't ruin my party just 'cause your sorry ass can't deal with being dumped." David whispered.

"Besides, talk about upgrading." Gabriel chuckled and eyed Oscar. How he dared to be so confident when he was so small compared to him was something Sarah would never understand. "What, you think you playing macho is gonna win her back? She left you and your shitty personality for a reason, remember?"

"Son of a bitch." Oscar cussed before he raised his fist and aimed for Gabriel's cheek. Sarah intended to stop him but intervened too late. She raised her hands to grab him but his fist had already collided with her jaw, making her fall down on her knees and the entire atmosphere stop.

The music stopped. Everyone was staring in shock as Sarah held onto her own cheek and her other fist against the grass. Even though no one was saying anything and the music was off, booming echos still ringed in her ear. But it wasn't from the moment. No, what she heard in her mind was what she heard the last time he hit her: when David interfered and started screaming at his friend. It felt like ages ago.

Arya was crouching and caressing Sarah's back while David tried to drag Oscar away from there. Jason and Katherine stood frozen with their hands against their mouths and tears welling in their eyes. Gabriel? He had too many emotions running through him. It was one thing to hear about how he used to hit her but an entirely different thing to witness it. He'd never wanted to kill anyone as much as he wanted to kill Oscar at this moment.

"... Leave, now!" David's voice became clear in her ears now. Oscar tried apologizing but no one bought it.

Sarah got up to her feet. She wiped the one tear that had fallen and stared at Oscar with clenched teeth. Her dad raised a fighter. Gabriel had challenged her to avoid unsafe places and this was a consequence she had to deal with because if she didn't, if she would just stay on the ground until he left, he'd win. She'd never dare to step outside her own house if she didn't do something. So she did.

Grabbing him by the neck, Sarah quickly kneed Oscar between his legs as hard as she could and then punched him hard on the jaw. No one cheered or ooh'ed because it wasn't one of those moments. All of those guests had seen him hit her and now her fighting back so if anything, they stared in awe. David even cracked a weak, impressed smile. While Oscar grunted on the ground, Sarah grabbed Gabriel's wrist before he could try and punch him too.

"Get the hell out of this party and if you ever act like you're still my boyfriend, I'll hurt you far worse than that." She said coldly and watched Oscar scramble out of there in shame.

That's when it all came crashing down at once, the memories, the old feelings, the pain from his punch that already started showing a mark. She turned to Gabriel and without saying anything, he softly wrapped his arms around her and led her inside, with the group following silently behind. The party picked up its pace minutes later and she wanted that, she wanted them to keep having fun.

"Hey, you okay?" David sighed and sat on the edge of the table in the living room. Sarah had her forehead against Gabriel's chest and her eyes closed.