Lucky For You

21 | Lucky & Broken

   The image of Matt hovering over Clover was forever scarred in his mind, and that only urged him to continue advancing him with punches.

   It wasn't until what felt like minutes later did the ringing in his ears diminish. The first thing that caught his attention was a voice, crying out her name.

   "Jared! Shit." That was all he heard before he was suddenly pulled away from Matt's unconscious body. But Jared no longer had any strength in his legs to keep himself steady, so he leaned into Alden for support, who was wrapping his arms around his friend.

   His eyes remained on an unconscious Matt, who was surrounded by a growing pool of blood while Armando ran around the pair. He bent down, his feet only a few inches from the blood, before checking his pulse.

   After a few seconds, he exhaled a relief before glancing to Jared, his eyes full of pity. "He's still breathing." With that, he stood, his kinky hair bouncing as he turned his attention to the bed.

   Jared couldn't stop breathing heavily, but he managed to balance himself on his feet before pushing himself away from Alden. "My guy, you need to..."

   He stopped when Jared shot him a glare. "Don't," he rasped before forcing himself to twist his body toward the bed.

   Clover still wasn't moving, but this time, she wasn't alone. Tilly sat on the edge of the bed with her arms around Clover, cradling her head onto her lap with tears staining her cheeks. She watched Jared before dropping her gaze to Clover, exhaling shakily.

    "Griffin... he was in the bathroom. And he wasn't movin'," she choked out, her cheeks pale when they met his eyes again. "How'd this happen? I don't, I don't understand."

   Jared didn't say anything, his eyes drawn on Clover before shouldering passed Alden. He stood in front of Tilly, who got the message and stood up, allowing Jared to take her spot. He covered her body with his blanket, making sure she was safe from prying eyes before finally peering up to see his audience.

   Alden and Armando were by the foot of the bed, watching him with worry while Tilly and another girl were close to the entrance. The girl was crying at the sight of Clover while Tilly consoled her, but Jared didn't miss the redness in her eyes.

   Liana was leaning against the door, not peeling her eyes way from Clover as she fiddled with the doorknob.

   Jared finally turned his gaze back to Clover, whose head laid on his lap. He began to stroke her hair away from her face, reminding himself that she was safe and untouched. Still, haunting thoughts began to slowly resurface. Matt... his best friend. Why would he—

    He didn't realize he was shaking until Alden's hand fell on his shoulder. "My guy, what do you wanna do?" He mumbled, meeting his pained gaze a moment later. "We could call the cops—"

   "Don't let him leave," Jared demanded harshly before scrutinizing the end of his bed. He knew Matt was laying there, and his fists were itching to finish what they started.

   But he didn't want to leave Clover alone. That reminder stabilized him in place.

   "He's unconscious, Harvey," Armando reminded him breathlessly.

   Jared barred his teeth. "I don't give a shit. I want to deal with him later."

   Armando nodded without argument before nodding to Alden, who was still standing next to Jared. They both moved on either side of Matt, lifting him up before dragging him out of the room.

   "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," the girl Jared wasn't familiar with, spoke.

   Tilly released her hold on the girls shoulder. "You okay, Mickey?"