Glass Jaw

Chapter 13

"Aren't the stars pretty tonight?" Jules asked as she bit into her hot dog and leaned back on the porch. We sat side by side, eating in the cool night air as we waited for the boys to pick us up for the after-party. I hadn't minded driving to the party and not drinking but these guys really had an all for one and one for all mentality.

"We go together. We leave together," Jackson had said outside the arena before he sent us to drop my car off.

"So pretty," I agreed with Jules as I watched a blob of ketchup drop in slow motion from the end of my hot dog. It splatted onto the porch, a mear inch from my jeans and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Jackson's car pulled into the driveway and his headlights shone the spotlight on Jules and me as we rushed to finish our last few bites. I stood, brushing some crumbs off my lap and grabbed my purse.

If only Aunt Felicity could see me now.

As I crawled into the backseat of the car I came face to face with Landon, showered and solemn as he stared down at his phone. My heart thrummed as I settled next to him, acutely aware of how large he was in the small backseat. I tried to keep a gap between us but I could still feel the heat rolling off of him. Jules jumped in after me and effectively smooshed me directly into Landon's side.

"Fuck you, Tatum," Landon scowled.

Jules and I both turned curiously toward Tatum, trying to figure out what had triggered the outburst. Tatum smiled back from the passenger seat and chuckled.

"Woody might be a champ in the octagon but he can't win rock, paper, scissors to save his life," he explained proudly. Tatum made a show of stretching his legs out and sighing as he leaned back comfortably.

Landon glared at his legs as he tried to adjust his feet for more space. The poor guy was overflowing well into my space but he still looked as squeezed as a tube of toothpaste on its last days.

"Here," I said as I lifted my feet up on the edge of the seat and hugged my knees. I nodded to the empty space that my legs had just vacated as an offering to Landon.

He twisted his body to stretch a leg in front of me, releasing a sigh as his body uncoiled. It was only then that I caught sight of the other side of his face and I gasped. Everyone's quiet conversation came to a halt as they turned to see the problem.

Just like the dark side of the moon, half of Landon's face was covered with a deep purple shadow. The bruise was darkest at his jaw, right where Dominic's fist had connected with Landon's chin but it spread upward; just reaching his prominent cheekbones.

"That's nothing, Ryan," Jules laughed when she leaned across to see Landon's face. "He'll be pretty again in a few days."

"Well," Tatum interjected, "as pretty as he can be."

"Fuck you, Tatum," Landon growled for the second time. He tapped his long fingers on his knee that now stretched in front of me. My arms were wrapped around my legs, keeping me in what I could only think of as an egg position.

Jackson swore as his car hit a pothole and we all groaned and bounced. Out of everyone, I seemed to catch the most air as I lurched against my seatbelt.

Who would have thought eggs were so aerodynamic.

I landed in a splatter against Landon's side, with my head bouncing off his abnormally hard shoulder.

"Jesus, Jackson," Jules snapped. She turned to me with worry in her eyes as she asked, "Are you okay?"

I could tell by the level of concern in her brown eyes that she was thinking about my parents and what I'd told her. "I'm fine," I smiled to reassure her as I rubbed my sore head. I turned to Landon and found him already watching me.