"Leah?"
Chris covers his cheek with his hand, officially furious. He glares back at Leah, doing all he can to keep from hitting her back.
"I should've known something was going to go wrong. What else can you expect from a deadbeat criminal?"
Right when she finishes her sentence, Chris sends his hand flying and strikes her with his rough palm. The impact knocks her to the ground, her hand clutching the entire right side of her face. The tears are definitely flowing now, and it makes her skin sting and burn even more.
"Hey!"
She keeps her eyes on the ground, not daring to look at him. She's not angry about it; she sees no reason to be. She saw exactly what was coming for her, and she decided to risk hitting him, anyway. That doesn't mean she's going to look up. She doesn't even want to know whether he's finished or not.
Within the long moment of silence, someone appears on their knees and in front of her. Their hands are on her arms, but it's not a hostile action despite the fact that she violently flinches. The man tugs lightly at her arms to help her up. "Are you alright?" he asks her quietly. The voice is very familiar, and she might have an idea of who it is.
Leah resists politely, nodding her head yes. "I'm fine. Thank you..." She slowly looks up to see who's speaking to her.
Robert watches her with worried eyes.
Even after getting hit by Chris painfully hard, his face was not exactly something she wanted to see right now.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yells at Chris.
"Leah, I'm sorry. I was trying not to--"
"Who the fuck do you think you are, going around and slapping women?!"
"Listen, man. I lost it," Chris replies. It would've sounded like a very heartless statement if Leah hadn't heard the almost-microscopic hint of sincerity in his voice. "I didn't mean to hit her."
"You lost it." Robert doesn't believe him, and it pisses him off. He stays kneeling next to Leah for a few more seconds before his hands ball up into fists, and he stands up. He walks over to Chris.
"Robert," she begs softly, quietly.
"Why are you even getting involved? It's not like you knew what was going on before you got here."
"I don't give a damn about what was going on. There is never a reason to hit a woman, especially one like Leah."
"You're talking to me like I don't know that."
"You obviously don't, considering you just slapped her across the fucking face!"
Robert's raising his voice too much for comfort; Leah looks up to see the two men standing toe-to-toe with each other. They're both raging mad, and she chews on her lower lip nervously. Please don't do this, she thinks. Please. Not here. Please don't fight.
"First, you go and cheat on her, and you shatter her heart. Then you come along and defend her? And you're standing here, telling me what's wrong. Maybe you should go back and check yourself before you decide to open your mouth and be a little shit."
"I know what I did was wrong. But at least I didn't hit her, you fucking asshole."
Chris grabs a fistful of his shirt and pulls him forward, piercing Robert with his sharp, fiery glare. His jaw clenches and flexes. He then releases Robert and backs away. "No. I'm not even gonna start with you."
Chapter 29
Start from the beginning
