The Summer of Bells: The Essences Saga - Book #2

Summer: Chapter 34

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Chapter Thirty-four

As though someone shoved a red-hot knife through his heart, Silas experienced a pain he’d never felt. Min kissed another man. Willingly. Standing over the taller man, he grimaced and rubbed the swollen knuckles of his right hand. He hadn’t hit another person in nearly ten years, but with two unrestrained punches, the bigger, more muscular Nick lay sprawled on the attic floor as Min watched with dazed eyes.

He glanced up at her. She blinked furiously as though to clear a grain of sand from her eyes. The world focused around her, and their eyes met.

“Silas…What…” She clenched her eyelids shut and shook violently to clear her head. She seemed to not know him for a moment. Silas took a hesitant step toward her. Did Nick drug her? But as he considered that option, she swallowed and opened her eyes. First they looked at him, and then they dropped to the unconscious man on the floor. He contemplated kicking the man’s ribs just for good measure.

“Oh, my God! Silas! What did you do?”

Min quickly knelt beside Nick’s head, cradling it carefully to thumb at his eyelids. “You hit him,” she screeched. “What were you thinking?”

Of a trash bag, some rope and a shovel.

Min continued her squall, not letting him speak…not that he wanted to. She kissed the man! And she said she wanted him. He heard her with his own ears. He watched her hands travel over the man’s body, aching to get closer. If he’d spoken right then, he would have lost it. And smacking the crap out of the man was not loosing it compared to the emotions running through him right then.

Nick began to stir, and Min mothered him, diverting all her attention to the injured man. Just yesterday, he’d shaken the man’s hand. Silas was disgusted at Min for her reaction to the situation. He was disgusted at Nick, bleeding on the wood plank floor. He was disgusted at himself for not seeing this coming. Flat out, he was disgusted.

Turning on his heel, Silas left the two lovebirds to care for each other. After his last binge on booze, he’d emptied out his liquor cabinet, but right now, a giant bottle of Jack was beckoning seductively.

*****

“Nick, are you okay?”

Nick groaned and tried to sit up. “No. The bastard decked me.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I said, helping him up. “I don’t know what happened. It was like I opened my eyes and there he was…he just appeared, and here you are, bleeding. I think your nose might be broken.”

Nick gingerly touched his nose, winced, and began laughing hoarsely.

“It’s not funny. Silas could have seriously hurt you.”

“I’m laughing because you said you’re sorry,” he said with more remorse in his voice than his laughter implied.

“Well, even if I didn’t do it, I’ll take the blame and apologize,” I explained. “But I’m a little confused. Why did he hit you?”

Nick rose to his feet, stumbled and slumped against a nearby wall, sliding to the floor again. “Because I kissed you,” he said, all traces of mirth gone.

“Kiss me? You didn’t kiss me. I’d remember that.”

“It happened, Min, and if he hadn’t shown up, it might have gone a lot further.”