Kiss My Sass [Books 1 & 2]

[book 1] chapter nine: my twin gets in a fight

"HOW'S YOUR TERM project been going?" Amber asked.

I opened my carton of chocolate milk and took a long sip. "It's going alright. We chose our topic a few days ago."

"I'm meeting up with Lesley today," she said glumly as she stabbed her salad with a fork.

"That should be...fun."

She gave me a flat look. "Not at all." 

We continued eating our lunches in silence. The past few days had been like this between us. We were both aware of the unspoken tension, but neither of us chose to address it. I was sure it'd wear off eventually, especially since our confrontation and make up.

The rest of the lunch hour could have gone on like this, but out of nowhere a hand clamped down on my shoulder. "I need you to come with me."

"Where are your manners, Rollins?" I joked.

When Holden didn't laugh, I turned to give him a confused look. 

"What's— holy shit, what happened to your face?" 

His left eye was beginning to swell, and you could already tell that sucker would not be pretty in the morning.

"Brent," was all he said. 

That was enough to make me get up and follow him out. Amber ran after us, asking what the hell was going on. Holden led us to the courtyard behind the school. There was a group of students in a circle yelling, cheering, and recording what was occurring. I pushed past the crowd, earning glares from students whose videos I interrupted but I didn't care. I was used to this by now. Brenton had a knack for picking fights whether it was on the lacrosse field, at school, or a McDonald's parking lot. 

Eventually, I made my way to the centre, unsurprised that Brenton's lacrosse buddies were here rooting for their idiotic team captain. Brenton was too busy holding his poor victim in a chokehold to notice me. I had to intervene before he really hurt the other guy. I was always the one saving his ass, but just as I was about to step in I stopped myself when the fight took a turn. 

The guy elbowed my twin in the ribs and then landed a hook across the side of his head. Brenton stumbled back but without missing a beat he lunged at the guy with full speed. He knocked him to the ground and the two of them were rolling around, throwing punches at any chance they could get. I figured now was a good time to step in before the fight escalated. 

Unlike Holden, I wasn't stupid enough to dive in headfirst and risk getting a black eye. Instead, I waited for an opportunity when the idiots weren't throwing punches wildly. I then stepped in and pulled Brenton up to his feet. He turned around ready to swing, but the rabid raccoon look in his eyes dissipated when he realized it was just me.

"What the hell?"

"Playtime's over. Go clean up," I said. 

The crowd of spectators started booing, but I really did not have any damns to spare. I just wanted to get Brenton out of here before a teacher came. If he was busted for getting into another fight he could risk getting benched for the semifinals, and if that happened... Mom would slaughter him without hesitation.