WAKE (Wattpad edition)

30. Fight.

{Pete}

Pete was in his office, packing up his notes and laptop, when he heard someone hurrying up to his door.

"Pastor Pete?" It was a young woman's voice, high and shaky. "Are you in there?"

He opened his door, his smile puzzled to see Mr. Yoshenko's daughter, pink with exertion, barefoot, and obviously upset. "Yes?"

"We need you—it's Cary—there's a fight."

A second ago he'd been heavy and tired—but adrenaline snapped everything into focus. "Where is he?"

As they came out the back door of the church, it was obvious where he was—a crowd of teenagers milled under the basketball net. They weren't the first adults to the scene, either: Rob Klassen was making a beeline from a side entrance, stripping off his suit jacket and tossing it over the hood of a parked car as he drew closer.

Pete started to run.

Rob waded into the group, dropping to his knees. "Todd." His voice sounded strange and strangled. He lifted his head, glaring at the teenagers looking on. "What happened here?"

His son Curtis hurried to answer. "Cary beat him up again, Dad." Pete's stomach sank, and he scanned the group to find Cary's dark head.

Curtis went on. "He just went nuts—"

"That's not true!" Kadee's voice cracked with outrage. "Your brother hit him with a bat—"

"Where is it now?" One of Todd's friends sneered, spreading his hands like he was doing a magic trick. "Your boyfriend is a psycho."

Pete hurried to Rob's side. Todd was slumped on the asphalt beside a parked car, groaning. "Does he have a concussion? Maybe we shouldn't move him."

But Rob was already pulling his boy to his feet, supporting him with his shoulder under his arm. "That delinquent you took in is out of control," he snarled. "I can't believe this church has tolerated you as long as it has. You're a disgrace."

Pete backed up as the other man advanced, trying to check the damages on Todd. The boy's head was hanging—he looked groggy, and his eyes were half closed in pain. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"We don't want your help!" Rob's face was almost purple with rage. "Look at you! Look at your boys—a criminal and a drug addict! You have nothing to offer, and it's a joke that we pay you a salary. A joke." His nostrils whitened and his jaw hardened. "You'll be hearing from the Elders' board. Today."

Pete stepped to the side and watched him go, his stomach churning as he noted all the people who had heard that and were watching him now. There was nothing helpful he knew to say—no way to rescue this moment.

He turned to the handful of teens lingering under the basketball net, and his eyes fell on Cary, who was pulling himself out from under one of the parked cars and getting to his feet. His shirt was askew and had come untucked from his waistband. Pete tried to shut out his awareness of the people exiting the church, darting glances his way as they hurried their own children into their cars to leave. His body felt stiff with the effort as he approached Cary. "What happened here?" He asked in a low voice.

Cary ducked his head to the side, taking a minute to knock grit off his clothes. "I hit him 'til he went down." He stole a sideways look under his tangle of hair, one dark eye touching Pete and, a little distance away, the Yoshenkos' daughter. "He okay?"

For a second, Pete couldn't answer. His heart was still hammering from his sprint across the parking lot and his fear that he wouldn't be able to stop Cary from doing real damage to a couple of church kids right under the eyes of their parents. Cary turned his head to look Pete full in his face, and Pete winced at the bruise swelling beside his left eye. A cut split his eyebrow and painted that side of his face crimson. It hadn't occurred to him that maybe those kids would damage Cary instead. "Are you all right?"