Page 127 of Unexpected Prejudice

“What?”

“I said Margot is into you. You know, the cute blonde? A bit chatty, pretty smile?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said and pushed his chair back before standing. “Listen… I’m gonna go upstairs.”

“Is everything cool?”

“Yeah,” he barely spoke the word before turning around and trying to walk straight, but after two steps, he lost balance and collapsed against the doorframe before crashing to the floor.

“Dude!” Andrei was the first to jump from his chair and make it to Diesel, who was on his back, groaning in pain while clutching the side of his body.

Crouched by his best friend, Andrei reached to touch him. “Oh, shit,” he gasped when he felt Diesel’s hoodie. I didn’t understand what shocked Andrei until he pulled up the hoodie, and I saw blood, so much blood.

Diesel’s torso was covered with blood coming from a deep cut in the side of his stomach, right under his rib cage. A patch resembling a make-do bandage was glued to his skin while unsuccessfully staunching the bleeding.

“Call 911,” Chief ordered Kai before he sat beside Diesel, who was panting in pain while trying to stop the bleeding by using his trembling hand. As Kai made the call and Zoe pulled Paris out of the room, Chief quickly grabbed a kitchen towel and used it to apply pressure on the wound. Diesel gritted his teeth with pain, trying hard to hold back a scream.

“T-that hurt like a motherfucker,” he groaned, his breath shuddering.

“I know, kid.” Chief wiped some sweat off Diesel’s forehead. “Andrei, help me apply more pressure.”

Andrei nodded before taking the towel I handed him and did the same as Chief.

“What the fuck happened?” Looking down at Diesel’s bloodied form, Andrei’s face twisted with worry. Diesel’s chest rose and fell with each rapid breath; his tanned skin started to pale, and cold sweat covered his shaking body.

“I-I got shanked.” He gave Andrei a half grin that caused him to groan in pain.

“How the fuck did you get sliced like this?” Andrei asked, his voice choked with nerves.

“This isn’t the time, Andrei. Focus on putting more pressure.”

“Not the time? He got fucking stabbed!” he shouted, and I knew how scared he was. I couldn’t blame him. Diesel was bleeding out on the floor.

Wanting to help, I reached for the sink and grabbed some wet towels before bending beside them, helping to clean the sweat from his face. The moment we heard sirens coming from afar, Jessie jumped.

“I’m gonna show them in.” He ran out of the kitchen.

It’s safe to say that chaos seems to haunt our family.

Jordan

“The person you have called is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep.”

“Why the hell aren’t you picking up? I’ve been calling for a week now. Where the fuck are you, Shay-Lee?” My throat was sore with pent-up anger. “Please, please just call me back. I’m sorry if I did something to upset you, just please call me back.” Gripping the phone tighter, I took a deep breath. “Please,” I muttered one last time before hanging up and threw my phone on my gym bag, not giving a shit if it broke.

It had been more than a week since he disappeared. Fucking vanished. We said we’d spend time during the holiday together. Next thing I knew, Shay-Lee stopped picking up any of my calls, and none of my messages had been read. It was driving me crazy. At first, I thought he flipped on me again, but as the days went on and I got nothing from him, I began to worry. I’d reached my limit today while at school when there was still no sign of him.

Needing to blow off steam from the frustration and worry over Shay-Lee, I hit the gym.

Working out had always been my way to ease my mind and lower my anger. After my dad left, I spent hours in the gym and on the field before I could even begin to deal with my new reality. That was how I found myself here today, busting my ass, while trying to ignore that Shay-Lee was either done with me or that something had happened to him.

Luckily, the gym was empty, and I finished my workout with no one bothering me. After wrapping my muscle training, I did a bit of cardio, which turned into a six-mile run on the treadmill. Once done, I grabbed my towel and returned to the locker rooms.

Same as the gym, the place was empty, so I quickly removed my clothes, grabbed my things, and went into the communal showers. Turning the tap, I walked under the hot stream of water and stood there washing off my sweat and leftover anxiety. The exercise didn’t have the effect I hoped it would. While it pumped my muscles and made me sweat my ass off, it didn’t distract me from Shay-Lee, not even for a second.

The last time we met was right before the holiday started. We went to that restaurant he liked, and afterward, he came to my place and spent the night. My mom had gone to visit her friend in Palm Springs again, so we had the place to ourselves. I tried to think if anything out of the ordinary happened that day, but I came up with nothing. We had sex, but we always had sex. He asked me to go rough on him, but it wasn’t the first time he did that either.

Always doing what he wanted me to, I fucked him until he was a pure mess, and after we were done, we fell asleep together. It was a night like any other, yet I hadn’t heard so much of a word since.