“Bitch,” he took another menacing step towards me with his hand raised in a fist, but then he was slammed against the far wall. Punches were exchanged and everything happened after that in a flurry of activity.

Jesse threw him against another wall, and rained down on him with punches. Jamie tried to fight back, but there was no use. Jesse knocked him dazed with the first few. He couldn’t lift his arm to even block after a while, but then lights were switched on and footsteps stampeded back down the stairs.

Jesse was tackled off him and thrown against a far wall, clear across the living room now by Cord. Derek stood over Jamie and as he cleared his vision and regrouped, he flung himself to his feet and started for Jesse. Derek held him back now. Then a sob was heard from the stairs.

Tiffany stood in a flimsy nightgown. Kara was beside her, a comforting arm thrown around her shoulder. She was in her pajamas, a top and shorts like me, and patting her friend. Tiffany’s gaze wrenched from her boyfriend to her sister, who was still dazed in the foyer. “Oh my god.” She breathed out, a hissing sound, before her chest jerked up and she held firm. All the blood had drained from her face, but she turned to watch her struggling boyfriend. He was trying to throw off Derek, who seemed to have a firm grip on him.

“What the hell, man?! What the effing hell?!”

“Stay away from Alex!” Jesse shouted back at him. He pushed Cord off, shaking his head at the same time. Cord only moved a foot away with a hand kept on his arm.

“WHAT?!”

“You heard me.”

“Tiffany,” Hannah groaned. “I can’t—I’m drunk.”

“Let’s hope you are,” her sister snapped back. “You were going to screw my boyfriend. My boyfriend, Hannah!”

“I wasn’t. I’m sorry. I’m drunk.”

Tiffany looked at Jamie, who had grown still by that time. Her eyes narrowed and the same venom she had spewed at me was directed at him now. “If you would check your phone, you would’ve known I was here. And you would’ve known that she’s not screwing Cord, you idiot. She’s screwing Jesse!”

The fight drained from Jamie and his body slumped as Derek pushed him back against the wall, from the sudden lack of struggling. “She’s what?”

Cord cursed. “Man, you’re so stupid sometimes. I told you I wasn’t sleeping with her.”

“Yeah, but you never keep a girl around and then Chandra was gone. You’re not sleeping with her?”

“No.”

Jesse growled at him again, pushing against Cord.

Dumbstruck is the only word to describe the look on Jamie’s face as he swiveled his eyes from me to his roommate. Then the same horror I’d witnessed on Hannah appeared over him now. “Oh man. That’s worse. Serious?”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “That’s the least of your problems right now.”

“Oh yeah. Um,” biting his lip, he turned to me. “I’m sorry, Alex. I really am. I had no idea—”

“Obviously,” his girlfriend ground out again. Then we heard crying from the doorway and she sighed, “Hannah.”

“I’m so sorry, Tiff. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe I was going to do that. That’s—”

“I know you guys have been texting each other.”

Hannah hiccupped on a sob and wiped a tear from her eye. “You do?”

“Wait, how?”

Tiffany sent another lethal warning look to her boyfriend to shut up. The message was delivered and received. He slid to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. A soft ‘oh, man’ could be heard underneath his breath. He kept repeating that phrase, no doubt seeing his life flashing before his eyes.

“I pay for his phone.” She’d gone over to Hannah and peered down. “You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”

Hannah wordlessly nodded, more tears falling from her. Then she lifted skinny arms and wound them around her older sister’s head, hugging her tight and mumbling, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Wrapping an arm around Hannah, Tiffany rocked her back and forth, brushing her hair down her back and murmuring, “I know. I know you are.”

Cord was the one who cleared his throat and suggested, “Jamie, you might want to clear out for a while.”

“Because I was rude to his girl? Jesse, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Shut up!” Jesse whipped back at him. The fury caused even me to jump back. He jerked forward, pressing against Cord again, as he drilled holes into his roommate on the floor now. “You stepped wrong, Striker. I want you out.”

“Hey, whoa.” Derek and Cord both turned at the same time. Cord spoke up first, “You’re kicking him out, for good?” Derek ended, “That’s extreme.”

But Jesse didn’t care. I saw the cold in him and shivered, he was beyond not caring. “It’s my house. I want him out. Get your shit tomorrow and don’t come back. I don’t want to hear it either.” He sent me a scathing look. I knew he didn’t blame me for what happened, but the anger was barely checked. I was scorched by it, but I knew this Jesse. He wanted time alone so when he stalked downstairs, I stayed put. I’d go in a little bit.

Kara had sidled up next to me. “Should you go after him?”

“No. I need to wait.”

Tiffany glanced over, confused, but she didn’t comment as she continued to stroke her sister’s back. Hannah was full-out sobbing now, clinging to her sister. The guys helped Jamie to his feet and he went to his room. It wasn’t long before he came back down, a bulging bag over his shoulder. He paused in the doorway, but he didn’t say anything as he left. He looked ready to apologize or say something to his girlfriend, but she shot him a dark look and turned her back to him. So he left with a defeated sloop to his shoulders.