《Being Neighborly》Chapter 44

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"I don't think we can live normal lives like that," Tristan states after I tell him I just just us to be regular teenagers for once. "Don't get me wrong, I would love for us to have that option, but there's too much going on in our lives. We can't just ignore them to run off and go see a movie or take a walk in the park or do whatever it is you think we should be doing."

"It's wishful thinking," I grumble, sliding low in the passenger seat of his car. I can't even argue with him to defend my naive notion that the two of us can forget all of our problems and continue our last year in high school as if none of them existed.

"Look," he sighs. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't."

"Did I upset you last night? You know, after I smashed my phone?"

I turn to look at him and see that he is watching me, waiting for me to respond. There's real concern in his eyes. He thinks he genuinely scared me last night, losing control like that in front of me.

"I was fine. I am fine," I half-lie. I wasn't scared last night because of Tristan; his burst of anger was justified. I am scared now, though not due to the boy sitting next to me. It's Carter. After receiving that last photo and realizing he was the one responsible for my assault, I haven't been the same.

"Are you sure?" Tristan asks, placing his hands gently on my knee.

"Honestly, nothing can surprise me at this point," I answer.

"Want to bet?" Tristan mumbles, his hand squeezing my knee tighter. He lets go, puts both hands on the wheel, and aggressively pulls up to the space between our houses. The force of the hard braking throws my body forward a little, the seatbelt locking in place to push me back into the leather seats.

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"Tristan, what the hell?" I yell at him, but he's already halfway out the door.

"Stay in the car," he says in a slow, measured tone. "Whatever you see happening out there, just stay in the car."

"Tristan, what's going on?" I ask, the driver door slamming in my face, cutting off my question. I unbuckle myself frantically, craning my neck towards the back windshield to see what had caused the sudden mood shift.

Oh no.

Tristan is running towards my house. Towards two men who seem to be in a heated argument. An argument that looks like it's about to get physical.

"Uncle Luke!" I scream at the top of my lungs, but the sound stays confined in the car. I watch helplessly as the second man punches my uncle in the face, blood spluttering from his mouth. Before the man can get in another punch, Tristan tackles him to the ground and starts fighting him.

I quickly open the car door and rush out, not even thinking about the fact that I'm about to put myself in extreme danger. As I sprint towards the fight, Aunt Clara emerges onto the front steps. Even from a distance, I can see the horror in her eyes as she scrambles to her husband laying on the ground.

When I arrive at the scene, my lungs are burning, my heart is pounding in my ears, and I'm trying to hold back the vomit creeping up the back of my throat. I stay frozen in place, unsure of what to do next. I look over to see Aunt Clara comforting Uncle Luke and checking his wounds, all while holding him back from jumping back into the fight. Then I turn to my right and see Tristan still fighting the much larger, more threatening man on the ground.

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Without thinking, I rush towards the fight and try to pull Tristan off the man. His left arm swings back to deliver another blow to the man's jaw, but I get in the way and his elbow connects with my cheekbone, throwing me back. Tears well in my eyes as the pain rips through my body. My vision is blurred, but I can still see the shock in Tristan's face as he registers that he has hit me instead of his father.

His father!

Even through the tears, I can make out the similarities in their faces despite the blood and bruising covering them.

"Leila, are you okay?" he leaps off his father and comes to my side, touching my already tender cheek. "This is why I told you to stay in the car."

"You didn't actually expect me to listen to you, did you?" I respond, getting frustrated with him thinking I would just sit back while him and my uncle fight off Brian.

"My son is naive when it comes to women," a deep voice says from behind Tristan. "He's naive about a lot of things."

Tristan looks at me, silently asking if I'm okay enough for him to leave and deal with his father. I nod, reassuring him I'll be fine. He kisses the top of my head while standing up to go confront Brian.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he yells, hands balling up into fists at his side.

"I came to negotiate with Luke," he calmly says. "But he can't seem to compromise when it comes to the business of my business."

"Trying to take back full ownership from Tristan isn't a compromise," Uncle Luke belts from his place on the ground, blood still dripping from the side of his mouth. "And threatening to harm his mother and my family unless we give in is more of an ultimatum, don't you think?"

"Now, brother, don't you think we should all discuss this in private?"

"Brother?" Aunt Clara, Tristan, and I all question out loud in unison.

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