Chapter 6 The Big Brother

Dylan's POV

"Damn, it still hurts! That guy has some terrible punches!" I snarled.

I get up and join Tara. She was trembling all over.

I put my hand on her shoulder. She flinched, then looked at me and started crying, letting me take her in my arms and lift her up.

Tyler was gone when I came to my senses.

I grabbed my phone and texted Connor and Shin Oh to warn them not to wait for us.

After we reached the loft, Tara, who didn't say a word during the drive, took the medicine box and made me sit on the couch to get treated.

"You should heal yourself first," I whispered as I touched her swollen and bloody lip with my fingertips.

"It's not bleeding much anymore. You're in worse shape than I am. I think you need stitches," she teased me, all focused on gently wiping the blood from my face.

Her hand was still shaking, and I could tell she was having a hard time concentrating on not hurting me. I grabbed her hand that was treating me, but even so, her blue eyes didn't dare to look at me.

"I'm sorry. You told me to stay away from him."

Tears started to flow down her face again. I ran my finger over to wipe them away.

"You don't have to apologize; you didn't throw the first punch," I whispered.

It was true that I wasn't very clever on that one. I shouldn't have hit him.

I knew I didn't have the strength to fight him and that he would knock me out without any effort. However, I couldn't help it when I saw him tackle Tara against the Audi. My blood started to boil and I jumped in.

"No, but we could have avoided all this..."

She looked back down at her trembling hands.

"Did something happened between you two?" I finally asked.

She didn't answer right away, which made my heart hurt right then and there.

When she lifted her head, she smiled at me, a sad smile that froze me suddenly.

"No, nothing serious. I may have thought he was a puppy for a short while, but like all poorly trained dogs, they eventually bite the hand that reaches out to them."

Then I noticed in her eyes that she was calm and cool again in an instant. This was Tara all over again; she was repressing everything very quickly.

She took a piece of gauze and put it on my eyebrow.

"Ouch!" I cried.

She laughed, but held her lip in pain, and we both started laughing.

Tara's POV

I hadn't been to school the rest of the week. I had stayed in the loft every day and only went to Thai boxing class as my only outing, along with Min Oh, who was determined to take me up a level.

He was not flexible at all, and I had to get used to his tough training rhythm. As a result, I had made good progress that week.

Whether I made great progress or not, I knew that against Jackson, I didn't stand a chance, let alone Tyler.

And as I thought about it, I kept seeing their icy green, almost murderous eyes.

I knew they were part of a gang, but I never thought I'd see those terrifying eyes on me, and the more I thought about it, the more my heart hurt.

Not for Jackson, of course. I knew this guy didn't have a shred of goodness in him, but for Tyler.

I had seen hard, icy, worried, sad, and charming looks in his green eyes, but I never thought I would see this murderous look.

Shin Oh told me that neither Jackson nor Tyler had come back to class since that day, and that Tyler had two weeks of expulsion for what had happened, which meant that he would be expelled the following week.

However, Shin Oh couldn't believe that he had never been expelled after what he had done. In fact, according to the rumors going around the school, it was said that his mother had interfered to keep him from being expelled.

"So simple for him," Isabella said. "His father is in the mafia; he has sources."

Yes, it was true; he was in the mafia. I put the dish in the oven and stood for a moment gazing at the moon.

"Tara, are you working at the store tomorrow?" Min Oh asked me.

"Sorry?" I said.

Min Oh looked at me in surprise.

"You've got to stop dreaming," he said with a smile. "Edward will pick you up at the exit. We figured you could join us at the club tomorrow. Girls have a pretty short shift. You can use it to blow off some steam."

"Wait," Shin Oh exclaimed in a playful tone. "You just said we were allowed to do whatever we want."

Min Oh's gaze hardened and he smacked her on the head.

"Don't dream either!"

We started to laugh. Those two were funny. Shin Oh was lucky to have a big brother like him.

"So, did you tell him about Edward?" Dylan said as he came back from his room.

"Yes. Isn't he the tall, black guy at the gym we go to?" I asked.

Actually, I didn't know him much more than that.

Dylan and Min Oh nodded and explained to us that he had also become a sorcerer at the club where they worked and that he dreamed of becoming a bodyguard later on.

He was a nice guy who could be trusted.

"Fine. Let's do it!" I said as I grabbed the cutlery from the drawer to put it on the table.

Dylan stood in the corner of the kitchen for a moment. I glanced over at him; his wounds had already healed nicely.

I smiled. I was finally going to get to see him work.

Dylan had worked hard to become a DJ and had finally been offered his own three-hour slot. He might have been stressed.

I put my hand on his shoulder and whispered that he should be fine. He smiled at me and we both joined the others at the table.