Fractured Minds (Rebels of Sandland 3)

“I think you’ve outstayed your welcome.” Ryan folded his arms and we all stood strong, waiting for the five of them to leave, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t do anything they were told to. They’d leave when they decided and not before.

At that moment, Emily and Liv came bounding into the room. Both girls frowned when they saw the soldiers, but Emily bypassed them, heading straight over to Ryan and calling out to Brandon, “You need to call Harper right this minute. She’s having pains. She thinks she might be going into labour.”

“Shit,” Brandon cursed, and didn’t hesitate to grab his phone and head for the door. Before leaving, he spun round and growled, “This ain’t over. I’m fucking coming for you,” at the soldiers, and then he was gone.

We wanted to follow too, but from the look on the soldiers faces, this wasn’t over yet.

Adam Noble leered at Emily, looking her up and down and licking his lips on purpose to wind Ryan up. Ryan pulled her to him protectively, which made Noble cackle out a laugh. But then he spotted Liv, who had gone over to comfort Effy, and his face froze. I guess leggy blondes in tight red dresses was his thing, because when he took a few steps towards her, he stared at her like she was the only person in the room. Instinctively, I moved closer towards them. I didn’t want him anywhere near Effy, or Liv for that matter.

“Come outside,” Noble barked at Liv, and when she didn’t react, he leaned closer to her, running his nose along her hair like he was breathing her in and said in a low, demanding voice, “I said, outside. Now.”

Liv jerked away from him in disgust.

“Like I’d go anywhere with you, you freak,” she spat back, and I held my breath. I think we all did.

“Liv, don’t,” Effy hissed quietly.

“Don’t what?” Liv laughed out loud. “He’s a fucking creep.”

“Liv.” Adam said her name like he was trying it out on his tongue, seeing how it felt. He wasn’t expecting a response from her. No. Instead, he wrinkled his forehead in confusion, like he was debating something in his sick, fucked-up mind and then he laughed to himself.

“You’re not fucking funny,” Liv snarled. “I don’t know why you’re laughing.”

I watched Noble closely for his reaction, waiting for the impending fireworks to explode. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and he tilted his head and furrowed his brow like he didn’t know exactly how to react, but the fireworks I thought would go off didn’t. I guess he’d met his match, or he simply couldn’t work out what to do next.

“I don’t think you understood me.” He spoke calmly and folded his arms across his chest. “It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I want you to come––”

“I heard what you said and the answer’s still no.” She leant forward, going right into his face. A move that he usually did on others, but now he was on the receiving end. “Do lines like that work on girls in Brinton? Because they don’t with me, so jog on. Cunt.”

There was a snigger from across the room, and Adam took a step back, keeping his eyes on Liv. Liv was no pushover, and if she didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything, she wouldn’t. She wasn’t scared of men like Noble. Plus, she hadn’t been in here to hear what he’d done to my uncle, so she still had her nerve and balls of steel firmly intact.

“You heard her.” Zak suddenly found his voice. “She’s not interested.”

“Who asked you, Atwood?” Adam whipped his head around and then moved like a panther, stalking across the room, ready to rip Zak’s throat out

for daring to speak to him. “Growing some fucking balls there, huh?”

“Just fuck off out of here,” Ryan snapped.

He was reaching the end of his already short fuse, judging from the way he clenched his jaw, but with no Brandon, and only me and Zak for back up, his chances of taking these guys on was slim to none. “You got what you came for, now fuck off.”

Adam looked back at Liv and narrowed his eyes at her, like he was calculating his next move.

“What I want just did a one-eighty. But she’ll keep.” Liv huffed as he said that and he grinned. “I’ll be seeing you around… Olivia.”

“Oh fuck off,” Liv shouted as the five of them walked out with Adam laughing to himself.

Ryan kicked the door shut behind them.

“Who the hell does he think he is?” Liv whined. “Come outside. I’d rather eat my own toenail clippings.”

“He doesn’t care, Liv,” Effy replied, wrapping herself around me. “He’s disgusting.” She buried herself further into me and whispered, “Please don’t watch it… the video, I mean.”

I knew what she meant. She didn’t need to explain.

“I don’t know if I can make that promise,” I answered truthfully. Part of me needed to see it to know it was all over, even if it did scar me even more.

“But if you watch it, it’ll mess with your head, and I don’t want that.”