"Daniel, calm down," Upton replied calmly but firmly. In his hands was a bottle of wine, clearly the object of their contention.
"You guys, what's going on?" Paige demanded. They completely ignored her.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" I flinched as Daniel kicked the metal vase clear across the room like a soccer ball. "You think you can just walk into someone's house and take whatever you want? You're so fucking entitled? "he shouted, the veins on his neck protruding. "Not everything belongs to you, man!"
Poppy looked around at us with an apologetic, but somehowproud, expression. We all knew that Daniel was talking about her more than the bottle of wine.
"I told you, I didn't take it," Upton replied, holding the bottle out to the side. "Your mother gave it to me."
"Yeah, right," Daniel shot back. "Mother would never part with that vintage. That bottle's worth two thousand dollars."
"What do you want me to tell you, mate?" Upton asked, with a shrug. "Ask her yourself."
Daniel's jaw clenched. "Give me the bottle, Upton."
"No," Upton replied.
"This is the last time I'm going to ask. Give. Me. The bottle," Daniel said, advancing on him.
"What are you goingto do? Hit me?" Upton asked.
Daniel pulled his arm back and did just that. The crack of fist against jaw sounded like a baseball bat shattering into pieces off a fastball. An involuntary screech escaped my throat and was echoed by
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the surprised shrieks of every other girl in the room. Upton wheeled around but didn't fall, and somehow kept hold of the precious wine bottle. He was just straightening up when Mr. and Mrs. Ryan rushed in from the stairs in the center hall.
"What is going on in here?" Mr. Ryan thundered.
Mrs. Ryan stooped to retrieve her battered vase and held it in front of her at waist level with both hands, almost like a shield. She regarded the flowers on the floor with distaste, as if their fate was upsetting her more than the fight her son was having.
"Upton stole a bottle of wine from the cellar," Daniel replied, spittle flying from his mouth and showering the floor. "I'm just trying to get it back."
"Daniel, Upton did no such thing," Mrs. Ryan said calmly, but in a scolding tone. "I gave him that bottle."
"What?" Daniel asked, his eyes going glassy. "No. You couldn't have.. .."
Mrs. Ryan stepped up next to Upton like a protective mother hen. "He was down in the cellar looking for ideas for a special occasion he's planning, and I told him to take the bottle."
I felt a hot blush climbing up my neck and onto my face as Noelle glanced at me with a question in her eyes. I knew exactly what the special occasion was, and, as always, it seemed Noelle had figured it out too.
"Now, Daniel, apologize to Upton," Mrs. Ryan said.
Daniel turned and looked at Upton, who merely stood there. To his credit, Upton didn't appear triumphant at all. He merely looked like
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he wanted this whole ordeal to be over already. Daniel, however, was still the color of tomato sauce.
"It'll be a cold day in hell," he spat.
"Daniel!" his father shouted.
For the first time since I'd met him, Daniel ignored his father completely. He took a step toward Upton, his expression full of ire. "The next time I see you, you'd better be prepared."
"Daniel," his mother said with a gasp, "what is the matter with you?"
But Daniel had already turned on his heel and was striding away. He shoved through a door at the far end of the room and disappeared from sight.