“I think it’s time for you to leave now,” Landon says icily.
David smirks. “Hey, you enjoy, pal.” He claps Landon on the shoulder.
“Leave. Now.”
David sizes the much bigger man up for a second, smirking. He turns and shoots me a dark look. “Just as a fair warning, buddy. Hope you’re not looking to get serious or start a family with this one.” He levels his eyes at me and shrugs.
“Nice to see you, Serena.”
I don’t realize how tightly I’m clenching my fists until he walks away - until I can finally feel the nails piercing the skin of my palms. I’m trembling, the horrible, tearing feeling like a knife twisting in my gut as I force myself not to cry.
Don’t cry. Don’t you dare fucking cry.
The sound of Landon’s chair sliding back across the floor brings my vision back into focus as I see him stand abruptly.
“No, just…” I blink, willing the hot tears I can feel brimming at my eyes not to fall. “Just leave it.”
He stops for a second, sucking his teeth, before he shakes his head.
“Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”
He whirls and strides across the bar to where David’s rejoined the girl. David who looks up in surprise as Landon yanks him around and jabs a finger against his chest.
“You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?”
“Excuse me?” David sputters.
People at the bar start to turn at the commotion, craning their necks to see what’s going on.
“I said you’re a real piece of shit. And a fucking idiot.”
“Who the hell do you think you-”
“You walked away from that?” Landon jabs a finger back towards where I’m sitting, his eyes burning holes into David. “What, because things got hard? Because life isn’t fucking perfect all the time?”
David snorts and waves Landon off. “Listen, pal, you don’t know the first thing about it, okay?”
“I don’t have to know shit to know a coward when I see one.”
He turns, his face dark as he starts to walk back to our table.
“Oh, says the washed-up has-been?” David snorts.
Landon keeps walking.
“Hey, buddy, have fun with my sloppy seconds, alright? Damaged goods, but hey, knock yourself out.”
Landon freezes mid-step.
There’s a beat, where he looks up and meets my eye, his flashing green fire before he quietly shakes his head and turns.
David’s already turning back to the girl, the bar around him already turning back to their conversations, when Landon strides up, yanks him around, and punches him square in the face.
“Learn some fucking manners,” he snarls as David half falls off his bar stool. He starts to turn when David launches himself at him, grabbing his shirt and swinging a fist into his side. The two of them go crashing to the ground as the bar collectively gasps in horror, scuffling before Landon growls and shoves the smaller man away. He gets to his feet, grabs David by the collar, and knocks him to the ground with one punch.
The place goes dead silent, David sniveling on the ground holding his bleeding nose and Landon standing above him, his shoulders heaving. He steps back, his eyes darting around the silent room before he strides back to the table and takes my hand.
“Let’s go,” he says quietly.
I blink, still staring at my asshole of an ex kneeling on the ground with his “date” sort of hovering and not knowing what to do.
Landon pulls me to my feet, drops some cash on the table, and pulls me through the stunned crowd and out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Serena
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
I grin at him as I dab at the cut on his temple.
“No, I think you definitely should have done that.”
He turns and flashes a quick grin at me before he hisses.
“Sorry,” I murmur, making a face as I finish dabbing rubbing alcohol on the cut. We’re sitting on the couch in my still mostly-bare living room in my still mostly-bare condo.
“Here, this’ll help.” I pass him the glass of whiskey I poured him when we walked in the door, and clink my tequila against it when he takes it.
“Cheers,” he mutters, taking a sip and crunching on an ice cube. “Not exactly the drink out I was planning. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. David’s an asshole.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” He glances at me. “Look, Serena, what he said was way out of line.”
“It’s fine, really,” I shrug, taking a sip of my drink. “He’s just a consummate dickhead is all.”
“Yeah well, you didn’t deserve that.”
“Thanks,” I say quietly. My face scrunches up. “God, I actually feel bad for Lisa. How fucked up is that?”