“Right, likely story. Like you haven’t wanted to fuck this loser for the last couple of weeks.”
“Nick, shut up,” I grind through my teeth. “Let’s take this outside and deal with it and not ruin these people’s breakfasts.”
“Fuck them,” he growls. “And fuck you. I should have known better than to take you back.” He steps closer to me, his chin raised. “You’re beneath me, you ugly slut.”
Amber gasps from beside me. My heart stops.
The dining hall fills with a crack as Josh’s fist slams right into Nick’s face.
Blood sprays from his nose and he goes stumbling backward. Josh has caught him off guard, putting all of his height and weight behind the punch.
Nick grabs his nose, crying out, then springs forward, fists swinging at Josh. Josh ducks and spins out of the way and Nick is too crazed to act with precision or grace. He stumbles into a table and orange juice spills and cutlery clatters and people scramble to their feet to get out of the way.
“Stop!” I yell but they don’t hear me.
Nick goes for Josh again and clocks him on his chin but Josh moves with the blow and then twists around before throwing a hard punch into Nick’s solar plexus. Nick coughs, stunned for a moment, and then Josh is going for another punch.
But someone has grabbed Josh’s arm, holding his fist back, and another guy holds back Nick, and I’m able to safely launch myself in between them. “Stop it, please,” I say again and my attention is on Josh because, out of the two of them, he’s the only one who will listen. I press my splayed fingers on Josh’s chest, feeling his breath heave in and out, the heat he’s giving off. “Please. Don’t be like him.”
His eyes are crazed, pupils small against his glacier blues. A thin sheen of sweat covers his brow. But he peers down at me, understands what I’m asking, and gives me the most subtle nod. His body relaxes slightly and he steps back, turning away.
I look back at Nick, who is fighting to get out of the restraint of two men. They’re burly, seasoned-looking trampers and they mean business, but that doesn’t stop Nick from yelling, “Don’t think I won’t forget this, Gemma Henare!” He says my last name like it’s a joke. “I know what you did. You won’t have a job to come back to now, so don’t even try. I’ll make sure your name gets trashed all over town.”
“Mate,” the biggest man says to him, his eyes a stiff warning. “Don’t make me send you back to Australia, aye? Calm down. It’s over.” His grip tightens on Nick for emphasis. “You hear me?”
Nick eyes him and the other guy holding him back but eventually concedes. They reluctantly let go of him, though they seem poised to take him down if he tries to go after Josh.
I don’t know what to fucking do. Nick was supposed to come back with us; some of his stuff is still in Mr. Orange.
The tough man looks to me. “If I were you, I’d pack up and get out of here. This is a family place. No one wants any more trouble.”
“Of course not,” I manage to say, shooting him a weak smile. I grab Amber, who seems to have been shell-shocked this whole time, and we hurry over to the bunks.
Josh is leaning his forehead against the top bunk, eyes closed, breathing in and out.
“Josh,” I say gently. I carefully lay my hand on his arm. “We need to get going before things get worse. We can pack for you if you want to leave now and take the door that leads to the deck. We’ll meet you on the trail below.”
He slowly rolls his forehead along the wood and looks straight at me, frowning. “I’m not taking the back door. I’m not afraid of him.”
“I know you’re not. That’s the point.”
His brows knit further together. “He called you an ugly slut, Gemma. How can you let him get away with that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him, “because you didn’t let him get away with it. And I appreciate that you stood up for me. But we need to get going before things get worse. We have a bus to catch to Milford Sound anyway.”
He sighs but pushes back from the bunk and starts packing. He’s fast, and to his credit, he slips out the other door.
When Amber and I are ready, our packs on our backs, I give her a look. “Pretty exciting morning, huh?”
Her eyes are wide. “Tell me about it. I felt like I was in an episode of Buffy. But without the vampires.”
“Well, it ain’t over yet.”
As we quickly walk through the dining hall, keeping our heads low, we’re left alone. At least until I can see Nick getting to his feet out of the corner of my eye, his chair scraping loudly on the floor like nails on a chalkboard.