My plan to break up with Ty fell through my fingers like sand the second he managed to parallel park in a spot between an old Chevy pickup and a Volkswagen. I'd had a pretty good idea of our whereabouts for the night from the second he asked me out this afternoon, but the second he shifted the car into park and turned the key in the ignition was only the beginning of what would domino into a catastrophic mess by the end of the night.

He was as polite as usual, walking around the car, offering his palm, then helping from the car despite me being willing and able. I allowed him to help me on to the curb before I caught his elbow between my index finger and thumb. "Ty."

"Hmm?" his eyebrows slowly shot up, but his eyes remained glued to his phone as his fingers danced across the keyboard at lightning speed.

"I've been wanting to talk. I think we—"

My words fell dry as Levi tackled his best friend from behind and would have sent him straight into me a few feet away if Mikey hadn't snuck up on me and yanked me to the left and into his arms. I hugged him, guiltily forcing a smile, then stepped away and turned back to Ty and Levi. They were deep in conversation already, the different shades of brown's eyes illuminated by the streetlamp over our heads.

"Hey, you good?" Mike asked, leaning into me and resting a hand on the small of my back.

I tore my eyes from the boy before me and to Mikey on my left. "Yeah, I'm great."

*

Every time I figured I'd be able to catch Ty alone for a second, some jock would swoop in and interrupt me the minute I opened my mouth to try and get a word out. Unfortunately for me, by the time I was able to get Ty to follow me upstairs and step into the quiet of a bedroom, he was four beers in and had that stupid drunk smile on his face.

"I've been trying to talk to you all night." I stated, glaring at him.

"Oh, come on, babe. Loosen up." he reached out and tried to touch my arm but I jerked away and dodged it. "You're so uptight, Aurora. Breathe, go with the flow. It's okay."

I shook my head, "I don't think this is working, Ty."

"Huh?"

"This. You and me." I said it slower, gesturing between the two of us for added affect so it'd get through and into his thick skull. "I just think we're too different."

There was a flicker of something in his eyes, but I couldn't place it right away and it was gone as soon as it'd entered. "You're joking, right?"

"Ty, you deserve—"

"No, no, none of that it's not you it's me bullshit." he closed the distance between us and took my face between his hands. An action that'd once brought butterflies to my stomach had it churning and sour within seconds. "Baby, we'll be fine. Real relationships take work. They aren't like all those dumb books you read. Life isn't always happily ever after-and if it is, you work for it."

The words shouldn't have affected me, but as my brain processed them, Onyx leaning outside my bedroom window and whispering, "I promise you'll get your happily ever after, Princess," sounded and wouldn't vacate the premise, even with my boyfriend's eyes burning into mine.

"We're done, Ty." I whispered.

He rested his hand on my back and gently eased me forward until my body was flush against his. I tried to shift out of the compromising position, but his grasp on my forearm had tightened and the hand against my back didn't feel as though it were going to move anytime soon.

"Ty." I tried to sound as menacing as possible but it came out in a terrified squeak. "Please let me go."

In a quick, swift motion, he was able to corner me back until I was in front of the bed and pushed me on to it, his hands immediately extending out toward the button and zipper of my jeans.

"Ty!" I gasped, trying to scoot away. "I'll scream if you try anything!"

As if my threat meant nothing, he continued and was able to bring my zipper down before I retracted my leg back and in a quick jerk sent my foot right into his face. I didn't need to stay and see if I'd got him, as I could hear the cursing and when he pulled his hand from his face, blood had seeped down his palm like a glove. I lurched past him, but only made it just before the door before he was able to catch the back of my shirt. Given that I was a foot shorter and not bleeding, I was able to break free from his hand, but in doing so, I fell forward and slammed my own face into the door frame. I cried out in pain, but blindly rushed out the door and through the crowded house, nearly sending a few people tumbling off the staircase as I shot through them.

I ran. I ran more than I ever had in my life. I ran until my legs finally gave out blocks away and I collapsed against a large elm tree in someone's front yard. I released my hand from my face and threw it in the opposite direction when I saw the crimson sticking to the edges of my fingers.

I started to dig through my purse until I had my phone in hand, whimpering to myself when the blood from my thumb smeared the screen. I knew better than to try and call Mom as she had sat me down before Ty had come to explain that she had to take Olivia out of town for her the night to see another specialist. Angie had also mentioned that she had to babysit her younger brother and sister. And given that Mikey was probably as or more drunk than Ty, I only had one option.

I pulled my legs in and wrapped my arm around them, my body starting to ravage with uncontrollable shaking. Onyx finally answered on the last ring. "Hello?"

He sounded groggy-I must have woken him up. Any other time I would feel a pang of guilt and hang up, but under these circumstances, I think my fear would outweigh it.

"Onyx."

Though I tried to get it out in a quick, full breath. It came out an incoherent sob. Luckily, it was enough for all sleepiness to leave his voice and he barked, "Aurora? Where are you?"

The question was followed by the sound of shuffling and floor creaking.

"Send me your location." he demanded realizing I wasn't going to respond. "I'm coming. Don't hang up."

I did as ordered and peered around the other side of the tree to ensure that Ty hadn't chased after me, or worse, hopped in his car under the influence.

It wasn't but five minutes before car headlights blinded me from the street. I started to stand, but collapsed back against the tree, my lightheadedness getting the best of me momentarily.

Onyx didn't bother to shut his door as he rushed across the lawn to my hunched figure. "Sky?"

I pushed the hand he extended away.

"Sky?" he repeated. "What happened?"

I started hyperventilating at the thought of trying to explain what'd let up to this moment and crossed the small space between us and fell forward into his unexpecting arms. He recollected himself quickly and held me against him, but the security didn't last long as a familiar voice echoed through the quiet night.

"Aurora!" Ty shouted, stepping out from the shadow a few houses down. "Please stop for a second."

Onyx tensed against me and even with the limited vision I had, I could see his entire face twist into a scowl. It wasn't until Ty had stepped into view that Onyx moved so he was in front of me, the scowl quickly intensifying.

"What the hell are you doing here, Hayes?"

The heat and anger radiating off Onyx had backing away as he snarled, "Did you do this?"

"Do what?" Ty feigned innocence.

Onyx straightened and edged closer to Ty across the lawn.

"Nyx." I breathed, then louder, pleaded, "Onyx, let's go, please."

"Oh, come on." Ty finally baited. "I'm sure you've thought about doing it to shut her up once or twice."

That was all it took for Onyx to close the distance between them and send the shorter boy to the ground. I started forward, tears stinging my eyes as the two boys wrestled on the ground. Unfortunately, Ty was able to get a few good swings in by the time I reached them.

"Onyx!" I shouted, watching as the switch flipped in him. His lip curled back into something resembling a snarl as he unleashed all his pent-up aggression and emotions on the boy beneath him. "Onyx stop! You're going to kill him!"

I started for them again but was intercepted halfway by Raymond and watched as Levi and Mikey tore the two boys apart, both still shouting at one another.

"Is that all you got, Hayes?" Ty taunted, spitting blood beside him as he tried to shake free of his best friend's restraint. "I always knew you were all talk!"

I quickly ducked under Ray's arm and threw myself in front of Onyx before he could cross the lawn back to Ty. I knew, without a doubt, Mikey wasn't strong enough to keep him back. I pressed my palms against his chest and stared up at him pleadingly. "Nyx, please. Come on."

Levi, hearing my voice, took in my appearance for the first time since he'd joined the fight. "Shit, Rory. What happened to your face?"

Onyx's shoulders relaxed just the slightest as he dropped one of his arms over my shoulder and hugged me protectively into his side. "If you touch her again, I'll break your neck."

"Is that a threat?"

Onyx started to turn the two of us around toward Mikey, then loudly retorted, "No. It's a promise."

*

I wiped the last of the dried blood from Onyx's top lip and tossed the alcohol wipe into the trash bin on his left. At some point we'd silently agreed to tend to one another's wounds-even if he had far more than I did. His entire face was bruised, and his right eye was swollen shut and he cringed every time he tried to open it.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, eyes flickering from the tile beneath his bare feet to me on the counter beside him.

I eyed him in confusion. "Are you seriously asking if I'm okay? Have you seen yourself?"

"Sky." he warned. "What happened?"

"I tried to break up with him." I explained, dropping my gaze to my trembling fingers. "I tried to break up with him and he didn't want that. He started to try and. . . I don't know what he was going to do, but I kicked him in the face before he could do anything."

"Good."

I threw another look in his direction and winced, as if there were some part of me that expected this to all be some nightmare and his face would be stupidly perfect again any second.

"When I tried to leave, he caught the back of my shirt. I managed to get free but I hadn't realized when doing so I'd fall forward into the door frame."

He straightened, his shoulders hardening against the side of my leg. "I'm going to kill him."

"Onyx." I whispered, shaking my head, "Please."

He pushed off the counter and walked around my right leg so he was positioned between them. He kept moving forward until he was close enough to touch his fingertips under my chin, gentle and light as a feather. "I want to kill him."

I shut my eyes and leaned into the touch. "I need you right now, Onyx. Please don't go and do something stupid."

Being that the guy was a gargantuan like Mikey, I was chest level up on the counter and rested my head against it, listening to the quickening of his heartbeat. We stayed like that for a while, and possibly could have all night if the door hadn't been thrown open and heard our mothers' quiet chatter fill the empty house.

"Onyx! You hear, honey?" Olivia called, then let out a yelp stepping into the kitchen and seeing the two of us. My mother was just as dramatic and raced to me, touching my face and kissing me as if it'd take the pain away.

"We leave you two for a few hours and you do this to each other?"

My mother's words stirred Onyx out of his head and he glared at my mother. "I wouldn't touch her."

Mom, surprised by the response, touched his cheek and said, "I know honey. I just. . . you guys need to tell us what happened?"

"I thought you were out of town for the night." I said instead.

"They got us in earlier and I wanted to sleep in my own bed." Olivia answered, eyes still on her son. "Please tell me you have great reasoning behind all those bruises, honey."

Onyx's eye found mine and he nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"I think we all need to get some rest." Mom suggested, rubbing my back. "Let me help Liv get settled in and we'll head home."

Onyx and I both nodded in agreement and waited until they'd headed for the stairs to speak again.

"I'm sorry." I eventually broke the silence. "I didn't know who else to call an—"

"Sky."

"I never meant for you to get. . . it wasn't your fight."

"Sky."

I ignored him and rambled on. "You didn't deserve to have your stupidly perfect face rearranged. I'm so—"

"Aurora." Onyx said my real name a little louder as he approached. "Breathe. It's okay. My stupidly perfect face will go back to normal in a couple weeks."

A hysteric laugh escaped me at that and I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you. But please don't make a habit of playing hero for me."

"Got it." his chest shook with laugh against my head. "You gonna be okay tonight?"

I lifted my head up and ran my thumb along the cut on his bottom lip. "I'll be fine. Worry about Olivia and yourself."

"Please keep yourself out of trouble, Sky. At least for the night."

I smiled weakly as my mother entered the room with a thumbs up and went straight for the front door. Backing away, I nodded and said, "I'll try. Goodnight, Onyx."