Like some cheesy moment in a movie the world around me slows down as my thoughts run a million miles a minute while Bianca locks her hands around Ares's head and forces him to stay there while she kisses him.

I didn't wait five years for the man I love to become my boyfriend just so some random girl could kiss him infront of me after pushing me along with broken glass.

Standing up I ignore how my wrapped ankle aches in pain and tense as I speed walk to Bianca, Ares trying to push her away without hurting her making my cheeks flush.

"Hey bitch," Wrapping my hand around the bitch's, who obviously doesn't fucking care about consent, arm I pull her stumbling away from the giant. "That's my boyfriend."

The next thing I know the hand I didn't have on her elbow curls into a fist and I hear the sharp snap! as I punch Bianca straight in the face.

Two hands land on my waist, Ares's arms slide around me and pin my to his body as I go to step towards her again. My past seems to have caught up to me. "Everly." Just like his body his voice is tense, disgust filled, but not directed at me. "Don't fight her."

"See! Even now he's protecting me. I-"

"I'm not protecting you, you crazy bitch." Ares snarls, making Bianca- -who for some reason doesn't care about her black and already swelling, tear dripping eye that has a cut above it, showing how hard I punched her- -freeze and make a offended face. "Don't fucking come near me."

"Ares-"

"Don't say my fucking name! I have never liked you, I have never even been your friend. Dio you crazy gringa, you're not someone I would ever date. Everly is my girlfriend, mine. You hurt her." I don't think his voice can get much deeper, colder than this. "When someone doesn't want to kiss you, then stop kissing them. If I was any less of a man I would have thrown you across the room for doing that to me."

God I wish he had.

"She might be your girlfriend but that ugly troll punched me. I swear to god I'm going to-"

"Leave." Ares interrupts her, hands tightening on me before he steps back. "I'm going to go wash my face, when I get back I don't want you here. Get out of my house. You good Ev?"

Nodding, I hold my arms as I try not to flinch under Bianca's stare.

If she didn't look at me like that, like my bullies used to, I probably wouldn't have had the instinct to punch her. Wanted to? Yes. But I know I wouldn't have.

Speaking from experience I know Areas feels violated and wants to get it off of his skin, but I know he's also blowing off steam without anyone else around so he'll take awhile so he doesn't explode on anyone.

Nicolettá walks in the room when her brother walks out, examining the tension before walking over to her best friend in concern once she sees the broken glass and her black hair eye. "Dios mio!" She exclaims, looking between us. "What happened? Your eye, the glass and Peyton you're pale and sca-"

"Enough about her." My jaw drops as Bianca is suddenly a sobbing mess clutching to her best friend. "I, she-"

"Shh, it's okay." Nico gives me a weird look, but the panic gripping my chest makes it impossible for me to defend myself. "Let's go outside, get you fresh air and you can tell me everything."

I'm shaking in every limb by the time they get to the door.

There's still glass everywhere.

"Don't you dare touch that glass hija, you know better." Camilla is suddenly behind me, hands on my shoulders as her wife comes to my side. I can't look away from the glass, even as tears go down my cheeks. "You're shaking like a chihuahua."

"Oh honey," Livia brushes two tears away from my eyes. "I'll get Ares."

I need Ares.

"Sit chica, sit. Good, now in through the nose and out through the mouth, just breath." Camilla rubs my back while crouching next to me. "If you can, tell me what happened."

It takes a few minutes before I don't feel like I'm choking, then I begin to talk -Angie having come in and silently start picking up the glass while listening.

"Me and Ares were kissing and stopped when, when Bianca c-came in the room. And, and she insulted our relationship and I, I, no, she pushed me away from him. I hit the counter, and knocked the glass off with my body. I'm really sorry about t-that I would never break any, anything on purpose." They both wave this off and urge me to continue. "Bianca kissed Ares though he clearly didn't want to and he tried to get her off without hurting her, but it didn't really work."

Once again at this point I start crying, hating myself for hurting another person. "I-I punched her." Holding up my hand I let them see my two busted knuckles. "Normally I would, I would never do that b-but she reminds me a lot of people that used to bully me."

"Given your past, I understand why that would freak you out." Camilla says, rubbing her hands up and down my arms. Now just my hands are shaking. "Where is Bianca now? And mi hijo."

"She started crying and I'm, I'm really not trying to sound like a bitch," This is said with clear venom for myself in my voice. "But it doesn't seem like a genuine cry. And N-Nicolettá is with her outside, talking. Mars is upstairs."

"Why would he leave when you're like this?" She asks, clearly disapproving.

"I told him I'm okay." Which is clearly a lie. "W-why would she do that if she knows where together? She called us fake, said were just...using each other."

"I don't know, but I don't want you around her in the mean time. You shouldn't feel threatened enough to punch someone when you're not a violent person, or in general and she shouldn't be hurt, no matter how mad you get." Cami's motherly side comes out to play, one I know she's had to use a lot on Ares.

"I know and I'm so, I'm so sorry. I hate violence, I really do. I hate hurting people and seeing them be hurt. I just got mad that she did that to Ares, and how she looked at me, how she, how she talked to me -it just freaked me out. Bianca acts like a bully." I admit this quietly, more disgusted with myself than her at the moment though what she did is bad. "Please tell her I'm-"

"Peyton!" Nico suddenly screeches after slamming the door open. My body tenses, the shaking returning as my adrenaline spikes. Her mamá's hand tightens on my shoulder. "How dare you. How fucking DARE you let us all trust you like this."

I frown, my heart plummeting to my feet when she storms in the kitchen, cheeks red in anger and fists clenched. This action summons Donny into the room, who is equally as surprised.

"How dare you pretend to be this sweet innocent thing when you're not, tricking all of us, making us trust you over our own family." Does she mean Saint? "Over our best friends. I am disgusted with girls who do that, and to what? Get closer to Ares? Mooch off him?"

"I don't-"

"Don't." Nico snarls, sounding a lot like a mad giant I know. "Bianca told me all about how you glared at her, made snide comments, insulted her without us knowing and tricked us into thinking Santiago is the bad guy just when he was getting better. She told me how fake you are, Peyton."

"I didn't-"

"Bee told me how you threw a glass at her, how you punched her when she tried to stop you when she caught you threatening Ares." I would never do anything to Ares. "Domestic abuse is bad. You'd know." Low blow.

"I would never-"

"Stop lying!" Bianca suddenly screeches, stomping her foot on the tile. I flinch. "You slithered your way into the family and you hurt Ares, you hurt Saint, you hurt me." She isn't even part of this family. "And you can't get away with it anymore."

Emotion seems to drain out of me, and I know I look like a pale, crying mess on the ground. "I-I have hurt Ares in the past but I don't abuse him! I broke the glass but only because I accidentally knocked it off the counter you pushed me into. I don't lie like you're saying. I did punch you, but only because you made me flash back to my past and kissed my boyfriend without consent and continued even when he didn't want to." I stand with Cami at my side, holding onto me so I won't fall. "And Santiago terrifies me. I didn't turn anyone against him, you're his family, I want you all to love him, I just know I can't because of how he makes me feel and the demeaning things he's said about my body. I have never actively tried to get any of you to trust me, or thought your trust was something to exploit. I have loved Ares for five years, we have been through a lot together and I would never hurt him."

"You're just lying more-"

"Bianca please shut up and let me think." Nico says, officially calmed down. "Peyton-"

"Hold on hija," Camilla, who noticed me swaying on my feet before I did, makes the tension in the room grow by making everyone go silent. I clutch onto her, panic closing my airway as I refuse to meet her eye. "I believe Peyton so take that into account. Can someone please go get Ares?"

I suck at eye contact and having confrontations.

It doesn't help that just the thought of me abusing Ares makes me nauseous.

"Ares?" My head spins, and suddenly I find the cold tile under me. When did I sit down? The buzzing in my ears is really loud. "I need him."

Fingers snap in front of my face, and I flinch away.

"Eat this." Angelina tells me, holding out a ice cube. Some of the panic dulls as I begin to think about how this could help. Her hand follows mine after I grab it, making sure I don't drop it until it's in my mouth. The cold shocks my system, centering me into reality. "Better?"

"I'm sorry," Hiccuping instead of responding I'm about to do it again when heavy footsteps pound down on the stairs and my boyfriend barges his way into the room, his hazel eyes frantic. "Mars."

It seems like no time passes at all until I'm wrapped around Ares, face buried comfortably under his chin with his large arms around me and he stands to glare at Bianca, already doing his part to calm me. "I told you to fucking leave." The giant snaps, I feel his rigid muscles under me. He didn't get enough time to cool off. "I told you to get out of my house and-"

"It's not your house. Why are you yelling at me," Bianca sniffs. "I'm helping you."

"Every girl who's had a guy force themselves on them would disagree. I was raised here. My mamá is here, this is my home." He pauses, thinking of the consequences of something. "If you don't leave right now, I will, and I can promise you. And Nico. Mamá, Mom. I won't ever be back until she apologizes and leaves our family alone for good."

"Hijo-"

"Cami he's serious." Angie says, stepping closer to us. "I've had a bad feeling about that Asian gringa for years, you know that. I share Ares's opinion, and I trust that girl of his. If they both say she violated her right to stay here than that's that, she's no longer welcomed."

"It's a safe place for our kids first, baby." Livia agrees, making me sigh in relief against Ares's skin. "Do you see that girl, and how our boy melts against her? They don't abuse each other one bit."

"Abuse?" Mars questions, the word instantly riling him up. "Why was that mentioned? Did Everly tell you something about her bio-blood?"

That's what he calls my family.

"Uh no...Bee um, she claims that Peyton has been glaring at her, saying rude things behind our backs. That the thing with Saint is fake. That she threw the glass and punched her when she caught her in the act of abusing you." Nico says, voice sounding distant. "Bee seemed really upset about it, and you bolted away like you do when you're hurt...I trust Bee. So when..."

"If she wasn't convincing like this she wouldn't be a good liar. Those are lies, Saint did fuck up. And Bianca is a good liar." Ares replies harshly. "I know you're her best friend but I'm saying right now, her or me. Make her leave, or watch me."

"Do I have to stop being her friend?"

"I'd never ask that, just dont let her around me. Don't talk about her. Get her the fuck away from me before I walk out the door, Nico." The giant snarls, genuinely upset. "She pushed Everly who already has a hurt ankle and history of being assaulted in the past, she forced me to kiss her when I didn't want to and she lied to your face about that. Do what's right."

"Bianca Turner, get out of my mother's house and don't come back. I mean it. You have made my brother and his girl feel unsafe and unwelcomed, you lied to my face and made me react to something you know I would be genuinely upset about and you have overstayed your welcome here at the Dante house. If you don't leave, I'll make you." Real pain floods Nicolettá's voice, and I know how hard this is for her. No one deserves to treat their best friend like this, to lose the person they were closes to -even if it is someone like Bianca, who I know didn't treat Nico bad. "Leave."

Her voice cracks on this word, the wobble in her voice taking full affect.

Just as the front door slams shut- -Bianca's stuff already packed away in her car since it was in the livingroom we had played in- -I pathetically burst into tears, and clutch to Ares while bawling my eyes out.

Nicolettá gets hugged by Donovan, but even in the face of this situation she doesn't break down like I do and only sheds a few tears.

"Shh Ev, it's okay. It's okay." Ares rubs up and down my back, quickly setting me on the counter so he doesn't have to carry my weight while comforting me. "It's not your fault."

The way he can read my mind doesn't quite shock me anymore.

"I-if I didn't come then, then she wouldn't have..." Grabbing onto his shirt I face plant into his neck, body shaking against his.

I hate being such a cry baby over emotional issues when I can handle physical pain so well.

"Then I wouldn't know how much of a fake predator my best friend was for awhile, and there would have been no one around to defend my little brother against her when he didn't feel like he could defend himself. Him and his stupid morals." Nico grumbles, having seemed to piece what really happened together despite her initial anger. Definitely a family trait. "So thank you."

"But I, I punched h-her."

"From what I hear she deserved it, it being self defense and all." Angelina pipes up, grinning at me when I lift my head off of Ares long enough to look her way. "Are you okay now? I know what it's like to be affected by a past like yours."

"You do?" My eyes instantly widen, and I sit up straighter.

That sucks.

Angie nods, I drop eye contact but I can tell she doesn't look away from me nonetheless. "Doctor visits are a really weird place to be so happy for the first time, aren't they."

At this I cough once, instantly sputtering at how well she articulated the feeling I've had since Ares took me to the doctors office -one Conner can only listen to but never actually understand.

"And just from the regular routine check list too, eh chica?"

"I've never met anyone who understands that, besides my foster friend Val who only gets the abuse." I say, hands dropping to the bottom of the giant's shirt. "Thank you."

"Should I ask what's going on?" Ares mumbles, leaning into me.

Shrugging I smile lightly at him, "You already know."

Donovan clears his throat. "Can we put all this aside and go get some Applebee's because that food hits different, and I'm hungry."

"Dio, my boyfriend is like a basic fresha besides the puta part." Nico insults him, making me giggle lightly under my breath and for Cami to chuckle. In all this, Saint never showed up -but I'm not complaining.

"Applebee's?" I question, looking up to Ares, he nods and helps me off the counter. "Thanks."

"Anything for you, Ev."