Some people have fantasies of hot men fighting over them. I mean they make love triangle stories for a reason right? Edward versus Jacob from the Twilight Saga. Will vs. Jem from The Infernal Devices Trilogy. Ahn Min-hyuk versus In Guk-doo in the Kdrama Strong Girl Bong-soon. That weird period where show writers thought about pairing Rachel with Joey instead of Ross in the show FRIENDS.
People feed off of that rival love triangle crap. But I had ZERO desire to be the focus of one of those brawls. Especially when I knew it was just a mind game for one of them and he was going to pummel Tate into the ground, not because he was a boxer, but because he fought dirty. And something deep inside of me was screaming at me to move. To stop them because I knew Tate wouldn't fight dirty. And I didn't want Ashton to be right. I didn't want to be the reason Tate broke.
So I moved, shoving past people, heart hammering in my chest, blood roaring in my ears as I watched Tate stand up, no longer 'nice guy.' He was utterly done. He hadn't seen me yet and I couldn't get my voice to work.
Ashton hadn't moved from his spot at the counter, looking deceivingly calm. But his posture was taught, ready to strike the moment Tate tried something. And as Tate lifted his arm, ready to clock Ashton right in the face, I reached them, yanking Ashton out of my seat by the hood of his jacket. But my timing was off. Terribly off.
Because now Ashton was on the floor and Tate's hand came hurling towards my face where Ashton's had been a moment before. And I didn't have enough time to move away.
It was the second time that day I had seen stars. The first was when I had kissed Tate. And the second was when Tate's fist hit me in the face, causing me to lose all sense of reality, crashing stars into my vision. One was the best moment ever and the other was...
THE
WORST.
"Allie!" Tate shouted as I stumbled backward and tripped over Ashton, my heel landing on his hand. Ashton howled in startled rage, which was the only bonus for having gotten hit in the face.
Landing on my butt in the middle of Ramen Mania, I had about two seconds of staring at nothing and everything in a startled daze before my brain rebooted and I took my chance, jumping on Ashton and slamming his head into the tiled floor. Rage surged through my body, wild and chaotic. Erasing all sense of right, wrong, and civil behavior.
I grabbed him by the hair, knowing that if he got a moment to think, it would all be over. He was over twice my size. I was a fighter, but he had bodyweight and professional training on his side. And unlike Tate, I had ZERO intention of fighting fair.
So I slammed his head into the ground again before ramming my arm into his stomach cutting off all oxygen. Blood poured down on him from my nose, covering him in my blood like some gory trophy.
I got a final kick into his prized jewels before I felt a pair of arms yank me off of Ashton. "Let me go!" I bellowed, angry at having my pent-up rage-pummeling session cut short.
"Allie!" Tate shouted, pulling me further back from Ashton who had just managed to sit up, eyes glaring at me from under a small puddle of blood that dripped down his face from my nose bleed.
Then Tate turned me around to face him. "I think you made your point," he said, voice steady, but eyes over my shoulder, pinned to Ashton with a clear, 'if you come over here I'll kill you,' look.
Plucking up a napkin from the counter, he pressed it gently to my nose. I winced, but took the napkin from him, avoiding his eyes... And every set of eyes in the restaurant that had watched me jump on a guy like a wild creature. You sure know how to make an entrance...
Tate suddenly moved, whirling me around so fast that I nearly fell over. Ashton had moved while Tate was trying to take care of my face. I watched in horror as Ashton punched Tate clear in the jaw, sending him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Oh shit," someone squeaked at the table behind me. Understatement.
But to my utter surprise, Tate was up and in a flash, rammed his shoulder into Ashton's stomach, sending them both stumbling backward and through the doors of the restaurant and out into the street. I moved to follow but stopped when someone called my name. "Allie!"
I turned, hand still up to my nose with a now very bloody napkin in place. Mimi stood at the bar, watching the fight through the glassâ like everyone elseâ with a pinched expression. Then she handed me a bag of food. "I made yours to-go."
"I'm so sorry Mimi," I said through embarrassed and ashamed tears. She reached across the bar and gently brushed several strands of hair out of my face. "Don't be. When someone attacks you, you fight back and you fight to win." Her eyes went back to the glass. "Now get your man away from that monster before he gets that handsome face of his hurt!"
I swallowed a panicked laugh and ran for the door, bag of food in tow.
Ashton's cry of rage sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention. Tate was on top of him, wrapped around Ashton in a tight vise while Ashton tried to buck him off. Tate's white shirt was ripped at the collar, drawing attention to the scars that crossed his chest.
He looked up as he heard the cheery door chime from Ramen Mania. He offered me a nod to let me know he was okay.
"What you got there Tate?" I asked, knowing it would drive Ashton mad to think we were having a conversation while he sat pinned under Tate.
"I caught a douche nugget! They are rare at this time of year."
Ashton swore a string of uncreative profanities and managed to slip free. Tate rolled back, dodging a swing as Ashton tried to jump at him. "Ahh! Warning! Douche Nugget is free! I repeat Douche Nugget is free!" Tate gracefully bounced to his feet, sharp green eyes on Ashton, assessing.
Ashton launched at him and managed a punch to Tate's stomach. Not waiting for his recovery, Ashton landed another punch to Tate's face before slamming his fist into Tate's kidneys, knocking him to the ground again.
Dropping the bag of food, and bloody napkin, I moved, slamming my first into Ashton's shoulder right where an old injury sat. He swore and stumbled backward, hand pressed protectively against his shoulder. "What the hell Falls!"
I turned, adjusted by balance, and brought up my booted foot in a spinning hook kick, hitting Ashton square in the jaw. It sent him spinning like a top before he tripped over the curb. He hit the street back first, the wind knocked out of his body. Ashton's eyes looked glassy, unfocused as he tried to focus on me. "Where...?" He couldn't finish his sentence.
"I've been practicing," I growled. "You think I would walk around, fully aware that you still exist on this planet and not pick up a few new tricks just in case you turned crazy and came back?!?" I didn't even realize I was yelling until my throat began to burn.
Embarrassment, rage, and adrenaline made for a dangerous cocktail as they all surged through my blood, throwing me back to a life that I had walked away from. "You are the reason I can do what I do... so thanks for that!" I narrowed my eyes. "If you come near me... or Tate," I said pointing over my shoulder, "EVER AGAIN... your ugly ass tattoo will be the prettiest thing left about the carcass I'll leave behind!"
I turned and found myself staring into dozens of phone camera lenses, all of them filming our dramatic reunion at Ramen Mania.
Oh crap.
Tate had just stumbled to his feet when a car pulled up to the curb and the back door was unlocked with a loud click. "Get in! Now!"
Grumpy cousin sat in the front seat, eyes ablaze with rage. But his eyes weren't on Tate or me. He was staring down the gawkers before moving his eyes to Ashton who stared at the car from where he sat, half crouched in the middle of the road with a dumb expression.
"Any objections to me running him over?" Aiden asked, knuckles bone white on the wheel as we stumbled into the backseat.
"I'll give you bonus points if you run him over twice," I muttered slumping into the seat and slamming the door closed, shutting off the view of wide-eyed stares.
For a brief second, I thought Aiden was going to run over Ashton, but at the last second, he edged the car just far enough out of the way that Ashton still felt the need to scream and jump out of the way.
"First, are you okay?" Aiden asked.
"Just peachy," Tate replied dryly. I shrugged, adding to the very eloquent responses.
"Do you want to fill me in on why you got into a fight in the middle of a Ramen shop?" Aiden stared at Tate in the review mirror, bright blue eyes, ice cold.
I stared out the window, avoiding both Dalton boy's gazes. Because my life is a walking disaster. Because my ex-boyfriend likes to act like the ghost of relationships past, reminding me just how badly I screw things up.
"Oh, I get a choice in the matter? Then I'll take no, not really, for one hundred," Tate replied, pretending to be a guest on Jeopardy.
I could tell Tate was mad. His responses were clipped and sharp, the humor landing in a terrible belly flop in the middle of the car.
"You are still wearing makeup to cover up the last time you got punched in the face. How much more makeup can you slap on before you look utterly ridiculous?" Aiden asked, tone clearly frustrated.
Tate's face was battered and bruised. A long bloody cut began to swell along his jaw. The shiner I gave him not that long ago was now visible across his nose as he wiped the sweat from his face. Another cut sat along his brow, blood trickling down the side of his cheek, splashing color against his now pale skin.
My heart squeezed as I took him in. This is all my fault. He is hurt and it is all my fault. I watched Tate wince as he leaned back into the seat, trying to ignore Aiden's glare. With each stiff movement, another wave of panic and guilt washed over me. My fault. My fault. My fault.
"Well, that's just silly... I'm always utterly ridiculous," Tate replied, waving Aidens' words away before his face pinched in pain.
"I'm serious Tate!" Aiden warned.
I couldn't hear them anymore. Ashton's words burrowed into my mind, adding to the choir of darkness that settled into my chest as I tried to avoid looking at Tate's injuries. You know what's going to happen if you continue to date... You'll break him.
My chest tightened and I found it hard to breathe. That's not true anymore... is it?
I struggled to push the words away when physical proof of my past, of my choices, sat across Tate's face like a bloody tattoo.
Don't you get it? She's too broken to have a life with anyone like you... She's afraid of breaking you the way I broke her...
"How'd you find us anyway?" Tate asked, pulling me out of my thoughts for a breath.
Aiden plucked up his phone and tossed it into the back seat. "After I went..." Aiden looked disgusted by the word, "viral, I added 'Dalton' to the set of media notifications I get on my phone."
Tate began to scroll through the phone, eyes unreadable.
"It started blowing up a few hours ago after you both..." Aiden coughed, eyes glued to the road.
"Sucked face?" I offered, tired of being grilled by the grumpy cousin.
Tate covered his mouth, trying not to smile. Aiden's eyes snapped to mine, now fully glaring at me. I glared back. Bring it on grumpy cousin. I can do this all day. I'm not afraid of you or your staring.
"Intensely cuddling on that motorcycle in front of the Griffith Observatory," Aiden said after a beat, eyes returning to the road. "Honestly Tate, what were you thinking?" he asked, making no attempt to address me. Tate didn't respond.
I reached for the phone and sensed Tate's reluctance to hand it to me. But after a pause, he handed it over and watched my face as I began to scan the articles.
One stood out among the rest, stinging me with its bold, annoyingly pink headline...
I swallowed, attempting to ignore the article altogether. Trying to erase the word mistake from my mind.
Videos flashed across the feed. Videos of my face covered in blood as I kicked Ashton, and videos of me kissing Tate passionately on the bike were mixed in with videos of Tate holding Laliana in a tender hug at the movie premiere, and moments of laughter as they walked through a grocery store.
The difference between the two versions of Tate's life was... jarring. With me, it was fire and chaos. Blood and pain. With Laliana it was bright and sweet. Laughter and joy. I was a trash-can-on-fire lady of chaos. A black hole that sucked things in and destroyed them before letting them go, shattered. I was anything but normal. I was a fight in a ramen shop.
The words and images painted me the way I feared. It painted me the way I always imagined. And now it was plastered all over the internet. The gods of social media had cried out and made it clear that I was lacking. I was unworthy of Tate Dalton.
"Congratulations Tate," Aiden said into the silence. "After that little stunt today... you are on the verge of becoming the more popular Dalton."
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Thank you for reading chapter twenty-nine! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
It looks like Ashton has met his match in Allie and Tate. Did he finally get the hint to leave Allie alone?
What did you think of Mimi?
Now that Tate has become popular on social media, how will that affect him? How will it affect Allie?
CHAPTER QUESTION - What is your all-time favorite restaurant? If you could eat there every day, would you?