NICK

THE GIRL JOLTS to life as I grip her arm, big blue eyes staring up at mine, lashes dripping. Her mouth is open, just a little. Her breath is misty.

She’s young.

She’s pretty.

And she’s scared. Really fucking scared.

Footsteps pound the ground to my right, and I see him, the piece of shit waster.

The girl flinches, tugs away, but I keep a grip on her, placing myself between her fragile little body and the dickhead chasing her.

He’s wasted. Buzzing with some shit. Speed probably.

“Beat it,” I say. “Fuck off back to where you came from.”

He shrugs. “Just hanging with little Laine, bro. Ain’t...