“Angry? Do you have any idea…?” Ethan takes a step back, running his hands through his hair. “Did she tell you? Did she tell you what she did?”
“Please, just try to stay calm…”
“Calm? Your sister fucked someone else.”
“There’s no need to be vulgar.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,professor…” he says, mocking. But I don’t budge; my sister cheated on him, so this reaction is normal.
“You know as well as I do that Mila has her episodes…”
“Stop trying to hide behind her ‘problem’,” he says, his fingers making air quotes. The blood starts to boil in my veins.
“You knew what it would be like being with her.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“He’s saying you need to calm down, first of all.” Eric’s voice joins us.
“Who the hell are you?” Ethan asks.
“He’s Eric,” I say to Ethan, to which he almost laughs in my face. “A friend.”
“You!” Ethan launches himself at Eric, grabbing by his jumper and pulling his face in threateningly. “You’re the one who slept with Mila.”
Eric brushes Ethan’s hands away, which doesn’t go down well at all.
“Are you all in on this?” Ethan yells, attracting the attention of people in the street.
“I think it’s best if you leave, mate,” Eric says.
“Mate? I’m not your mate!” Ethan leaps at Eric, who finds himself with his back pressed against the wall of my building.
“Hey, hey, please…” I step between them to try to avoid the worst, but Ethan is pissed off with both of us now, and won’t let it go.
“Get out of the way!” he cries. But I don’t move. “I told you to get out of the way!”
“Or what? What are you going to do?” Eric asks; and before I can work out what’s happening, Ethan’s fist makes contact with my chin, making me lose my balance and fall backwards. Eric grabs me before I can land on the pavement, helping me back to my feet and then launching himself at Ethan, coming to my defence.
I lean against the wall, my head still spinning and my vision foggy. I feel as if I’ve just dragged my fake boyfriend into my family’s very real problems; but there’s a strange sense of happiness in knowing that, for the first time, I have someone in my life who’s willing to fight for me.
* * *
“I’M SO SORRY.I can’t do anything right,” Mila says, mortified, as she cleans Eric’s wounds.
“It’s just a few punches,” he says, playing it down.
“You shouldn’t have.” She looks at me. “Neither of you.”
“I only took the first punch,” I say, pressing the cold compress against my face. “Eric was the one defending you.”
Mila looks at him. “You’re my hero. Thank you.”
Eric shakes his head slowly, and my sister goes back to helping him.
“I need plasters,” she says.
“In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom,” I tell her.
