They watched the game, cheering and moaning as the ball was moved up and down the field, but when the clock was down to the last few seconds, it looked like they would be the victors. Abby was on her feet with the rest of the crowd, adding her voice to the chorus of cheers that filled the stadium. Her eyes were bright with excitement, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then.
When the quarterback threw a touchdown pass directly to his receiver just as the clock expired, Abby threw herself into his arms, jumping up and down in excitement, and it was too much to resist. Capturing her mouth in a searing kiss, he indulged himself until the crowd began to jostle them too much and he had to let her go. She grinned up at him, laughing with delight at the whole thing, then turned to the field and cheered the team some more.
It took a while for the stadium to calm down, but people slowly began to make their way down the bleachers toward the front gate. “That was so much fun,” Abby said, cheeks still flushed with excitement. “I don’t think I would want to do it every week, but I’ll never forget today, and it was so much better because you were here.”
“I’m glad you had a good time,” he said. “And we have the entire evening all to us now, unless you had some studying planned.”
“Nope, I’ll all yours for the rest of the night,” she said, grinning up at him, a flash of desire in her eyes. “I was thinking maybe we could take a picnic up on the roof and watch the sunset. I’ve had enough of people today.”
“That sounds perfect; the rest of the boys will probably stay out for a while, hitting a few of the parties, and Hattie will head straight to the cottage when they get back,” he said. “We should have the house to ourselves.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Abby said, then saw something over his shoulder. “Oh, look, there’s Yvonne and Alan. We should go say hi to them.”
He turned to find Yvonne waving at them at the bottom of the bleachers. “Come on, it will be faster if we go this way,” he said, grabbing their stuff. “It will take forever if we try to go with the crowd.”
They went up and then back down the bleachers, skirting the crowd, and they arrived at the bottom only a few minuteslater. He was grinning with satisfaction as they walked toward Yvonne when suddenly there was a loud boom behind them, and the ground began to shake. A second later, the section of bleachers where they had just been standing began to collapse, and the air filled with a screeching noise as metal was ripped apart. The stadium was filled with screams as the crowd tried to escape the falling section of the bleachers, but it was chaos. Several people were nearly crushed.
It never occurred to him not to run over to help, and Abby was right behind him when there was another small explosion, and the last piece of the bleacher collapsed on itself. They both stood stunned for a second, then leaped into action, their drive to heal taking over, neither considering the danger they might be in. With the roar of sirens in the background, they helped where they could, tearing up anything they could find to make bandages, directing the paramedics to the most wounded, and helping calm the nerves of anyone who needed it.
The football field was filled with people, emergency vehicles, and the moans of the wounded when he finally paused to take a deep breath, Abby still at his side. It took him a second to realize that the situation was under control. No one was calling out for help, and the professionals were there in force. He took a second to catch his breath, then looked over at Abby, who stood staring at the commotion around them with a stunned look on her face.
She was covered in dirt and blood, her hair coming loose from the simple twist she’d put it in, her jeans were ripped, her sweatshirt long gone to make bandages. Shivering in the cold, she wrapped her arms around herself, her face slowly going pale, and he reached over to pull her into his arms, afraid she was going to collapse.
“Oh, Jackson, this is awful,” she said, trying not to cry. “How could they do something like this? People are hurt,maybe even dead. This should have never happened, they should have stopped them.”
Barely able to contain his anger as he looked around the stadium, he couldn’t help but feel helpless. Someone was allowing this to happen, the police had done nothing to stop it, and the administration didn’t care. For all his talk, he didn’t know what he could do, and for the first time, he wondered if this was a battle he wasn’t equipped to fight.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, reminding himself that Abby’s safety was the most important thing. “I warned Steven something like this was going to happen. Let them clean up their own mess, we did everything we could.”
“We made a good team though, didn’t we?” she asked, looking up at him. “We didn’t even fight once.”
He laughed, “Well, the night isn’t over yet,” he said, grinning down at her. “Come on, we both need a shower, and that picnic still sounds pretty good.”
***Abby***
Abby was happy to turn her back on the stadium and walk away; she was heartsick over what happened and felt as helpless as Jackson. But the feel of his hand in hers gave her the strength to put one foot in front of the other as they left the chaos behind and entered the oldest part of the campus. Soaring oak trees rose over their heads, the orange, yellow, and red leaves rustling in the breeze, a few falling down to crunch under their feet, giving off the smell of fall.
She felt herself beginning to relax, the horror of what she’d seen settling in her brain. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. There was so much to say, but her mind was too crowded to separate out one single thing, so she stayed silent, letting her emotions wash over her. It would take some time to process what happened; she knew that, and sheknew, too, that what would remain would be anger at the Kappas and a need for revenge.
“I want to make them pay for what they did,” she said, looking up at Jackson. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way in my entire life, but I want them to hurt, I want them to regret everything they’ve done.”
“Those are big words coming from such a little lady,” Diego said, stepping out from behind a tree and into their path. “I would love to know how you plan to make that happen.”
She let out a little cry of surprise, but Jackson was already pushing her behind him, his entire body filled with tension. “Don’t do this, Diego,” he warned. “It won’t end well for you.”
“Those are big words, too,” Diego sneered. “Do you really think you can scare me?”
“I’m not trying to scare you, I’m giving you a warning,” Jackson growled at him. “You aren’t going to touch a hair on Abby’s head. After what you did today, she’s the least of your worries.”
“Oh, Jackson, are you really that naïve?” Diego asked, shaking his head. “We’re in control here. This campus belongs to us; we can do anything we want, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us. The sooner everyone figures that out, the sooner we can all get along, and I’m afraid your girlfriend is going to be part of that lesson. I really have no choice, you see. The orders came from above my head.”
Abby could barely breathe as the two men stared each other down. Then, she felt a wave of power fill the air. The hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end, and her body began to tingle in a strange way. Something was happening, but she had no idea what; she only knew that the air around her had begun to crackle and snap with an unseen force.
“So, that’s how you want to play it,” Diego drawled. I hopeyour little woman is ready for this. I hope you’ve shared the magic of your gift with her. If you haven’t, the shock alone might kill her. That would be very disappointing. I was looking forward to doing it myself.”
She looked at Jackson confused. “I’m sorry, Abby. I was going to tell you,” he said. I just want you to remember that it’s still me. I may look different, but I would never hurt you. I only want to protect you.”
“Times up, lover boy,” Diego called. “It’s time to see what you’re made of before I follow through with my orders.”
