Chapter 101 WHEN RAGE COLLIDES
DEREK’S POV
I knew something was wrong the second Amber stopped walking.
“What is it?” I asked quietly.
She didn’t answer. Her eyes were fixed ahead, her body stiff beside me. I followed her stare and saw him standing near the trees, arms at his sides, shoulders tight like he’d been holding himself back for a long time.
“Amber,” he said. Just her name. Nothing else.
Her breath hitched. “Trent…”
I stepped forward before I even realized I was moving. “You shouldn’t be here,” I said.
He looked at me then, really looked at me, and his face twisted. “So you’re him,” he said. “You’re the reason she vanished.”
“That’s not true,” Amber said quickly. “Trent, please, listen to me.”
He shook his head, laughing under his breath. “You always say that. ‘Listen to me.’ Funny how you never stayed long enough to explain.”
“I didn’t leave to hurt you,” she said. “I was trying to keep you safe.”
“That’s a lie,” he snapped. “You don’t disappear without a word and call it protection.”
I held up a hand. “You need to calm down.”
He took a step closer. “You don’t get to tell me anything.”
Amber moved slightly behind me. I felt it, the shift, and my jaw tightened.
“Trent,” I said, keeping my voice steady, “whatever you’re feeling, taking it out here isn’t going to fix it.”
He smiled, but there was no humor in it. “You talk like you know her.”
“I do,” I said.
His face flushed red. “You know the version she shows you.”
Amber stepped forward. “Stop. Both of you. This is my fault, not his.”
“That’s not true,” I said immediately.
Trent pointed at me. “You see? Always protecting her. Always standing in the way.”
“I’m standing here because you’re angry,” I said. “And because you’re scaring her.”
Amber whispered, “Trent, please.”
That was when he snapped.
He lunged at me without warning. I barely had time to brace before we hit the ground hard.
“Get away from her!” he shouted as he swung.
I blocked the punch. “Stop this!”
He didn’t listen. He grabbed my collar and shoved me back. “You stole my life!”
“I didn’t steal anything!” I shouted back.
I knew then there was no talking left.
Trent came at me again, fists wild, breath heavy. I blocked, stepped back, and kept him facing me.
“Trent, stop!” Amber cried.
“You don’t get to call my name anymore!” he yelled at her, then swung at me again.
I caught his arm and shoved him away. “This ends now.”
He laughed, sharp and bitter. “You don’t decide that.”
Amber stepped between us. “Enough! I left because I had no choice!”
Trent stared at her. “You always had a choice. You just didn’t choose me.”
“That’s not fair,” she said, her voice shaking. “You don’t know what I was running from.”
“I know you ran straight into his arms,” he said.
I moved instantly. “That’s enough.”
Trent shoved Amber aside. “Move.”
I caught her before she fell. “Don’t touch her.”
His eyes locked onto mine. “Or what?”
I didn’t answer. I hit him.
Not out of anger. Out of necessity.
He stumbled back, shocked, then charged again. We collided, breath ragged, fists connecting. He landed one clean hit to my jaw and my vision blurred.
Amber screamed, “Derek!”
I wiped my mouth and planted my feet. “This is over,” I said. “You walk away now.”
He shook his head. “Not until she admits it.”
Amber stepped forward, tears streaming. “I never stopped caring about you,” she said. “But I couldn’t stay and hurting him won’t change that.”
He didn’t leave. I realized it the second I shifted my weight and felt movement instead of space. Trent laughed low, the sound sharp and wrong.
“You really thought I was done?” he said.
“Trent, stop!” Amber shouted behind me.
I turned just in time to block his punch. The force of it rattled my arm. He came again, faster, smarter this time. No wild swings. No wasted moves.
“You don’t get to stand there like her shield,” he said. “She’s mine to talk to.”
“She’s not yours,” I snapped, shoving him back. “She never was.”
That did it.
He slammed into me with everything he had. We crashed to the ground, rolling hard. My elbow hit a rock and pain shot up my arm, but I ignored it. He pinned me for a second, fist raised.
Amber screamed my name.
I twisted, barely managing to knock his arm aside before the punch landed. I shoved him off and scrambled to my feet. He was already moving, breathing hard, eyes dark.
“She lied to me,” he said. “And you helped her do it.”
“I didn’t know her then,” I said. “But I know her now. And you’re not listening.”
“I don’t want to listen!” he yelled, charging again.
We collided, chest to chest. I felt something crack when his fist hit my ribs, but adrenaline drowned it out. I grabbed his jacket and slammed him into a tree.
“End this!” I shouted. “Before someone dies!”
He laughed through blood. “You first.”
Amber ran forward. “Please! Both of you, stop!”
“Get back!” I yelled at her.
Too late.
Trent broke free and moved toward her. I caught him from behind, dragging him back, but he elbowed me hard in the stomach. I dropped to one knee, gasping.
He turned to Amber.
“Come here,” he said, his voice dangerously calm.
She froze.
I forced myself up, pain screaming through my body. “Trent,” I said, my voice rough. “If you take one more step…”
He stepped forward anyway and that’s when I heard it. There were footsteps and it was fast and I realized it was more than one.
I turned, heart pounding and I realized we weren’t alone anymore. I didn’t know how all of these people had come here but for whatever reason they were here, I had a feeling that this was far from over.
Trent had brought war, total anarchy to pack and I knew
definitely there would be more than one death.
SHATTERED BREAKING POINT