Chapter 166 The Line Was Crossed

Chapter 166 The Line Was Crossed
Kieran's POV

Theo turned away from the party. I was about to follow him when a shout came from the driveway.
Two trucks came down the driveway and stopped near the dock. The doors opened, and Silas and Barrett stepped out with a group of off-campus guys.

The music from the pickup truck stopped almost immediately. Everyone near the fire turned toward the driveway.

Milo walked straight to the edge of the grass, blocking Silas from moving toward the fire.

"You're not supposed to be here, Silas," Milo said, his voice flat. "The party is strictly by invite. Barrett was the only one permitted to enter."

Silas didn't back down. He let out a loud laugh, stepping right into Milo's space while his friends crowded behind him. "I don't need an invite for a public lake, Miller. Chill, we came to see how fun the party is. I'm on suspension doesn't mean I can't party."

"Go back to your truck and leave," Milo warned.

One of the guys from Silas’s group, a tall kid in a leather jacket, stepped forward and looked around at our wet clothes.

"Look at them," the guy said. "They actually thought this was some exclusive party."

Landon stood up from the bench. "You got something to say?"

The guy laughed. "Nothing you want to hear."
His eyes moved across the group before settling on me. "Especially not Hampton." The Hampton unbroken legacy. But what we don't know is they are all a family of cheats."

Milo stepped between us. "I said stop and leave right now."

"Why should we?" the guy laughed. "His father’s career was destroyed, right? Where did you think all that anger and frustration went? He used it to take his anger out on his mother and anyone who got in his way."

Everyone in Silas's group burst into a loud laugh.

"Leave my mother out of this," I said.

He laughed.

That was enough. I crossed the space between us and hit him.
The fight spread through the yard before anyone could stop it.

Landon went after one of the guys behind him, while Reed tackled Silas near the dock. I barely noticed who was hitting who anymore. I only knew the guy in front of me had said something about my mother, and I wasn't ready to let it go.

During the shoving, the guy in the leather jacket tripped over a tree root and twisted his ankle badly. He dropped into the dirt, groaning as he clutched his leg.

Seeing their guy get hurt, the rest of Silas's group panicked. They hauled their friend into the cab, revved the engines, and fled down the driveway, the gravel spitting behind their tires.

The party was over. Nobody wanted to stay after a brawl like that. Within ten minutes, students were storming out, getting into their cars, and driving away.

"We need to go before the teachers or the cops find out about this," Landon muttered, wiping dirt from his arm.

Aveline grabbed her bag and left the porch. "Ave," I called.

She didn't stop. She headed toward the driveway, clearly trying to get away from everyone before anyone could stop her. I didn't care about Milo or the rest of the team calling my name. I ran across and caught up with her beside the driveway. Behind us, students were still gathering their belongings and discussing the fight.

"Aveline."

She stopped but didn't turn around. "What?"

"You shouldn't leave like this."

"I need to go home, Kieran." She finally looked at me. “You shouldn't have fought him.”

“He talked about my mother.”

“I know.” She looked back at the house, where everyone was still cleaning up the mess. “Everything keeps getting worse.”

I didn't have an answer for that.
Her ride pulled up at the end of the driveway. A plain silver car with an Uber sticker on the windshield.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Aveline said.

Then she got into the car and left. I stood there until the headlights disappeared, knowing tonight had changed something between all of us.