Accident

Adrian’s POV

The broken bottle came at my face fast. I jerked sideways and felt the glass cut through the air where my head had been a second earlier. Elias was already pushing himself off the wall, shoulder checking the man hard enough to knock him off balance. The bottle swung again, wild and drunk. I grabbed the man’s wrist, twisted, and drove my knee into his stomach. The glass clattered to the pavement.

“You piece of shit,” the man wheezed, swinging at me with his free hand.

I blocked it and shoved him back. Elias moved in from the side and landed a solid punch to the man’s jaw. The guy staggered, spit blood, and still tried to come forward like he could not feel pain.

“Stay down,” Elias said, voice sharp.

The man lunged at him instead. I caught the back of his jacket and yanked him away before he could tackle Elias to the ground. We both hit the side of a parked car hard. The impact rattled my teeth. He clawed at my face. I drove an elbow into his ribs twice until his grip loosened, then shoved him onto the pavement.

Elias stepped in and planted a foot on the man’s chest, keeping him there. “Don’t get up.”

The man tried anyway. Elias pushed down harder. “I said don’t.”

For a few seconds the only sound was heavy breathing and the distant noise of the bar behind us. The man’s eyes were glassy with alcohol and rage, but the fight had finally started to leave him. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He muttered something ugly under his breath but stopped struggling.

I straightened and checked Elias over. “You hurt?”

“I’m fine.” He wiped his split knuckle on his jeans. “You?”

“Still standing.”

Elias kept his foot on the man’s chest a moment longer, then stepped back. “Get out of here before someone calls the cops. If I see you near this bar again, I won’t stop at a warning.”

The man rolled onto his side, coughed, and slowly pushed himself up. He glared at both of us, blood on his teeth, then stumbled off into the dark without another word.

Silence settled over the street. My pulse was still hammering. Elias stood a few feet away, shoulders tense, breathing hard. A thin cut marked his cheekbone where he must have caught an elbow or the wall.

“You’re bleeding,” I said.

He touched his face and glanced at the blood on his fingers. “It’s nothing.”

“Come on. Let me see it.”

“I said it’s nothing.”

I stepped closer anyway. He did not move back, but his eyes stayed wary. The cut was shallow. Still, the sight of it made something hot and protective twist in my chest.

“You always pick fights with drunks who outweigh you?” I asked.

“He touched me. I warned him. He didn’t listen.”

“I saw.”

Elias looked away first. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true. I didn’t ask you to show up. I didn’t ask you to step in. I didn’t ask you to wait for my shift to end.”

“And yet here I am.”

He let out a short, frustrated breath. “Why do you keep doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Inserting yourself. Showing up. Acting like you have some right to get in the middle of my life.”

I held his gaze. “Maybe I like being in the middle of it.”

Elias shook his head and started walking. I fell into step beside him. For a while neither of us spoke. The night air cooled the sweat on the back of my neck. My knuckles ached. I kept glancing at the cut on his cheek.

After a block he finally spoke again. “Your party must have been really bad if this is how you chose to spend the rest of the night.”

“It was.”

“Claire still there?”

I looked at him. “You remember her name.”

“You mentioned her. Hard to forget when you make it sound like your father is trying to marry you off.”

“He’s trying. I’m not interested.”

Elias gave a humorless sound. “Must be nice. Having parents who care enough to plan your future even when you hate the plan.”

The comment landed heavier than he probably intended. I did not answer right away. We kept walking until the lights of the main campus came into view.

“Where are you headed?” I asked.

“Home. I’ve had enough for one night.”

“I’ll walk you.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“I know.”

He stopped walking and turned to face me fully. The cut on his cheek had stopped bleeding but still looked raw. His expression was a mix of exhaustion and something harder to name.

“Adrian. What do you actually want from me?”

The question sat between us, heavier than the fight had been. I could have given him a clean answer. I could have said something simple. Instead the truth pressed up against my teeth.

Before I could speak, a car engine revved hard at the end of the street. Headlights swung toward us, high and blinding, and the vehicle came straight down the empty road at a speed that made it clear the driver was not stopping.

The headlights grew brighter and the engine screamed closer.

“Adrian, move!” Elias shouted.

I did not think. I just moved.

“Get down!” I grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him hard toward the sidewalk. His body hit the pavement as I threw myself after him. The car tore past in a violent rush of air and noise, so close I felt the heat of the engine and the wind of it drag across my back.

“Adrian!” Elias’s voice cut through everything, sharp with panic. “Adrian, are you okay?”

We landed in a messy tangle against the curb. My shoulder took most of the impact. For a second neither of us moved. The car’s taillights disappeared down the street without slowing.

Elias pushed himself up on one elbow, breathing hard, eyes wide.

“Adrian, say something. Look at me.”

I tried to answer him. The words never came out. The edges of the streetlights blurred and the sound of the car engine still roaring in my head suddenly went distant.

“Adrian? Hey—stay with me—”

My arms lost strength. The last thing I felt was Elias’s hand grabbing the front of my shirt as the world tipped sideways and went black.