Read Online Rivals by David Wellington - Free Book Online Page B

one more second—“I need the car, right
now. I need the car, and I’m going to have those keys in a second. One way or
another.”
    “Is that a
threat, little girl?” Grandma asked. She was so close, suddenly. Well within
arm’s reach. Maggie tried to grab the keys out of her hand.
    Instead
Grandma’s open palm smacked her on the face.
    “Ow!” Maggie
shrieked. She reached one hand up to her cheek and felt the heat there.
Grandma had finally hit her with the diamond, just like she’d always threatened
to do.
    Heat and light
filled up her brain.
    I could
kill you. It would be so easy.
    Instead she
grabbed the car keys. Grandma’s hand was in the way. Maggie squeezed until
the keys came loose, and then she ran for the door.

Chapter 16.
     
    It was kind of
tricky holding on to Perkins the bully. He squirmed a lot and he knew how to
throw his center of gravity around, so that Brent had to keep grabbing his arms
or his legs to get him back under control. Brent managed somehow to get him up
the hill to where Lucy was sitting with her binoculars.
    “Get him away
from me!” she squeaked as they came closer.
    Brent dropped
Perkins heavily on the grass and then sat down on him. That seemed to do the
trick—as much as Perkins tried to heave and buck to get free, it was easy
for Brent to keep him from getting away.
    “You didn’t
beat him up,” Lucy said, once she’d gotten over her fright. “Because you see I
was thinking that you should beat him up, so that he won’t beat up any other
kids, because—”
    “Yeah. I got
it.” Brent stared at the cars in the parking lot. This didn’t make sense. It
should be easier. Cleaner. “Except it wouldn’t work. Do you know why Perkins
bullies freshmen? Tell her, Perkins.”
    The bully
grunted and heaved but couldn’t get his knees under him. “Because it feels
good,” he said. “Because I’m bigger than they are.”
    Brent rolled
his eyes. “No. It’s not that. It’s because his dad beats him up. That makes him angry but he can’t fight back
against his dad—apparently the guy was a football player in college and
he’s huge . So that’s what Matt
learned at home. That if you’re bigger than somebody else, it’s okay to beat
them up and take their stuff.”
    “That’s messed
up,” Lucy said.
    “Yeah. But it
raises an interesting question. Which is what I should do with him. See, if I
beat him up—that just proves he’s right. That just because somebody is
bigger, or, in my case, stronger, then they can do whatever they want.”
    “But it’s
different! You’d be helping people! Do you know how many kids want to see him
get hurt? Do you know how much misery he’s caused? You’d be getting revenge
for a whole generation of underclassmen!”
    “Does that
make it okay? Should I beat up everybody those kids want me to beat up?”
Brent shrugged. This was getting so complicated. “Who decides when it’s okay
to beat somebody up? Me? You? I don’t think I have the right to make that
decision. And even if I do beat him up, then what? Do I have a responsibility
to beat up his dad?”
    Perkins
growled under Brent. “You could. You could take him!”
    “That seems
kind of… messed up,” Lucy agreed. “Beating up somebody’s dad.”
    “Even if they
are a bad person.” Brent rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t know, Luce. I keep
thinking about my dad. I keep thinking
he wouldn’t want me to do this. It wouldn’t make him proud. And I owe him, a
lot.”
    Lucy frowned.
“What are you going to do?”
    Brent stood
up. Perkins took the opportunity to jump to his feet and try to dash away.
Brent stopped him by grabbing his shoulder before he could escape. “Listen,”
Brent said, “I’m not going to hit you. But if I hear that you’re hassling any
more kids, then—”
    “Then you’ll
beat me up?”
    Brent shook
his head. “No. But I’ll stop you. Just like I stopped you today. I’ll be
watching you from now on and if you try anything, I’ll