Distracted By You: Book 1 in The Exeter Running Girls Series, стр. 56
I dragged one of my hands free and elbowed him again in the face. It didn’t push him off me, but it stunned him enough. Levering myself with my knees, I rolled him off until he thudded onto the bathroom tiles.
I didn’t go for the door. Kyle was in the way to get to it. I went for the handbag. It was something else Blake had said. I dragged it onto the floor, searching desperately, my hands shaking. I couldn’t find them. Where were they!?
As my hands wrapped around the keys, Kyle made another dive, landing on my ankle. I cried out in shocking pain – it felt like my ankle had snapped against the tiles.
“Ivy!” Leonora was back, screaming on the other side of the door. There were other voices too. “Ivy can you open the door?” Hearing no reply and just my scream, someone went back to kicking the door.
Kyle went to hold my arms down as he laid me on my back, my ankle screamed with pain, but my right arm holding the keys was free. Pushing the key between my fingers, I lashed out a hard punch at his face, connecting with his cheek.
He let out a garbled cry that could have come from an animal. The force of my swing threw him off me. I scrambled away, completely numb and on my knees to the far side of the bathroom. He was on his back, clutching his face as blood seeped onto the tiles.
I was trembling, my whole body shaking. I held onto the keys in my hand, ready on my knees for his next attack even though he showed no sign of it coming.
The thudding against the door continued, until suddenly the lock splintered. The wood around the handle fractured and the door swung open, revealing Kyle in a bloody mess on the floor and me on my knees with a key in my hand, breathing as fast as was imaginable.
I looked up from Kyle to see a bundle of people in the doorway.
Chapter 20
Tye had broken down the door.
Leonora had already pushed past him and leapt over the fallen form of Kyle, bundling me in her arms.
“Ivy, Ivy, what happened? Did he do anything?”
I wasn’t really registering what she was saying. I was shaking, still clutching to the key.
“Ivy? Are you hurt?” Savannah was at my side, shaking my shoulder and trying to get me to look at her, but my gaze was fixed on Kyle as he writhed.
“Ivy. Let go of the keys,” Ellie prised them from my fingers. I was vaguely aware there was blood on them. It had seeped down my hand. It felt like my fingers were made of metal as she forced them open.
I was suddenly aware of Tye’s shadow over Kyle. He made a move towards him, but Cara was stood in the way. Sam grabbed Tye’s arm and held him back too.
“Get out of the way,” Tye spat in anger, determined to do god knows what to the still reeling Kyle, clutching his face.
“Tye. She got him.” Cara pointed between me and Kyle on the floor.
“She’s right, Tye.” Sam had hold of Tye’s arm and his shoulder. “Your girl got him.” Tye wouldn’t lift his eyes to me. They were purely focused on Kyle. He was even angrier than the day he had shouted at me to get out. His face was scarlet red, his own body practically trembling with rage.
“Ivy? Are you injured?” Savannah asked again, grabbing my chin this time and urging me to look at her. There was fear in her face too. I suddenly registered it and nodded.
“My ankle,” my voice was hitched as I tried not to move. I wanted to stay on my knees. Sitting down would suddenly feel more vulnerable, like he could attack again. Savannah reached for my bent-up ankle, but one light touch made me recoil. “Ah!”
“Right, you need to sit, Ivy.” She tried to guide me back with my shoulder. “Ellie, can you get ice?”
“You know what to do?” She asked, her lip wobbling slightly. All my friends were scared too, it dawned on me.
“Training as a nurse,” Savannah smiled, ushering her away to get the ice. Together, Savannah and Leonora urged me to sit back.
I winced in pain all the way, not wanting to be in the same room as that thing. That’s what I would think of Kyle as, from now on. He wasn’t the boy Rosie had known all those years ago. He was something else entirely.
Cara took charge. Despite her size, no one dared to argue against her.
“I’m calling the police and a paramedic. Tye, Sam, go tell the bartender what has happened. They’ll need to clear a path for the police when they arrive.” At her words, she stood over Kyle threateningly with her phone in her hand.
Tye didn’t want to go. He stayed there, staring down at Kyle until Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
Savannah removed my boot and applied ice to my ankle, lifting to elevate it on her knees. The pain was cutting through now that the adrenaline of fighting was fading. I leaned back into Leonora who was holding me close. All of our eyes were on Kyle, watching for the slightest resistance, but he didn’t fight it, he just kept clutching at his bleeding cheek, occasionally blurting out a curse or swear word in my direction.
It felt only fifteen minutes later when the police arrived. They took Kyle away without much hesitation, taking statements straight away from Leonora and Cara. One of the police officers appraised me for practically punching a hole through Kyle’s cheek. They promised me they would come see me at the hospital for a statement.
The idea