Bloody

I was aware of four sensations. My head throbbed; something hit me on the back of the head. My back was against a wall, my feet didn't touch the ground, and…

An arm was pressed against my collarbone and shoulders. Strong. Big.

A deep, velvety voice growled, "If you hurt Jack, if you give him so much as a bruise, I will strangle you."

I raised my eyelids and looked Mark right in his black eyes, stealthily reaching into my pocket as I did so. "And if you don't let me down this instant, Mark," I hissed his name as I brought my knife up next to his hand, "I will break your arm and take a finger or two as penance."

Mark hesitated a moment too long. I slashed my knife across his arm, just enough to cut the skin and get blood on the blade. "I'm not dicking around," I said through clenched teeth when he flinched.

He let me down. He was a couple inches taller than me, but I used this to my advantage, letting my head tilt forward until I was glaring from under my eyebrows. Then I smirked, and his wariness turned to fear as he backed up a couple paces.

At that moment, Sean came skidding into the room. I knew what a sight we must be. The two of us were staring each other down. Fresh blood remained on the knife I kept clenched in my hand, and a small stream of more blood ran down Mark's arm. His chest heaved, and I retained my murderous smirk.

"All right, Bloody, just calm down," Sean urged me. I didn't look at him.

"Jack, could you tell her I don't want to hurt her?" asked Mark.

"How about we talk normally, and not go through a mediator like cowards?" I said, my voice rising as I approached Mark with my knife in front of me. He backed up farther. "I'll tell you this directly; if you so much as touch Emily again, I will slit your throat!"

"Bloody, what the hell are you talking about?" Sean said, wide-eyed. "No one wants to hurt Emily!"

I finally turned to look at him. "She only called me because Mark shoved her against the fucking wall!"

"Oh, sure, she called you!" Mark yelled.

"Yes, she called me, because you scared her!" I shouted back. "You literally pinned her against a wall and then proceeded to threaten her! You could have killed her!" I stepped forward, coming quite close to Mark, who was now backed against a wall. "I'm here to protect her, at any cost." My voice dropped as I leaned in and muttered, "And I didn't shirk from killing before. If you try anything like that again, I will not hesitate to eliminate you."

"Bloody, no one is killing anyone," Sean said, exasperated and slightly fearful. "Put the knife down."

I glared at him for a moment, then wiped the knife off on my shirt before folding it up and putting it in my pocket.

"That's better," Sean said, shaken. "Now, what the fuck is going on?"

"Mark decided to pin Emily against the wall," I said, staying where I was. "Emily freaked out and called me for help."

Mark glared down at me. "Don't try to pin this on me. I know exactly what your behavior was last night. You've got something funny planned, and if it involves Jack, I'm gonna have to stop it."

I look back at him, exasperated. "Stop pretending to be the fucking hero, Mark. I've had a week and a half to hurt Sean, and I haven't even found a reason to. Besides, can you blame me? The new roommate brings a friend, and I know I have to have an eye out, only to find that it's someone like you."

"What do you mean, 'someone like me'?" Mark said, his voice escalating in pitch.

"Look in a mirror!" I shot back.

"Bloody, I think maybe you should leave," Sean said. "Let me and Mark talk this out."

I glared for a moment, then stormed off to Emily's room. She was asking to be let out, but there was no way I was going to switch with that man there. No, she would stay in my mind, where she was safe.