The Struggle (The Things We Can't Change Book 2) by Kassandra Kush

Tessa, but she grabs my arm and keeps me back.
    “Do you want to do something tonight? I know you don’t have to work at the Parkers tomorrow, we can-”
    “Not now, Tessa!” I snap, and I wrench my arm away and push through the crowd, not caring about her shocked expression. And then, finally, I break through all the people and emerge from the mass of bodies just in time to catch Hunter approaching Evie.
    This time, he reaches out and tugs on a piece of her long, dark hair this time. Not hard, not enough to hurt. Just enough to catch her attention, as you might do to a friend if you snuck up behind them and wanted to let them know you were there. But Evie flips . She doesn’t drop her drink; it literally rockets up into the air, shooting out of her hand as she jerks away from Hunter so violently she stumbles.
    She actually falls to the floor, hitting the hardwood almost at the same time as her glass. Predictably, this time it shatters. Hunter is staring at her, genuinely surprised by how intense this reaction was, but I know instantly what is wrong. My mind is flooded right away with memories of that night, the way Tony was dragging Evie around by her hair in the bathroom, pulling her easily across the slick tiles because of all the blood on the floor. I even remember the first time I saw him hit her, the way he grabbed her hair to move her head around, make her face him. I know without a doubt now that it must have been one of Tony’s favorite tricks in order for Evie to have that reaction.
    The music on the dance floor is too loud for many people to take notice, even when Hunter begins to laugh at Evie as she stays on the floor. Her eyes are blinking rapidly, and I know she’s trying to hold back tears. It’s the tears that are my undoing. I walk up to both of them, and Hunter abruptly stops laughing when he sees me heading for him, fists clenched at my sides.
    We stare each other down for a long moment, and for once, I’m the first to break, though not by blinking. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? I think you can find someone else to torture for the rest of the night. She’s had enough.”
    Hunter’s eyes flick between Evie and me, taking both of us in. He doesn’t immediately reply, and I’m sure he can see from my eyes that I won’t take any argument. He finally manages a sneer, but it’s a little weak. “A gardener and a bodyguard,” he finally manages to say condescendingly. “A real winner you’ve found here, Evie.”
    I keep my ground, not twitching a muscle, until Hunter finally walks away, disappearing into the milling crowd. I turn to Evie, still frozen on the floor, and then take in the shattered glass and water. Luckily, we’re right next to a kitchen door and I duck inside and grab a plastic bin and a few towels. When I come back out, Evie has moved onto her knees and is picking up the shards of glass from the floor.
    “I’m so sorry,” she babbles as I kneel next to her. Her eyes are wide and scared, and I can tell she’s barely keeping it together. “I didn’t mean to drop it. To drop it again. He just startled me and I didn’t think. I’m sorry, Zeke. I just-”
    “It’s fine,” I snap, hoping it will make her stop, and she finally shuts up. She tosses her handful of glass into the bin where I’m throwing what I’ve picked up. “You don’t have to help, I’ve got it,” I say, wishing she would go away. I’m feeling hot now, my skin burning, my heart beating too fast and loud. I don’t know why I stepped in, know it probably has to do with feelings, emotions and empathy, all those things I hate and want so desperately to avoid.
    I need distance, distance between Evie and me, from this girl who makes me experience such unwelcome things. I keep telling myself to stay away, not to interfere or care about her, and yet every time I see her, before I realize it, I’m stepping in and trying to take care of her, just like I did with Cindy. I don’t want it.
    “It’s my