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Lick what? Seth wanted to ask. Then he looked down at the glass and saw the spot of gray ash where Adam's cigarette had hit. Oh, no. He stiffened. The thought made him sick. He tried to twist his head around, but the guy leaned his weight against Seth and pushed his face down again. "Till it's clean," the guy said, pressing Seth's face down until it was only an inch from the smooth tinted glass. Seth stared at the little spot of ash. With the husky guy's weight on him, he could hardly breathe. The car's fender was digging into his ribs. Where was Adam? The husky guy leaned harder against him, squeezing Seth painfully against the car. He pushed Seth's face down until it actually pressed against the cool glass. Seth could feel a spasm in his chest as his lungs cried for air. But he clamped his mouth closed. No way was he going to give that guy the satisfaction of seeing him lick that spot. The husky guy must have known it. Suddenly he pulled Seth's head up, then slammed it back down against the windshield. Wham! Seth reeled backwards, his hands covering his nose and mouth. Everything felt numb, and he was certain his nose and some teeth were broken. He slipped and landed on the ground in a sitting position, bending forward, his throbbing nose and mouth covered by his hands. He heard someone laugh. Looking up he saw the three guys get back into the black car. A second passed and the car lurched away, leaving rubber. "You're bleeding." Adam was standing over him. Seth took his hands away from his mouth and saw that they were covered with bright red blood. Blood dripped down from his nose and chin onto his denim jacket, leaving slowly darkening red spots. He tilted his head back, trying to stop the bleeding. At the same time he squeezed the bridge of his nose. I t hurt, but somehow he knew it was not broken after all. He touched his front teeth with his tongue. They were all still there, and none felt loose. "You want a hand?" Adam asked. Seth nodded and Adam helped him up. He was shaky on his feet and worried that his nose was going to start bleeding again. He looked down and saw that his denim jacket was covered with blood. "I tried to help you," Adam said, "but one of them held a knife on me." Seth glanced at him. "It was a small knife," Adam said. "I guess he didn't want anyone to see it." Seth felt his nose again. It was swollen and throbbed painfully. "Why'd you point at me?" he asked. "I figured I could jump them if they made a move on you," Adam said. "How could I know they had knives?" Seth shook his head. He didn't believe Adam. He started to walk toward home. "You gonna make it okay?" Adam asked. Seth nodded. He just wanted to be alone. "I'll get those guys for you, man," Adam said. "I think I once saw one of them at the diner. I'm gonna go back there and see." Seth nodded again. He didn't even turn to watch Adam go. On the way to his house, Seth stopped near some garbage cans a neighbor had left at the curb for collection. He looked down at his denim jacket. The spots of blood had turned dark. If he took it home and washed it now, the stains would probably make it look pretty cool. Like a jacket that had been worn in tons of fights. Seth smirked. He took it off and threw it in the garbage can. |
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