#Chapter 51 The Conflict Erupts

Lucas grinned wickedly, and laid a claiming hand at the back of my neck. I shuddered from the touch, and felt my cheeks grow hot and red. He lifted the microphone once again to his lips when the doors to the ballroom burst open, swinging all the way back on their hinges and crashing loudly into the walls beside them. A figure walked into the room slowly, with a torn jacket and bits of dirt and leaves clinging to his hair. I squinted to make out his face, when I realized who I was looking at. “Caleb!” I threw off Lucas’s hands and dashed down the steps to meet Caleb. The crowd parted like ocean waves as I ran into him, smelling like mulch and flowers and the musk that was distinctly him. His face was streaked with blood I wasn’t sure was his. “What happened?” I whispered, reaching up to touch a deep, red scrape over his jaw. It was rough with his stubble. “We can talk later,” he replied, gently removing my fingers from his face. With a booming voice he