Death Screams by Tamara Rose Blodgett

smiled.
    He turned to Jade. "Little Missy, pop into my kitchen and get a few cubes of ice out of the icebox and one of my thin cotton towels I use for drying the dishes. Put the ice in there and wrap it good."
    Gramps turned, giving his steady attention to Lewis. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch."
    Lewis nodded, stoic. Gramps placed both of his hands in a steepled V on either side of his nose, hiding it completely and jerked both hands to one side while pressing deeply against the bridge.
    Archer howled, fresh blood flowing out of his nostrils. The pain stood raw in his eyes, tears flooding them while we watched.
    He didn't let them fall.
    His nose was straight as an arrow. Gramps held the only clean spot of the car rag under the flow and told him to tip his head back. Jade ran out to where Gramps was and he held out a hand for the ice cube bundle.
    " You don't have a dishwasher, Mac?" Mia asked while he wrapped Lewis' fingers around the soft cloth. "Light pressure, that cold will help."
    He watched Lewis do it and clapped him on the back. "You okay?"
    Archer nodded, breathing out of his mouth.
    Gramps turned to Mia. "No, don't like them pulse things. Something goes wrong and a repair man comes out, whips his magic wand around, fixes it for the original cost of the appliance and I'm out the dough. Screw that noise."
    " Oh," Mia said, getting way more explanation than she'd hoped for.
    He turned his razor attention to me. "We look at the car later. Right now I want to know who rearranged this boy's face."
    " Caleb got his nuts cracked too," Jonesy said.
    Wow.
    Gramps laughed. It was not funny but... yeah.
    Jade looked at me with sympathy and I gave Jonesy a look that clearly said, your ass is mine, sucker.
    Gramps waited. Then he asked while he wiped the grease and blood off his hands, "You have my supper, Caleb?"
    Oh yeah! I ran back to Bry's car and got the fridge dish. It was originally Gramps' when he'd been married to Gram before she passed away. It was an ugly thing, white with avocado flowers and a glass lid. When Mom married Dad, she got the dishes.
    I handed the dish over to Gramps, the steam from the hot food misting the lid opaque. He smiled. I guess if it weren't for my mom he wouldn't have home-cooked meals very often.
    " Let's head inside and talk this through."
    The J's looked at each other uneasily as we followed Gramps inside.
    I told him the whole thing. Including the creeper that was stalking the AP girls, ending with the fight today with Carson the Ass-Hat.
    Gramps sat for several moments, his chin in his palm. Finally he looked at Sophie. "Have you... seen this chump?"
    She shook her head, her fluffy hair lifting and swinging with the movement, her lower lip trembling.
    " How many girls has this putz attacked?" Gramps asked the group.
    " One girl, Mac. That's the thing. He is stalking, threatening but with this new drugs pending mandatory implementation, we're doomed. Also, the AP teacher interrupted him. Who knows what would have happened." He threw up his hands.
    Sophie looked at John sharply. "No John. We're doomed." She palmed her chest. A hot tear escaped the well of her eyes. The boys watched her cry, not knowing what to do. Mia and Jade went over there and put a hand on each shoulder. Tiff sighed and walked over there. "Listen, just kick his ass. Take him by surprise."
    Bry put his head in his hands. I think it was difficult to be a Tiff sibling sometimes. Gramps smiled.
    " She's constantly busting my balls, Mac."
    " Yeah, I get that. Kinda hard to watch out for that little tornado?"
    Bry nodded.
    Tiff turned, giving Gramps a Look. "I can take care of myself! I don't need A Male!" She huffed, her hands dropping from the airquotes she made around the phrase.
    Geez. Bry just shook his head. "It's our fault. There's just too many guys in the house, she's never realized she's a girl."
    She rolled her eyes again. "I know I'm a girl, doofus. I just don't go all weak when A Male comes in and saves