Jesse clamped one hand onto Nicholas' arm, dragging him over. "Nicky. Cher," he whispered hurriedly in his ear. "Take JJ, get the car, get one of the bikes, I don't care, but get her as far away from here as you possibly can." Beyond him, there came the sound of glass breaking, as the XBox flew through a window and into the backyard. "Go now, OK? I love you. Be safe."
Then he stepped into the living room and yelled, "Hey! You son of a bitch! Pick on someone your own size!"
"Jesse, no," Isaiah breathed from his spot by the wall. "That's what he wants-"
"Better me than any of you," Jesse said, not looking at any of them. Richard used that moment to get right up in his face. Jesse stared into those cold blue eyes, the way he'd done so many times before. "Picking on children," he spat. "Just shows what a coward you were, and are."
The lamp on the end table swung itself at Jesse's head, and he narrowly missed it fracturing his skull, by ducking just in time.