Rory flinched at Nick’s words. Dumb as he was, the jock wasn't completely wrong. What they had done to Lexie was completely unfair. He knew that. He’d thought about it. But hearing it said out loud was... different. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Nick knew the whole story. “You're just reacting this way because you're sweet on Lexie,” Rory returned icily. “But then again, maybe if you cared about her at all you’d leave us alone. She may be pissed at us, but she wouldn’t want you doing this.”
Rory hadn’t really expected Eisen to stay behind him. They often joked that his middle name was Diplomacy, after all, so it would be uncharacteristic of him not to try to mediate. But Nick was obviously way past the phase where mediation would be any help whatsoever; he’d skipped past diplomacy and gone straight on into picking up arms. And that, honestly, was what scared Rory the most. Out of all the people on the island, Rory was the least well equipped to deal with a physical confrontation, especially against multiple people.
That was why, when Nick just barreled through his keep-away defense as if it were nothing, cold, deep fear began to fill Rory’s stomach and course through his veins. “Hey--” he began, as Nick began to taunt him about not defending himself. Oh God. This was not going well. Not at all. Rory tried to find his cell phone in his peripheral vision -- he should call Lexie, or better yet the police -- but the sound of Eisen’s body slamming against the wall, quickly followed by Eisen’s pained cry, chased any thought of calling for help from his mind. This was, in no uncertain terms, one of Rory’s worst nightmares. There were a lot of things that bothered Rory about his illness, but the fact that he was completely incapable of defending his friends or his family from these kinds of threats was undoubtedly the part that tore at his soul the most. As much as he’d always wanted to be able to walk, to run, but now, especially at this moment, he’d gladly amputate his legs forever if only he could stop Nick.
Tears poured hot and fast down his cheeks and even Rory, the master of language, could think of nothing better to shout at his adversary than, “NO! STOP! EISEN!” Rory could only watch for a few seconds before his better judgment had completely checked out, smothered by rage, fear, and the overwhelming desire to get Nick the hell away from his boyfriend. In one, brief, terrifying flash, Rory could see everything he had with Eisen destroyed right before his eyes, and there he was, completely powerless to stop it. There was nothing, nothing in the whole universe, that Nick could’ve done to hurt Rory more.