Withering You

Noah

We are all seated in corners. I have an ice pack on my nose. I still find it hard to breathe though it is not bleeding. I wanted to close my eyes and relax but I fear Colin would do something. Not like he is going to throw a huge rock on my head but I don't trust him anymore. I don't trust anyone in this room. Not after what they have all done. I look at Roy. I still don't understand. Why? Why did they have to do this?

"Why did you do it, Roy?" I finally voice out my question. My throat feels tight. I'm not going to cry. I am not a baby.

"The book seemed like her diary. She must have written all crap in that. If that gets out, we would all be suspects" says Roy.

"You all will be suspects, not me," I point at him and Colin with my left hand. I hold the ice pack to my nose with my right hand.

"We didn't do anything, Noah. Get that into your head." It was Colin. I look at him in wrath.

"How not? You tortured her! You made her suffer. Do you know how much pain she was in? You used her Colin. You fucking used her," I was screaming with all my might.

"You all were using her! Even I-" I wipe the tears that had started to run, "I never saw her pain. She was breaking. This woman was in so much pain, I- I never saw it."

I punch the sofa with the ice pack. The ice was melting and there was water everywhere.

"Look, she was a miserable woman. She hanged herself. These people are just making a fuss. We can't help it if she did that to herself. She deserves it anyway-"

I throw the ice park fiercely at Colin to shut him up. I don't want him to talk. I don't want to hear anything. The ice pack knocks on his knee and falls to the ground limply. It probably didn't hurt him much but he received the message well.

"Stop acting like a baby, Noah," Colin sounds annoyed.

"Stop talking like that about her then. You don't get to talk about her without knowing her. You are nothing but a rapist," I cry out loud.

"What the fuck, Noah?" Colin stands up and makes his way hurriedly to me. My heart starts to pound miserably. I stand up quickly. Roy who was sulking in a corner stands too.

"What the fuck did you just say about me? I'm a rapist, ha?" Colin smacks at my chest. I raised my hands up as a cover but my move was delayed. I fall back on to the sofa as a result.

"Don't insult me like that you fucker," Colin screams down my face. Even before I could gather myself, he pulled me by the collar. I struggle to push him away and free myself.

"Can you both just stop!" It was Roy. We both look at him. 

"Let him go, Colin. We have no idea what is going to happen next. Stop being stupid," Roy says.

Colin huffed out a breath and lets go of me. I sit up straight, tugging at my shirt. I look at Roy.

"I know you had a share in this too, Roy," I say. Roy looks back at me coolly.

"You followed her around. You called her a whore. She wrote it all in her book. You didn't want the cops to get it because you would end up in jail if that gets out," I say, full of venom.

Roy gives out a sigh, "I had my reasons, Noah."

I opened my mouth to protest but stopped when Roy held both his hands up in a gesture to stop me.

"Listen first," Roy says, "I liked Ava a lot."

My eyes widened in shock. I looked at Colin but he seemed neutral. He knew this already.