Bitter

fifty-five - lydia

My feet sunk into the mud as I trudged across the fields behind the school, arms wrapped around myself in the biting sheets of rain. There wasn't any sign of Cal anywhere, but I didn't let that stop me from searching the entire perimeter of the school. Thunder shook the ground and I was pretty sure the sky darkened even more (if that was even possible) warning me about what was to come. Cal, if you're still alive, hang in there, I thought, shivering uncontrollably in the storm.

It wasn't until I trekked past the tennis court that I really looked at the soccer field. The floodlights were on, but the force of the rain created a mist that made everything under the lights hazy and mysterious. There appeared to be two gray figures, getting smaller as they moved away from me towards the soccer field. Without a second thought, I headed after them, clutching the shard of glass in my hand. My hair was dripping in my face while I tripped a couple times over exposed roots and stones, unearthed by the rain. Nothing else mattered right now except for reaching Cal. I didn't even care that mud had splashed up on my knees or that it had splattered on the front of my dress.

As I fought my way to the field, I could finally see the outline of the figures. The bright, white floodlights illuminated the grass and the goal nets and when I focused on the two silhouettes in the middle of it all, I dashed (as fast as I could with a cut foot) towards them. One of them had to be Cal. I just needed to figure out which one first.

The fog shielded their faces, but as I inched closer, I began to hear frustrated shouts and cries and a bunch of expletives burst from someone's mouth. Then the two gradually came into view. They were both facing each other, something pointy resting in each of their hands. Cal's hair appeared black in the rain and his suit was drenched, probably making it difficult to move in considering he was drenched.

   West was slightly taller than Cal, bigger too, and his stance was more confident, powerful. West straightened up and laughed as lightning flickered off in the distance. He obviously thought everything about this was funny. Meg might be dead and Cal might be on his way there, and West thought it was funny.

I stumbled closer to them, and that was when West noticed me, then Cal. I saw his eyes widen a little, but he didn't say anything to me. Instead, West's voice cut through the battering rain. "Oh! Look! She's right on time!" he announced. "The more the merrier!" He flicked his switchblade out, blank gaze on me.

I swallowed and stepped forwards, bare feet squishing the mud beneath them. "What did you do to Meg?" I called over the crashing of the rain. "She didn't do anything to you!"

West shook his head, chuckling to himself. "That would be where you're wrong, actually. I shoved her in a closet, told her to shut up, and she didn't," he explained with a shrug. "She cut my zip ties somehow and I spent so much time on all of it! She messed it up. She even punched me in the face when I came back to her. Now, is that any way to treat someone?"

"So you stabbed her?" I retorted, glancing at Cal who raised his eyebrows at this news. As soon as I said those words, I realized it was useless trying to get through to West. He was truly insane and this was just how he solved his problems. He immediately jumped to extremes and it was normal for him. How did Mr. Haley not see his son was so obviously sick?

"She didn't listen to me," West snapped, turning away from Cal to face me now. "And it doesn't seem like you're listening to me either." He narrowed his eyes and began prowling my way, like a lion stalking a gazelle. The blade retracted, then he flicked it back out again, taunting me.

Cal was suddenly in between me and West. I couldn't even remember when he'd moved, but he was standing unsteadily, blocking West's way. "You don't want to do this," he tried, never breaking eye contact with him.

I watched as West stood still, letting the rain fall on him and I thought I saw some sliver of good in those silver eyes. At least, I thought I saw the wheels turning in his mind, thinking, but I guess the wheels were rusted and something had jammed them because that "good" vanished from his glare. "Oh, I do," he sneered, then swiped at Cal with his switchblade.

Cal leapt to the side just in time, narrowly missing the blade cutting through the air, but that left one problem. Nothing was blocking West from getting to me now. "No!" Cal shouted, just as West's arm shot out and grabbed my neck, squeezing until black spots speckled my vision. Of course, I did what I had to and slashed at his arm with the jagged piece of glass in my hand. I heard him curse and felt him release me then, dropping me to the ground and leaving me gasping for air.

A grunt sounded from in front of me and I looked up to see Cal tackling West down into the mud, fighting to drive a small knife-like object into West's chest. West was stronger though and as the rain poured down on the two, he had his hand clamped around Cal's wrist, keeping the knife suspended just above his body. Then West twisted, throwing Cal off, and with his now free arm, he thrusted the switchblade into Cal's side, then yanked it right out again.

Thunder reverberated over the soccer field at that exact moment and everything suddenly slowed down. West was grinning as Cal recoiled, expression blank, feeling where he'd just been stabbed. He fell over a little without a sound, allowing West to scramble away and to his feet, and Cal grimaced, frozen. He was on his knees, head bowed and eyes cast to the ground while the rain beat down. I couldn't see his face since his hair had fallen into his eyes, but I hoped he could see me because I'd impulsively made a decision. All sense of reason dissipated after witnessing Cal crumpling to the grass. I was about to do something that was completely necessary, but it would no doubt be the death of both of us.