The Neighbor

Chapter 50

For some reason, I couldn't sleep after dinner and now I'm currently standing outside Willie's door. Something was not sitting right about him not showing up to dinner. Devin said that Willie told him that he had a headache and was not feeling well. He seemed fine during our trip to the mall yesterday. Something is just not sitting right with me. I don't know what it is but I just feel something is wrong. The last time I felt like this was the day that my grandmother died.

Without thinking, my hand raises and knocks on the door. I stand quietly, listening for any movement on the other side of the door. Not hearing anything, I wait a few seconds before knocking again just a little harder. The door is swung open and I come face to face with Willie.

His face has a dark bruise almost purple. I step forward to get closer to him. I just need to make sure that my eyes are not playing a cruel trick on me. Willie takes a step back like he's afraid of me. I stop myself from taking another step.

"Willie." I say cautiously watching him with an eyebrow lifted. Willie's eyes run up and down my figure with his eyebrows bunched together. I look down at myself. I don't see anything wrong with what I'm wearing. A pair of Tyler's gym shorts and one of his grey shirts.

"What are you doing here?" Willie ask. He's looking at me like I have two heads.

"You didn't show up to dinner. I was worried about you." I reply, putting my hands up in front of me. "I couldn't sleep. Something isn't sitting right with me." I sigh looking at Willie watching his confused expression.

"Well, you came to the wrong place. You shouldn't be here. Go back to your room." He mutters out. He begins to push the door close but stops as I place my fingers between the door frame.

"What happened to your face? Who did this to you?" I question.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your problem." He sighs as he begins to pry my fingers off the door.

"Willie, what the fuck happened to you?" I ask pushing the door. Willie opens the door, leaving me flying forward and into his chest.

"Your boyfriend." He grunts out. Tyler? What the hell?

"What do you mean? Are you saying Tyler did this to you?" It comes out as a whisper. There is no way that Tyler would do this to Willie.

Willie gently shoves me further into his room before looking out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

"He came into my room after we went to the mall and insisted that I was trying to take you away from him." Willie walks over to the bed and begins pacing back and forth. "When I told him that we made amends and that I understood that you were with him and we were nothing but friends he just didn't believe me. In his fucked up head he thinks that I was lying. He told me to stay away from you. He made sure that I remembered that you were his." Willie uses his fingers to quote the work 'his'. "Next thing you know, I'm being smacked over the head with a bible and then that fucking lamp." He points to the bent lamp on the floor in the corner of the room.

I'm quiet. I am trying to process the information that was just given to me.

"I would kill someone if I needed to." Tyler's voice playback in my head

"You know what?" He asks rhetorically before continuing. "You need to leave before you get me killed." He says walking up behind me and begins pushing me towards the door.

"Willie stop pushing me. There is no way that he would do this to you." I turn around to face him.

"Why the fuck would lie about something like this?" He asks. "Just fucking leave." He frowns pushing towards the door.

Just as my hand reaches the handle, someone pounds on Willie's door. I jump back bumping into Willie.

"Go hide." Willie whispers into my ear. Before I could protest, another pound shakes the door. Looking up at Willie, I could see the concern in his eyes. "Go." He pushes me towards the closet.

I quickly and quietly got in the closet sliding the door shut behind me. I sit quietly as the sound of the door opening.

"Is Jessica in here?" Tyler's voice is scary and cold.

"No." Willie says.

"I would beat the shit out of you again if you're lying to me." Tyler says. A gasp falls from my lips before I could stop them. I pray that it was low enough for only me to hear. The room is quiet for a few seconds before Tyler chuckles.

"What did I tell you about lying?" Tyler asks. The sound of something heavy hitting the wall sounds. The door is slammed shut as footsteps sound throughout the room.

"Come out here Jess." Tyler says sweetly. I don't dare move from my spot.

"She's not here. It's four in the morning, what the hell would she be doing here?" Wille sighs.

"So you wouldn't mind me taking a look around?" Tyler asks, I could see his shadow under the closet sliding door.

If he did that to Willie's face, what would he do to us when he finds me hiding in his closet.

"She's not here, go ahead and waste your time. She's probably down at the pool." Willie is trying his best to get Tyler away from the closet door and out of the room.

"I'll rather check here first if that's alright with you." Tyler sounds like he's getting aggravated.

Reaching in my pocket, I grab my phone and dial Tyler's number, and push the mute button. When his phone rings, I hang up and quickly text him.

'In case you're awake, I went on a walk through the hotel. Couldn't sleep. I think I'm missing mom. I'm on my way back up to the room now.' Silence falls over the room.

Tyler moves from in front of the closet door and further away.

"Goodnight Willie." The sound of the room door opening and closing follows his leave.

Pulling the closet door open, my eyes are blurry as I wobble over to the bed trying to catch my breath.

"Gotcha Jess." I freeze. Every hair on my body sticks up and the goosebumps rise on my skin.

Wiping my eyes, I see Tyler standing in front of me with a smirk on his face and blood on his shirt. Looking over by the door Willie lays on the floor out cold.