The Purge

Pt 4.

After Sam had finished cleaning up the wounds, Lucas walked over to Alissa and pulled her into a tight hug. "Hey, you ok Liss?" He murmured softly into her hair.

Alissa chuckled. "You're asking me?! You just got beaten up by Tyler and you're asking me if I'm ok?! You're a dork." She playfully punched him in the arm.

Lucas put his hands up in playful defence. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure that my festy-bestie is alright. But  if you don't want that, fine. I'll never ask you how you're feeling again." He turned, so that he was now facing away from Alissa. "I can't believe you'd do such a thing."

Alissa rolled her eyes and turned away. Upon not hearing any footsteps behind him, Lucas quickly turned to face Alissa's back.

"Wow, so you won't even stop me. What type of friend are you?!" He called out, dramatically clutching his heart.

Without turning back, Alissa flipped him off. "A shit one!" She called back as the bell rang. 

Lucas chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "Dork," he murmured.

Back in the building, a swarm of kids flooded the halls. The kids who after all these years still didn't know how to navigate the swarm, were swept up and carried away. Alissa on the other hand, walk expertly through the halls, occasionally waving hi to some of the more popular kids. When she finally made it to her locker she breathed a sigh of relief. Digging around in her bag, she pulled out the books for the lesson. She gently closed her locker and turned to go, but she was stopped by a tall, bruised figure. Alissa felt fear wash over her briefly, but didn't let it show on her face. 

"Hey Ty," She said, leaning her head on her locker. "You feeling better?"

Tyler scoffed in disgust. "I can't believe that piece of filth called you Liss, that's my name for you. And I don't even know why he cared what I was doing to you. You're my girlfriend, I can do what I want to you. You get me?"

Alissa felt the all familiar uncomfortable lump rise in her throat again. But she was quick to swallow it. She relied on her default coping mechanism, smile and nod.

"I don't even know why you hang out with that prick," He scoffed.

Alissa felt a pang in her chest. This was her best friend he was talking about. She opened her mouth to say something, but the bell cut her off. Relieved she didn't have to answer, she gave Tyler a quick peck on the lips and hurried away to class.

-----

Throughout the whole day, Alissa had been wondering about the strange comment Sam said at lunch. So when she was leaving school, she was relieved she saw Sam leaving as well. Thinking that this was an awesome opportunity to ask, she wandered up to Sam. 

She lightly tapped him on the shoulder causing him to spin around. He gave her a quizzical look.

"Hey, I-uh... I wanted to thank you for what you did today," Alissa said, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

Sam sensed that something was up, but he knew better then to pry, especially after the emotional roller coaster Alissa had gone on. "Ah, no biggy," He said, turning to walk away, but he felt a small hand wrap around his wrist, tugging him back slightly. Sam looked down into Alissa's doe eyes, and for the second time today, felt the urge to kiss her.

"You good?" He asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I heard what you said at lunch." Alissa stated bluntly.

His sincere smile turn into a confused one. "What do you mean?" Sam knew the answer, but prayed it wasn't what he thought it was.

"I heard you say you've had experience with that type of stuff..." She said quietly.

The smile instantly dropped from Sam's face and his eyes turned ice cold. He stepped away from her slightly and ran a hand through his hair. 

"What does that mean, Sam?" Alissa continued quietly when Sam didn't say anything.

"It doesn't matter." Sam said, all emotion draining from his face and his voice turning monotone. 

"Sam, you can tell me." Alissa took a step closer to him, resulting in him moving back.

"No, Alissa, you don't understand. I can't." He snapped turning to walk away.

"Sam!" She called after him, pushing past the rush of kids and reaching for his arm. He immediately spun around.

"Piss off Alissa..." He spoke through clenched teeth, striding away. Alissa shuffled behind, hot on his heels.

"Sam why won't you just tell me I can hel-" 

"I just can't. Piss. Off." 

"Sam, just come on. You can trust me-"

Sam whirled around and spoke in an urgent whisper. "No. You don't fucking get it, do you?! I can't tell you, for your own safety!" He groaned into his hands. "I shouldn't have even helped you. I don't want you getting caught up with the wrong people. God, how could I be this fucking stupid."

Alissa's face softened and she reached out to him. "Sam..."

"No, Alissa. Leave." Sam looked at her sternly, every inch of him serious.

"Sam, please-"

"Just leave!" He said, tears welling in his eyes.

Alissa nodded solemnly and hurried away. Sam gripped his hair and kicked the curb in annoyance. 

He took a deep breath and hurried away to the music room, dumping his bag on the floor. He pulled out some drumsticks and headed over to the drum kit. All the anger he's been feeling - at Tyler, at his shitty lifestyle, at himself - he let out on drums. He practiced and practiced. Every time he hit the drum, a tiny fragment of his anger and feelings drained out.

By the end, Sam's hair was a mess and he was panting slightly. But man did he feel better. 

He collected everything and left the school building. It was a surreal feeling. Being at school with nobody around. Even if this wasn't his first time being on school grounds alone, every time it was magical.

Sam sighed deeply, and walked off, still feeling annoyed at himself. Feeling annoyed that he'd briefly let Alissa into the shitshow that is his life.