𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 || baxter radic

26

"I love you, dad." I whisper past falling tears. I don't wait for him to respond. Instead I run to my room and curl myself into Bax. I sob for a while. It's the only sound that fills my room.

"I'm not staying." I finally force out when there are no tears left to cry.

"What do you mean?" Bax straightens up on the bed. My words completely catching him off guard.

"My mom is out of control. My dad just made it very clear that there is nothing he can do anymore. He's used all his cards, the very few he had left. She's sucked us both in and we won't be spit out Bax." An anger and sadness fills my tone. A perfect blend of how my life has felt for so long.

"She'll kill you like she did him May. I'm not letting you leave with her." Bax wraps his arms around me tightly, as if claiming me for himself. A metaphorical handcuff around our wrist that he wished existed in the now.

"Bax, I don't have a choice!" I yell, the anger filling me to the brim. "I'm not from here. I don't have the option to stay like that. It's illegal. My mom will never sign off on me staying, which means I have to go." I move away from Bax, running my hands through my hair. I need space, I feel like I'm suffocating.

"So you're giving up?" Bax scoffs, clearly annoyed.

"Learned from the best." I jab him in the side, poking at him doing the same.

"Not funny Maybelle." Bax narrows his eyes.

"Wasn't trying to be." I'm short, rude, aggressive even.

"Well I'm not giving up. I'd rather die fighting for you to stay then give in and be left with nothing." Bax slides off my bed and storms out of my room.

I instantly feel vulnerable. I feel like if I let my eyes close they open to my mother standing before me. I walk over to my door and sit in front of it. If I barricade myself maybe, I'll be safe from her and all the damage she brings.

"Belle!" I hear my name being called from outside my door. I instantly jump. I know right away that it's Summer, but what if my mom has manipulated her. What if she's convinced her to go to the dark side?

"Go away Summer." I mumble out, too much sadness and fear to be more assertive.

"You need to come out now. It's Baxter." Summer's voice reads with panic.

I've never stood so quickly. I get dizzy from the quick movement and have to steady myself before I open the door. I rush out of the room and expect to see a blood bath. I expect to see my boyfriend mauled by my mother. But there is no blood. My mother isn't around.

"Where is he?" I glare at Summer, charging through the house to look for him. But his dulled pink hair doesn't exist. He isn't here. My dad is though, still glued to the couch in the exact place I left him. "Dad, where is Baxter?"

He ignores my question, staring straight ahead. He's like a statue, frozen in time. Dry tears on his cheeks, a sad expression on his face. He doesn't exist in there anymore. My mother took away who he was. He should have fought to leave her. He should have taken me away and kept me safe, kept us safe. He's too much of a coward for that though.

"Summer, where is he?" I spin around on my heel, staring through her like she's a ghost. But she's not. She's a physical human just trying to help. But I am just like my father, I have become a shell. My mother has stripped me of the person I was before she arrived. I have nothing left to give.

My question continues to go unanswered. A buzz begins to fill my head. It is void again. My mind blanking out. It cannot process what's going on. Maybe they're screaming at me, telling me where he is and I just can't hear. Where is Baxter?

I step outside, a cool breeze rushing over my skin. I glance down at my hands as goosebumps raise to my skin. When I look back up, there he is, standing right before me. The buzzing noise stops. My numbed mind returns to normal. "Baxxy." I look up at him as panic slips out of me like a kid slipping down a slide.

"You're okay, you're okay." He pulls me tightly into his chest. A wetness sinks though my shirt, but I ignore the sensation because he's okay. "It's all okay."

"You can't scare me like that." I mumble against his chest, speaking to anyone who is listening.

"Baxter!" Summer screams as his body slips from mine.

I stare blankly at the ground. A sea of red pooling at my feet. I'm frozen again. Frozen like during the accident. She had already taken one thing away from me, did she really take another?