IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU

𝟤.𝟥

Beverly wanted to leave after she sat in the damp dirt along the tree line, but somehow, the girl found herself standing in the corner of the rundown diner, her arms crossed over her chest and eyes cast down to her feet. She listened as Jason's venom coated words explained that his girlfriend, the girl he had cheated on Beverly with, Chrissy, had been killed by Eddy Munson. The words Jason spoke to her before her back hit the dirt made much more sense, he blamed her for his distraction, for his lack of recognition that his girlfriend had been missing. She knew it wasn't fair, but she also knew that her first love was hurting, and it was hard to abandon him in this time of need.

Despite everything Jason Carver had put her through, Beverly felt sick at the thought of leaving him alone. She often thought back to Billy, how he had looked at her across the demolished food court of the mall while it burnt around them. She even thought of Steve's longing eyes from the bleachers of the basketball court, watching the girl at each game she performed at as she flew into the air with the assistance of the base cheerleaders. She knew she hurt him by the look in his eyes alone. It wasn't like she intended to, her intentions were to avoid that pain. The blonde felt like a walking disaster, and from the hateful glare she received from Jason any time she looked up, her suspicions were only further confirmed. Yet another life she has ruined by simply existing.

The remainder of the cheerleaders and a handful of the basketball team had scurried away from Benny's after the police had fled, leaving Beverly alone in the corner while Jason's groupies huddled around him, listening to him drone on with yet another one of his famous "inspirational" speeches. If her emotions weren't running around her in circles, the blonde would be tempted to roll her eyes at the desperation Jason spoke with. She did not know Eddie Munson, but she had no reason to believe he was a murderer. Just a weirdo.

Just go. You should have left with the girls. Beverly continued to chastise herself as she begrudgingly followed the team out to their cars, trailing further behind Lucas as he hesitated.

"You comin'?" Jason hollered in the direction of her and Lucas. The boy turned his head and cast a worrisome gaze at Beverly, who returned the same concerned look, before affirming that they would follow. As they approached Jason, who was digging through the trunk of his car, Lucas was whisked away with a bat in his hand by the remaining basketball players, leaving the boy nearly nose-to-nose with Beverly after he slammed the trunk.

"You never could get a fucking clue." Jason grumbled, his hot, musky breath hitting Beverly's nose like a train.

She swallowed rising bile before replying. "I'm scared for you." She whispered. It was stupid, she knew it, but Robin was always the smart one. She always knew where the line was, and never crossed it.

"You should be scared of me." Jason hissed, his hand reaching out to grip Beverly's wrist tightly. "This is all your fault."

"It's not." Beverly said simply. "I was too drunk to make any decisions. Something tells me you weren't, or we wouldn't be in this situation ri-"

A flash of heat to her cheek cut her words off as they left her mouth. Taking a step back, she looked at Jason's stance. The arm that was not holding her was crossed over his body, fingers pressed tightly together to make a board out of his palm.

He had hit her.

Billy flashed before her eyes. She felt trapped in the corner of his bedroom while his fist connected with the wall beside her head.

She would not offer the same comfort to Jason that she would have to Billy. Jason's anger was directed at her, he had hit her. Billy was just an angry person, she wanted to help him.

After taking a moment to comprehend what had just happened, Beverly yanked her wrist from Jason's grasp. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that he was a complete imbecile, but no words came. Instead, tears welled in her eyes. She felt embarrassed, she could only assume that the sound of his flesh crossing her cheek had alerted the rest of the group to their discussion. Without bothering to check if they had an audience, Beverly turned on her heel and walked towards her car.