Untitled Part 1

Chapter XIX

Phillip nervously fidgets with his hands, putting the gearboy onto the bed. He had a feeling this might take a while. "Um," he mumbles, and Sal's face changes to a more serious one.
"Phillip. Where?" Sal asks again.
"I may or may not have taken them from where we went earlier." Phillip says sheepishly, and Sal sits up a bit straighter.
"Phil, we told you specifically not to take anything from the abandoned building."
"I left the bigger shit. A few rings won't kill anyone. No one will miss these." Phillip rolls his eyes.
Sal is being ridiculous for no reason. Sal grabs his prosthetic from the nightstand, putting it on as he speaks. Click. "It's not about someone missing them." Click. "It's about people knowing we were there in the first place." Click, click.
"Sometimes I just do stuff without thinking, I guess" Phillip says, avoiding Sals gaze. "I know you guys are worried, but I'm alright."
"You act like you know all this stuff, but you very well don't." Sal utters, crossing his arms and standing up from the bed.
Phillip fumes. He doesn't know what's going on. "I'm not doing anything; I've been doing what I always do since before you even came along. You're the one who doesn't know what they're talking about. Fuck off and get off my ass, Fisher! Damn..." Phillip argues, his face twisted in annoyance.
Within a split second, it switches to regret, and he inhales. "Im sorry." He starts, but Sal blows up before he can continue.
"You've said enough. Me and Travis are trying to keep you alive. You can die, but you won't listen to me or him! Do you have a death wish?!" He shouts, and Phillip shrinks in on himself.
"I don't know."
"You won't listen no matter how many times we tell you to back down and that something is going on." Sal fumes, his breathing rapid as his arms flail, frustration in his manic eyes. "Of course you don't know. You don't give a shit about your own life, even when death is hitting you right in the face!"
Phillip stands up to face Sal directly, his hands curled into fists, though still at his sides. "No one is even messing with me, though! I am fine!"
"You don't know that. You dont understand anything, so dont give me this like you know everything."
Phillip pauses, closing his eyes and calming himself with a breath. "I don't know what you want me to say, Sal. I'm sorry, I didn't listen," he says through gritted teeth.
Please stop. Phillip sits back down, putting his palms in his lap, but Sal just cocks his head to the side. "Just please stop." phillip whispers.
"Stop what? Me trying to put it in your head that what you're doing isn't okay? I've been trying to help you, but I've left you off the hook too many times."
"I am just sorry, okay?" Philip says, tired of arguing, laying back down on his bed and taking off the rings that were still on his hands, putting them on the nightstand where Sals prosthetic used to sit.
"Whatever. This isn't a game; you can't just  restart if you die. You can say all your 'im sorry's to Trav." sal says.
Phillip leans back against the wall, and he sees Sal snatch the rings from the nightstand, glued to his phone. "Travis told me he would come with me to drop off the rings at the building," Sal says, glaring at Phillip, and with that, he leaves the room with his bag and the rings in his closed fist.

Travis walks toward the entrance of the woods, brushing a hand through his hair and pointing the flashlight in his other hand to the sky for Phillip to find. He takes his phone out of his pocket, skimming over the enraged message Sal had sent prior, telling him to meet him at the entrance of the forest, where he stands now. He finally sees Sal approaching, practically stomping his way over. "Are you okay?"
"Let's just go already," Sal grumbles, and wordlessly Travis nods, pointing his flashlight in front of him.
They both start walking into the forest, Sal seeming to have a permanent glare on his face. "Um, are you alright?" Travis asks, and Sal looks at him with a scold.
"Does it look like I'm alright? No, your best friend is pissing me off and putting us all in even more danger," Sal says, and Travis raises his eyebrows at Sal.
Sal is usually the more tame and understanding member of their group. This is very out of character for him. "Pip? He just doesn't understand why it's so dangerous, Sal. You can't blame him for not knowing." Travis tries to calm him.
But Sal doesn't back down. "He doesn't fucking listen to anyone but himself, no matter how much we try to get him to calm down!" Sal answers, raising his voice to almost a shout, and Travis stumbles on a tree root before continuing.
"I guess," he sputters, and he stops walking. "Here, let me have the rings to put them back. You hold the flashlight," he says, and Sal agrees.
They switch out the objects, and once the rings leave Sals hands, his expression softens, almost back to his normal. "You know, you did the same thing before you knew," Travis says, and Sal hears a difference in his tone.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't give me that shit, fisher. You know it's the truth. You forced yourself into this just as he was trying to. And yet you continue to dig a deeper hole for yourself."
Sal brings back his glare and his gaze to the ground as he kicks dirt. "I am, and have been, helping you! He is just doing it for the fucking thrill of it!" he shouts, and Travis turns away from him.
Sal stumbles to follow him, shining the flashlight at the way Travis is walking. He won't look at him. "You sound like you have a death wish just as much as he seems to. This entire time, I've been protecting you two."
"I don't need protection! I can protect myself! What I'm doing is saving this damn world because of your father, Phelps." Sal yells, and Travis spins around to face him.
Sal gasps at the suddenness, falling back a few steps. "You're the one who keeps pulling yourself deeper into other people's businesses, whether you're important or not. He doesn't understand. You do, yet you don't care. I changed my mind, go back home, Sal. I'll return these myself."

Word count: 1112 words