Can't Say No

Chapter Eleven

I sit uncomfortably in front of a family. A mom with deep black hair and emerald eyes, a father with bright red hair and again, emerald eyes, and two kids. A boy and a girl. The girl had long red hair, and the boy short black hair. All with emerald eyes. Like mine. I hadn't wanted to come, but my school guidance counselor had bombed my phone with so many texts I had finally given in. But I hadn't come alone. Toby, Masky, and Hoodie had come with me, and were outside in the trees now. Though they were killers, robbers, and annoying, it was good to know some people cared. My guidance counselor was standing beside my family, telling them where I was for the past eighteen years of my life and crap like that. I was just keeping my hands in my pocket, fumbling with my pocket knife. The kitchen knife was too big to bring along, and I didn't trust the 'your family wants to meet you' ploy, so I brought something along just in case. "How do you know I'm your daughter?" I ask when my counselor finally shuts up. "You blood type." The mother says. "And, the family you were with, we had decided on that family." "And that just proves it?!" I think. "Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, but I'm confused." I pointedly didn't say that the family they had assigned me had been shit, as I don't think they'd take that lightly. The kids were staying silent, just looking at me. I didn't blame them, this was an awkward moment. "Kayla, we want you to come home with us." The father says. "No, apparently MY father." I think. I stare down at my jeans. I didn't know what to say or to do. I had always pictured meeting my family as a happy thing, with everyone smiling and saying they missed me so much. And I would be smiling larger than I ever did. But...this was nothing like that. My mother was faintly smiling, and my dad looked happy, but no one else did. And I felt less than happy. I couldn't explain to anyone why, I just didn't feel the least bit happy. But, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. At least, not to my family's face. "I...I'll go with you." I say. My father smiles, and he and my mother pull me into a hug. It felt weird, as I've never been hugged before, but I sort of liked the feeling. "Do you have stuff you need to grab?" My mother asks. I nod. "Yeah. I can go run out and get it." The guidance counselor doesn't like the sound of this, but she lets me go, saying to return with haste. I run out of the school and into the nearby woods, crashing into Toby and nearly knocking him over. "Ow!" he says when I accidentally headbutt him. "Sorry!" I say, grabbing his wrist before he falls. "What happened in there?" He asks as he massages the spot we collided. "Well... My parents and siblings are apparently in there. And they want me to go home with them." Masky and Hoodie come out of the trees. "And what did you say?" Masky asks. "Isn't it obvious? I said, yes." Though I try to sound happy, the words come out more dull and bland. As we walk back to the tree house, Toby says "So, you're living with your parents now?" I nod. "At least, for a little while. And don't get worried, I'll visit the tree house after school. I'm almost eighteen, so after school's out I can move somewhere else." Toby doesn't say anything. He had put on his mask and glasses before we had left, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. When we reached the tree house I quickly climbed up and gathered all my stuff, putting it in my duffel bag. I let Toby keep the blankets, flashlights, pillows, and what was left of my money. "I'll see you guys around!" I say, waving goodbye to Toby, Masky and Hoodie. Then I jumped from the tree house and ran back to the school.

Toby's POV:

I watched as Kayla jumped from the room and landed feet first on the ground. I sounded to have hurt, but she ran off anyway. The tree house seemed more empty without her stuff here, and seemed to have lost its glow. Sighing, I sat on my pile of blankets. Kayla had left me all her blankets and pillows, except for two, and had left her lanterns and a bit of cash. "She must either really like you or be really stupid." Said Hoodie as he took a blanket and pillow for himself. "Or both." Masky said, already setting up his area. I personally hoped it was the first. Kayla wasn't stupid, she had figured out how to escape the cops and find a place to camp. All I really did was crash that. "Hello? Earth to Toby?" A hand waved in front of my face. "What?" I snapped, looking up at Masky. "Dude, chill out!" He said. "We were asking if you wanted to go out and have some fun. You in, or are we going by ourselves?" I smiled beneath my mask. My head was becoming foggy with thoughts and emotions, and I needed to get out. "I'm in." I grabbed my hatchets and tucked them into my belt loop. "And I know where we're going first." Quietly, we snuck from the tree house and down the wooded path. Then, using my memory and the road for guidance, I led Masky and Hoodie to a house. Kayla's old house. These two had been on my hit list for too long, and it's time they were eliminated. Masky and Hoodie took the back door, while I waltzed up to the front. I pulled up my hood and pulled out a hatchet, then rang the door bell. A second later, a woman with poofy blonde hair opened the door. Her husband was sitting on the couch, beer bottle in hand. The woman was holding a jar of pills. "Can I help you?" She spat. I smiled, though she couldn't see. "I think so." In one swift movement, I had slashed her side with my hatchet. She screamed in pain, making her husband turn around. "What the hell?!" He shouted, beginning to get up. But Masky and Hoodie came in, and he was occupied by them. As the woman screamed and crumpled to the ground, I pushed her inside. Stepping in, I closed the door behind me. "Time to die." I whispered in the woman's ear. She screamed and started crying. "Please, I'll do anything! You can have my husband, just don't kill me!" Masky chuckled from the other side of the room, where Hoodie had subdued the husband with a gun. "How sad." He said. "How pathetic." Hoodie chimed, shooting the husband in the legs. He too screamed and went down. The woman cried and begged, but no amount of begging would change my mind. The times I had seen the husband beat Kayla and her do nothing about it flooded into my mind, fueling me with anger. For what reason didn't matter, I was ready to kill. "Don't worry, hell has a spot for you." I cooed, then swung down with my hatchet. Her screams echoed as gunshots filled the room. When I was finished my sweatshirt was covered with blood, but I didn't mind. We weren't done, no I wanted to do more. Masky and Hoodie had finished up with the husband, and everything was silent. We slipped out the front door and closed it behind us, locking it just because. "Where to now?" Masky asked. "The middle of town, of course." I said. "The more people, the better