Breathe

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

*~*~*~*

I sat outside the school with Tony, sitting on the hood of his car while he leaned against it. After Mr. Porter had taken Clay to his office, we had both opted to skip out on class and wait for the boy to come back out. We were worried about him.

"He really just gave you the tapes?" I asked Tony for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He had told me about Clay coming to his house yesterday, giving him the tapes and telling him to release them, that he didn't want to be a part of this anymore. I knew that the tapes were messing with his head, but I didn't think it was enough to do all of this, drive him to freak out in the middle of the school, yelling at everyone about how it was their fault Hannah was dead.

"Yeah, he did." Tony nodded as the school doors opened. We both looked up, finding an annoyed Clay making his way outside.

"You have to be kidding me." He shook his head when he saw us.

"Get in the car." Tony told him as I slid off the hood. "We have something we have to show you."

"Tell me how you know what you know." Clay stood his ground. "Tell me what I did to Hannah."

"Clay," I frowned at the boy.

"See you, Tony, Penny. Actually, I hope I don't. Ever." Clay started to walk away while Tony and I climbed into the boy's bright red car. I jumped into the backseat while Tony started to follow Clay, hugging the curb.

"Clay, get in the car." Tony tried to tell him.

"No." Clay refused.

"What are you gonna do?" Tony asked. "You have no bike, buddy."

"Why can't either of you leave me alone?" Clay stopped to look at us. "Release the tapes. Do whatever you have to do. Just let me be."

My frown deepened as my eyes flickered towards Tony. He looked back at me, knowing just how nervous Clay's words made me.

"I won't release them, if... if you get in the car and come with us." Tony bargained with the other boy. I watched as Clay glanced around, clearly not wanting to do so, until he caught sight of something. I furrowed my brows and leaned over the front seat, poking my head out the window to see what he was looking at. By the school doors was none other than Mr. Porter, watching us as he stood with a woman.

"All right, just drive." Clay jumped into the passenger's seat. Tony didn't hesitate to listen once the car door was shut, pulling away from the school. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there." Tony said.

*~*~*~*

"So, are you kidnapping me?" Clay asked after we'd been driving for a while.

"Did you kidnap Courtney?" Tony raised a brow at him.

"I had a purpose." Clay reminded us, getting defensive.

"So does Tony." I assured him.

"Is this like your idea of some twisted version of wilderness therapy?" Clay glanced out the car window, seeing all the trees lining the road.

"Not a nature lover?" Tony asked once he had finally parked the car on the side of the road. I grabbed a bag of stuff from the backseat before climbing out of the car with the two.

"I love nature, especially in pictures in books." Clay nodded, his brows furrowing when I pulled some rope out of the bag and gave it to Tony. "What's with the rope? No, seriously, this is getting messed up."