The Good, the Bad, and the Crazy. //+//A Complicated Love Story//+//

Chapter 16: Mary.

I, Mary Stone, just kissed him, Branson Stal, for the second time in my life. This was different from the firs time though. The first time we kissed it had been attraction, this time it had been emotion. Forgive him? How could he ask me to do that?

Kiss him. How could I have done that?

For all I know he’ll feel like being a good person, for once, and tell his girlfriend what’s happened, then I was surely done for. That would be it. I might have just risked getting out of this terrible place for one kiss.

There was a knock at the door. It better not be him, if it is I swear I’m calling security. “Come in, unless you’ve already seen me today, I already said I forgave you, and I already said I didn’t want to see you.” I called but the door opened and in walked Bryan.

“Weird greeting message.” She said.

“Oh, sorry. I was afraid you were Branson.” I said hugging her.

“Afraid?”

“Yeah, he came to see me. One thing led to another and…”

“And…” She encouraged me to finish.

“And, I might have, maybe, just a little bit, kissed him.” I said starring down at me hands.

“You naughty, naughty girl.” She scolded laughing at me.

“Yeah, than I threw him out. What if he tells Layla?”

“You know I’ve had just about enough with Layla. I say we kill her.” She looked at me totally serious.

“No, we’re not going to kill her.”

“Oh, come on. The bitch deserves it. You’ve got a gun and you can aim. I’ll get her to a certain spot and then you shoot her from a nearby window. That simple.” She said.

“What if I accidently hit you?”

“Well fine, I’ll shot her from the nearby window, happy? I like that plan better anyways.” She laughed and I had to laugh with her.

“As tempting as that sounds I don’t think I want her ghost haunting me forever.” I said.

She laughed “So are you and Branson like together now?”

“What?” I asked shaking my head “Of course not. He doesn’t even like me.”

“But he kissed you.”

“No, I kissed him.”

“What’s the difference?”

I sighed “Never mind.”

“Okay, so what happened last night?”

“I was drunk, and I’m crazy and Layla hit me and I hit her back and Branson didn’t believe me when I said that she hit me first. Then I had one of my fits and Layla called the police.” I said sounding kind of bored.

“BITCH! She is such a bitch! Why can’t we kill her?”

“Because, killing is wrong.” I reminded her softly “And no yelling, I have hang over.”

Kill me? Please, I’d still win. Killing me would just make you the crazy girl. Well you are the crazy girl. Layla’s voice echoed in my head.

“How does she do that?” I wondered out loud.

“What?”

“Layla, in my head! I can hear her! Laughing at me! Taunting me!” I looked all around to see if she was somehow secretly whispering in my ear.

“Hey, remember the no yelling rule? You can hear her in your head?”

“All the time! Everywhere I go. Everything I do! She’s there, playing the game, winning too!”

“Mary, I-“ Bryan began to speak at the same time Layla laughed.

“Shut up!” I yelled.

“Okay, sorry.”

“Not you. Layla! She’s laughing at me. Laughing at me!”

Just then Bryan grabbed both my wrists and shook me “Mary! Listen to me! She’s not actually in your head! You just think she is. Your mind is playing tricks on you.”

“Because I’m crazy. Right?” I snapped.

“Yes, Mary! Because you’re crazy, and you know it too.” She instead. She was the first person to ever say something like that to me. But she was right. It is just in my head.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m crazy and I know it. She’s not real when I hear her in my head, it’s just my mind. It’s all in my head. It’s not real.” I reminded myself “Thanks, Bryan. You really are a good friend.” I said leaning into her open arms.

“Maybe I will be okay.” I lied to myself out loud.

No, no you won’t. Layla laughed at me again.

I shook my head trying to get it out.

“What’d she say?” Bryan asked while I clutched to her, she was really all I had left.

“Just that I won’t be okay. Then she laughed. She’s always laughing.”

“Ignore the tricks, sweetie. It’ll all be worth it. But you know, if you just let me kill her…”

“No killing.”