On the Run: The Texas Files ✔

Chapter 41.5: The Lamb is Free of the Lion

This short bonus chapter is from Tyler's point of view!!!

~~~

Jackie has been missing for three days. Well, five days, if you include the weekend, but we didn't know until she didn't show up to school and baseball practice.

Coach threw a fit. We play the Eastwood High Eagles at the end of the week, and our secret weapon didn't show up to practice with no warning.

Ben tried calling her. It went straight to voicemail.

Parker told me that he had suspicions since Monday morning when she wasn't in their shared first class.

It's Wednesday now, and at practice, we started training one of the bench players to pitch. Ben is having a really hard time since the guy has never actually pitched before.

Parker is in the dugout, probably leaving her another message. I can't help him. It hurts me to see him in so much pain.

Much to my dismay, Tia is fighting her way back in. I can't. I can't not be here for Parker in his time of need.

"Get out of my head," I say. "You're done here, so back the hell off."

Her laugh echoes in my ears. "That's funny. You know how this works. Now, don't make me do this the hard way."

"Humans can conquer anything if they just believe in themselves.  I believe in me, so go away." I retort. 

She keeps laughing. Her laughter is toxic. She's toxic. I walk off the field and go a little ways away, so I'm out of sight of everyone. I start to talk out loud now. "Listen, I'm done with this. I'm done with you."

She chuckles. "You're done with nothing. You are weak. You are small. I own you."

I know my eyes are switching colors. I've seen it myself in the mirror. I shake my head, hoping to literally toss her out. It won't work, but I need time. "I'm stronger than you. I don't need to prey on the souls of the innocent to keep myself alive." I snarl.

"Just to remind you, you did prey on the souls of the innocent. Parker? He was your best friend, and because you're too weak, you lost your friendship with him. You pranked him. You belittled him. You treated him like the dirt that he is."

"No!" I say, louder now. "Parker is my best friend. He's not dirt. I care about him."

"He doesn't care about you. He didn't let you have the girl. The girl you care about more than anything else on the planet. What's her name? Jackie, right?"

I feel tears streaming in my eyes from straining. "Don't you talk about her, you vile, lonely, cowardly, bitch."

"Aww," she says. "Look at you, using big vocabulary words. Just because you know big words, doesn't make you smart."

I sit on the ground. "I'm smart."

She howls in laughter. "That's funny. You're nothing. You're not even that good at baseball."

"Take that back," I growl. "Now."

"You know," she says. "I kind of like that you fight back now. It gives me a bit of a challenge when I have to re-hijack you."

I shake my head again. "I hope you enjoyed the last time, but we're finished here."

"You need me," she says with her voice soft and sweet. "Without me, you're nothing. You have no one without me. With my help, you have friends and any girl you want. You can have everything, Ty. If you just let me in..."

I take a deep breath. I can't. I can't fight her. She's right. She's stronger than me. She's smarter than me. She's got better conversation skills. With blurry eyes, I look up and notice Parker walking toward me.

"What does he want?" Tia mumbles.

Parker holds out his hand. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Tell him what you really think of him. He's dirt. He's nothing to you. His sister deserved what she got."

I shake my head violently. "No! No, no, no! I will not say that. I can't!"

Parker looks at me with widened eyes, but then they soften. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Talk to me."

I sniffle and wipe my tears away. "I can't."

He sits down next to me on the grass. "Listen, Ty," he says softly. "I know about Tia. I know she's in there, but you have to fight her. Tell her to get lost."

He knows? How does he know? There's no way...

"Did he just say that he knows about me? How is that even possible?" Tia scoffs.

I cough to clear my throat, but I end up stuttering. "I- I- I- can't. She's better than me. She's stronger than I am."

He puts his hand on my back. "Maybe she's stronger in a physical sense, Ty, but I don't know anyone stronger than you emotionally. You put up with her torment and insults for years when we were little. You didn't let it phase you then. So, don't let it phase you now."

I take short, shallow breaths. "I can't tell her. She'll hurt me. Or worse. She'll hurt you."

Parker laughs. "She can't hurt me. She lives in Connecticut. She can't hurt you either."

I whimper. Wow, that wasn't manly at all. Whatever.

Parker grabs me by the sides of my head and has me look at him. "Fine," he says. "Maybe you don't believe in yourself, but I do. So believe in the me that believes in you!"

I whisper. "He's right, Tia."

She laughs. It keeps echoing.

Parker is staring at me intensely. I have no idea what he's doing, but it's a little scary.

"I'm done with you. I'm done doing your bidding. Take care of your own shit." I say. I can feel her voice shrinking. "I've got friends. Real friends. You'll never have anyone because you're just a bully. You'll die alone, sad, and angry. I don't want you around anymore." Her voice is small, but still there. "You've done nothing but hurt me since we were kids. To be honest, when you told me you were leaving for boarding school, I was happier than I had been since before Uncle Lee died. So, let me say goodbye, Tia. I'm disowning you. We're done here."

She's gone. I can't hear her voice. I can't feel her presence. She's just gone, like a blink of an eye.

Parker stands and holds out his hand. "You okay?"

I nod and use my jersey to wipe my eyes. "I've never been better."

He smiles at me. "Good."

I take his hand and stand up too. "Hey, how did you know about her?"

Parker shrugs. "I can kind of read people's minds."

My jaw drops. "You have powers too? Cool!"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess it is."

We stand there in silence for a minute.

"You ready to go back?" he asks.

I nod again. "I've got a team to coach, and you've got a girl to find."

He starts walking. "What do you say we find her together?"

"I'd like that," I say.

And with that, I have my best friend back.

~~~

Our two favorite guys are friends again!

This means Ty's a good guy now.

Coming up: Parker gets some shocking news that causes him to spiral. We'll get to hear from Parker too since the last chapter is from his point of view.

Let me know what you think.

Remember to comment and vote! Share if you're feeling kind! Tell your friends!