Firecracker (On Hold)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

A month has passed and I hate this place more now than when I first arrived. Justin seems to think I want a friend, which I don't by the way. Todd is grating on my very last nerve and I've literally chopped all the trees that the environment can cope with. Aside from a few quick punches, I've mostly been kept away from Todd. Mike has been trying to befriend me, but I haven't exactly been reciprocating. Although, he usually catches me when I'm fighting back the red haze so my responses haven't exactly been nice.

Louise has tried to stay away from me. I think she's afraid of what my reaction will be, can't say I blame her to be honest. I really really need a release. I need to smash someone's face in and with the way Justin and Mike are watching me, I doubt I'll be getting to Todd any time soon.

My luck seems to change that Thursday morning. I'm cleaning one of the stalls and Justin calls out, “Ariya, hurry up and finish that. We're making a feed and grocery run. You have 5 minutes.”

I whisper to myself, “Sweet...”

I rush to finish the stall and head to the truck. Just like before, I fake allergies at the feed store and Justin cuffs me to the post outside the store. I wait for him to walk into the store before picking up the phone.

“Hey D, I don't have long. What have you got?”

“A! I've been waiting for your call. Right, I've sorted something for a field to the east of where you're staying. It's just outside the boundary of that ranch, so it'll take you about 40 minutes to jog there. I need 2 days to get people organized though, so it'll be Saturday night. Can you get there?”

“I'll make sure I do. Make sure it's a good one, man. I don't wanna knock him out in the first minute. I'm about ready to explode, D.”

“It is a good one, trust me. It's done as a favor though, so there won't be any winnings.”

“Since when have I cared about that? Just set it up for midnight and I'll be there. Gotta go. Thanks D.”

“Welcome. Be careful, A.”

“Always.”

I hang up quickly and wait quietly for Justin. Some guy walks passed and stops in front of me. In his Southern drawl he asks, “What's a pretty lady like you doing cuffed to a hitchin' post?”

“I'm a danger to society...”

He chuckles, “Really? More like a danger to men. With looks like that, I can see why...”

“Seriously? Do they not have better pick up lines out in the backwards country?”

“Don't need 'em. We make up for it in other ways, if you know what I mean...”

He wiggles his eyebrows at me and I scoff at him.

“You're all the same. Do girls seriously fall for that trash?”

“I've had no complaints...”

“Have they all been deaf, dumb, blind and stupid?”

He takes a step closer to me, and judging by the look in his eyes, he's offended by my comment.

“Hey! That's no way to talk about people...”

“It's called freedom of speech. I can say whatever I want.”

He steps right into my face and hisses, “You're lucky your looks make up for what your personality lacks. If you'd shut your mouth, I could show you a good time...”