He slammed me against the wall, his face angry.
"Don't think for a second that you can try to get inside my head." He growled, breathing heavily. A moment of silence passed between us where I could feel the tension in the air. I looked down, afraid...
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"w-what?" My breath hitched in my throat, my eyes glazing over. I didn't care where I was, I was not going to kill someone.
"Hey, listen, look at me, Lea. We'll train you. You'll be ready when the time comes," Liv reached out for my hand, drying the tear that had silently snaked its way down my cheek. I flinched back, staring at her.
"I...I can't. You don't understand, I CAN'T." I screamed the words, backing away further. I was not going to be the cause of someone's death. I was not going to witness someone's death. Not again.
The tears flew uncontrollably now, making the shocked faces around the table blur. I saw Alex get up to hug me, but I was out of my body. Everything was a dream. One of my knees buckled as I sank to the floor.
"You have to....just...stay." Those were the last words I heard before I fell into someone's arms.
My eyes opened slowly, a drop of water dripping into my eye. I groaned as a pounding headache washed over me, the damp cloth on my forehead doing nothing to soothe the throbbing. I looked up. Where the hell was I?
The couch under me dipped as I swung my legs over the side, attempting to get up. I really had to stop waking up in unknown places.
I felt too groggy to stand up but knew I had to sooner or later, bracing as I hauled myself up quickly. I blinked a few times, trying to get the haziness out of my brain only to fall back down as the blood rushed to my head. The headache grew and I gave up, lying back down as I slowly pulled the wool blanket at my feet over my tired body.
I felt my eyelids close as I slowly succumbed to the darkness.
I rolled my eyes, finishing up the last sentence of my English essay. I didn't look up but felt Ryder nudge my leg with his.
"We need a handshake, Lea," he frowned at me, probably sporting his best puppy dog eyes.
"Why?" I didn't look up, knowing he was trying to guilt me into creating a stupid handshake.
"Because it's so dope," he answered, looking offended that I had even asked such a question. I looked up at him. I was tempted to ask how a handshake would seem appealing to a 17-year-old quarterback, but he would probably start wrestling me, so I kept quiet.
"You know what you need to do?" I looked up, smiling innocently.
"what..."
"WORK," I yelled, throwing his textbook at him. His shocked face stared at me. Oh no. I had just started a war. He grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at me, hitting me smack-dab on my face.
"Why you little..."
We chased each other around the house, the biggest pillow fight in the history of pillow fights taking place. I was not going to let him beat me at something. We passed a closet and instead of hitting me with his pillow, he quickly pushed me inside, closing the door. Our heavy breathing filled the air until our hearts stilled, our breathing turning into uncontained laughter. We fell on the floor laughing, wiping tears from our eyes.
There was a thump outside the closet door. We both turned at the same time. Ray looked at me.
"You're not...expecting anyone, right?"
I shook my head hesitantly, confused. Ray got up, moving the pillows with his feet. He reached for the door, holding the handle.
"Hey, be careful," I pulled his sleeve, making him look back. He rolled his eyes, shrugging me off.
"Relax, you big baby. I'm just checking it out."
He opened the door, stepping out of the darkness and into the light. After looking around, he turned around confidently, opening his arms.
"See? No one's he-"
He slammed to the floor, crying out in pain. I screamed, running to help him up, but saw the pool of blood start to form at his chest.
No, no, no this was not happening. Without thinking, I flipped him over, grimacing at three huge gaping wound in the middle of Ray's chest.
"You can't do this to me," I muttered under my breath. I had no idea what to do first. Call 911, stop the bleeding, find out what the hell just happened. My mind was a blur as I grabbed a handful of clothes from the closet, trying to stop the bleeding. I pushed the white clothes onto his chest, holding it there, trying not to let the tears fall.
It's okay. Ray was going to be okay. We'd go back to our pillowfights and keep fighting over stupid handshakes. He was going to be fine.
The blood kept spreading, staining my hands crimson. It just spread until there was not a speck of white on the shirt anymore.
I hastily took some more cloth, wrapping it around his torso as hard as I could, but stopped when I felt a hand caress my cheek. I looked up, tears blurring my vision.
"Hey, it's okay." Ray smiled weakly at me, tired and drained. I refused to let this happen, shaking my head.
"No, no, NO. I-I'll figure something out. I just need more time. Maybe if I take the other bandages upstairs I could-"
"It's too late, Lea. It's okay." I looked at him, my tears falling on the stained shirts. I shook my head frantically, trying to wipe away my uncontrollable tears. It was not okay. It would never be okay.
"I love you," Ray whispered, closing his eyes. My lungs constricted, watching his head loll to the side, his jaw go slack. No, no, NO. I backed away, further until I was out the door.
I was running, running away from the blood, the tears, the shock. Running.
I collapsed on a rock, heaving. He was my best friend.
