TITLE:FAYETTEVILLE
***********************************
***********************************
***********************************
***********************************
Natalie walked from the dark kitchen to meet
Derrick in the living room. He was shaking
his head at the floor like he had reached his
end. His fidgeting was getting faster: the
tapping of his foot, the pulling of the thread
in the couch cushion, the rubbing on his
neck.
The only sounds in the house were the pops
of the wood in the walls as they settled.
Derrick's dad was almost never home, so
Natalie and Derrick were home alone.
"When are you going to open up and talk to
me? All I see is you in a twist and blowing up
all over the place. And over what? Apparently
everyone knows but me, and that's messed
up."
"You don't have to know everything, Natalie."
"What are you talking about?! We're dating !
Something tells me you're supposed to talk to
me about stuff... I'm not your ragdoll. I'm
not some lost puppy that follows you around,
and let me tell you something," Natalie leaned
in closer to Derrick. She held her hand right
in front of his face, hovering her index
finger just above her thumb. "I'm this close
to leaving you. You don't know what it means
to be a man. You don't know how to love
somebody."
"You're helping so much!" Derrick's sarcasm
was a mix between spite and bitterness. "You
want to know everything. Why can't you sit
there and look pretty? 'Bout all you're good at
anyways."
That was it... "Get out, Derrick!" Her yell made
him jump. He'd never gotten this much
aggression out of her, even when he
deserved it.
"This is my house. What are you talking
about? You get out," he pointed at her.
"I wasn't talking about this house. Get out of
my life."
It finally hit him. He dropped his head and let
his anger turn into hurt for the first time in a
long time. Natalie leaned against the wall and
let him take it in. Now, she felt like he was
listening.
"Derrick, you have to see where I'm coming
from."
"You don't think I feel bad?" His voice was
much lower; his soft side was coming out.
"How do you think I feel, Natalie? Zach was
my best friend, and he thinks he can go and
snitch on me," he uttered.
They both paused. Derrick knew he said too
much. Natalie smirked because that's all she
could do.
"What did he snitch on, Derrick?"
"Nothing, Natalie. It's whatever." The silence
between them couldn't describe the horrible
tension in the room. It was like a rope being
pulled at both ends, and Natalie was almost
ready to let go.
Natalie's phone rattled on the coffee table.
It buzzed loudly in the silence. She saw the
name plastered across the pixels on her
screen. Her eyes shot open, knowing that if
Derrick saw it, the room would explode. She
grabbed her phone, read the message, and
went to his front porch.
"Hey, what's up?" she said, putting the cold
phone to her cheek.
"Where are you?" Zach asked.
"Derrick's house, why?"
"You have to get out, now."
"What are you talking about? I can handle
him. I won't let him hurt me."
Natalie didn't notice it, but Derrick stood up
from the couch and turned the corner to the
front door. He crept closer and closer,
avoiding the spots on the floor that make the
loud pops. His figure moved slowly in the
darkness, getting closer... and closer...
"Do you really think he'd hurt me?" she asked.
