Jaded

[20] Angry

I gave Will 2 minutes. He's already wasted half of that, and all he's done is stare at me. A little bit longer and I'm getting the hell out of here. Atty's probably sprouting new worry lines by the second.

Will folds his arms and frowns, the curve of his mouth dipping low on his face. He whispers something so quietly that if I didn't see his lips move just now, I wouldn't even had known he said something.

"What?" I ask.

He clears his throat and takes a step towards me. I backpedal instinctively, but after only 2 steps, my heel digs into a tree root as rough bark scratches against my shoulder blades. Ohh, I don't like this.

"Who put you up to this, Maddy?" It's more of a demand than a question, an order to spill my guts.

Now I'm more confused than scared. I knit my eyebrows together and purse my lips. "What're you talking about?"

"I asked you a question. The least you can do, after robbing me like you did, is answer honestly," he says, gritting his teeth. "Who're you working for?!" He screams- every last trace of desperation has vanished from his features, leaving behind only rage. The kind that's only made stronger by its delusion.

Yeah, I'm definitely back to being frightened out of my pants.

But he doesn't need to know that, not like he can smell fear. I keep my voice even and maintain eye contact. "I didn't rob you, I only protected myself. And I am telling the truth. I have no idea what you're going on about, no one put me up to anything and I'm not working for anyone."

Will steps towards me again, but this time I have nowhere to retreat to. He moves enough to leave only about a foot between us. "So, betraying me was your own choice?"

I feel like I've been dropped in the middle of a play and someone forgot to give me the script. I have no idea what 'scene' I'm in or what my lines are.

Hell, I don't even know what's going on.

Once again, I begin to say, "what are you talking ab-" but Will interrupts me by slowly resting his right palm against the trunk of the tree behind me, effectively caving me in.

He narrows his eyes, keeping them trained on me. "You even turned my best friend against me!" he shouts. The sheer volume of his words makes me flinch and I feel my jaw tick.

The worst part is, with the thickness of the trees and the distance we crossed, I'm not sure if anybody back at the clearing heard. For the first time since I ran away, I feel alone again.

My entire body tenses when I feel Will's cold fingers wrap around my neck and jaw. Every alarm inside me is blaring at once, going into overdrive. Oh my god, what's happening?!

He leans in close, barely leaving any space between us, and hisses, "how could you do this to me?"

I need to answer- no, screw that, I need to fight. Punch, kick, shove- something. I need to get it through my head that I'm dealing with a Will that's high as a kite. He's jacked up on coke and more pissed off than I've ever seen him. Not a good combination.

The skin around my chin starts to sting as Will tightens his grip and pushes, causing my head to bang against the tree with tremendous force. Some of my hair gets caught on a peeling bark so when my head ricochets forward, I yelp in pain as chunks of hair are ripped out.

I'm starting to get dizzy, but finally the gears are turning. All those years of Dad's self defense training are flooding back.

I can do this. Just have to keep myself alive and follow my gut.