The Other Side Of Fear[1]

Chapter 26

With one hour of my night shift left to go and all of my jobs done I had time to squeeze this one in✨

The next thing I knew, we were back at Cal's place. As I followed him inside, the flashbacks returned of what had happened here just the day before and I felt a flutter in my chest before I quickly pushed the thoughts away.

Cal's breathing was loud and heavy and I could tell by the way he was picking things up and slamming things down and moving things around that he was angry. I watched him as he moved around the lounge, not knowing what to do with himself before he kicked a chair, sending it flying across the room.

'Cal, stop!' I cried as I jumped at the sudden outburst.

He stopped moving and glared at the floor as his shoulders rose and fell in time with his heavy breaths until they slowly decreased and became softer.

'Okay,' I said, calmly, ignoring my own pounding heart. 'Everything's okay.'

'No everything is not okay!' he cried, clenching his fists again.

I moved across the room automatically and placed my hands on his chest without thinking, just wanting to keep him in a calm place before he flipped again.

'There's no need for you to get like this; it's not worth it,' I told him as I looked up at him trying to meet his eyes.

'Just get me alone with that son of a bitch and I'll kill him,' he growled, as he gritted his teeth and I watched his whole face tense up.

'No Cal, you can't even talk to him okay,' I sighed.

'We won't be talking,' he muttered.

'You won't do anything!' I cried, lifting my hands from his chest and raising them in the air as I walked away from him.

I was feeling panic in my chest at what he was saying as I thought about how much that would make things worse for me. He was only going to piss Archie off more and cause further problems for me and for him. I knew Archie was capable of twisted things; I didn't put anything past that boy now.

I turned back to face him and he was narrowing his eyes at me as he took in my heightened state. My eyes were wide and pleading as I thought about how terrible it would be for the two of them to end up alone together. I knew Cal could take him but I didn't put it past Archie to play dirty.

'Stay away from him please,' I begged.

'Why do you let him do that to you?' he asked angrily. 'You let that little prick walk all over you. It's fucked up!'

'Don't start,' I groaned as I dropped my head into my hands.

'You just stood there and said nothing,' he walked closer to me.

'You know why!' I cried. 'Don't act stupid; you've been there all those times he did all those things to me. You witnessed the waterfall when he pushed me, you were at the diner when he left me there, it was your cabin I ran to when he was chasing me through the fucking woods!'

'Exactly!' he yelled. 'I've witnessed it all and yet I don't understand why he still seems to think you're together.'

'Because he's psychotic!' I shouted, waving my hands in the air.

'You just need to tell him it's done!' he cried. 'If you had done that the first time you wouldn't have went through all the other shit!'

'I can't do that,' I shook my head.

'Yes you can.'

'I can't, Cal!'

'You can leave him!'