Here For You

Taunts (22)

1993
Your POV
•-•-•-•-•

"Damn, look at how much you've grown in the past few years, YN! It's great to see you again. I'm sure the group would love to have you back," Kimber states in a condescending tone, smirking broadly.

"I doubt that," I reply in irritation. "Let me guess, yer goal was ta raid us, yeah?"

"Obviously," she answers cockily, "but you stopped me. I didn't even realize it was you until you beat me in the fight."

I scoff, "Wish ya didn't remember me at all."

"Oh, how rude," Kimber says, pouting. "I'm glad I remember you. We all do. You're too much of a badass to not remember. What, with how you always defended yourself and friends? You were quite the show-off, you were."

"Shut up," I demand coldly. "I wasn't doin' the things I did for attention and ya damn well know it."

"You say tomato I say tomato," she shrugs, leaning forward in her spot as far as she physically can. "Say, where are those friends of yours? I don't see them here...Oh, what were their names? Ah, right! Melanie, Kenneth and Jenna...right?"

That was deliberate. She knew that it would hit me hard.

That was a jab to the heart.

What she doesn't know is how they died, or that they even passed at all.

It's not like she'd actually care, either.

"I said, shut up," I repeat, glaring at her.

"Wait, you know her, YN?" Beverly asks me.

Before I could answer, Kimber cuts me off.

"Of course he knows me. We met back when he was a little tike," Kimber says, as if reminiscing on the past.

"I was thirteen," I growl, "not a tike. She wasn't even askin' you, so mind yer own business."

"Still as feisty as ever," Kimber giggles.

Choosing to ignore her, I glance back at Beverly. "Yes, I know 'er. She was apart of my former group. The one that turned against each other."

"First year into the apocalypse, I believe," Kimber says cheerfully, drawling out her words purposefully. "Friends since the start."

She's really getting on my nerves.

I give her a death glare.

"We ain't never been friends. You hated my guts, 'nd I hated yers. Still do now," I correct. "Ya always wanted ta get on my bad side 'nd fight me whenever ya could.

"That bein' whenever ya weren't on probation with the leader," I finish. "Even he hated ya."

"Oh, that's why I killed him!" Kimber laughs. "I was the whole reason everyone turned on each other! I started our downfall, just so I could take control."

"You're psychotic," I state. "You were the entire reason why my friends didn't make it that day. If we didn't need ta run, they might've still been alive today. They died because of you."

"Don't blame me for their unfortunate passing!" she proclaims, almost happily. "I didn't do anything to them!"

"You killed them indirectly," I growl out. "If they hadn't've been alone, if they had more people around, then they wouldn't have been murdered."

"They were murdered?" Kimber asks, suddenly intrigued. "How so? By who?"

"That ain't any of yer business. I don't need ta tell ya nothin' more, so shut the hell up before I make ya."

"C'mon! You can't just leave me on a cliffhanger!"

"This ain't a fuckin' game!" I exclaim, glaring daggers at her. "This ain't no storybook I'm readin' ta ya! So stop actin' like it is."

I storm out of the room to gather my bearings, out of sight as I furiously wipe at the tears rolling down my face when I finally let them flow freely.

"She started their downfall," I mutter to myself, sniffling, "but I'm the one who wasn't there ta save 'em when they needed me the most..."

"It wasn't your fault," a voice whispers to me as they set a hand on my shoulder, gently turning me around. "You couldn't have done a-anything to s-save them."

Bill cups my left cheek in his right hand, the uninjured one, trying to help me calm down as he takes a small step closer.

"Y-You did the b-best you could. She may have b-been the o-one to cause y-you and your f-friends to r-run, but nobody c-could've predicted their p-passing."

"I-I want ta believe that, Bill...r-really, I do," I whimper quietly, hiccuping a little. "But if I h-had done one thing d-differently-"

"You still wouldn't've known the outcome," he tells me gently. "No m-matter what you change, the r-results may always b-be the same. F-Frankly, I'm glad things t-turned out the way th-they did."

I meet his gaze in confusion, about to protest when he cuts me off.

"Hear me o-out."

I nod slowly, knowing he most likely isn't wanting to hurt me. I listen before reacting.

"If things w-were different, y-you might not be h-here with m-me t-t-today."

I try to calm myself down as I smile a little at his reasoning, laughing almost sadly from my tears. He caresses my cheek, gently and slowly rubbing along it with his thumb as I pull myself together.

"I-I reckon you're r-right," I reply, smile growing a bit. "Everythin' h-happens for a reason. My fate is ta be 'ere with you. I'm glad I d-didn't do things differently, too. Though, I can't help but ta m-miss them."

"I u-understand where y-you're coming from," Bill replies with a sympathetic grin. "I st-still see M-Mike sometimes."

"I do, too," I nod, carefully hugging him. "They're all in a better place now. We just have ta believe that. There a-ain't nothin' we can do ta change what h-happened to 'em all. We just have ta a-accept it."

"W-We need to c-carry on," Bill pauses, holding me close. "For th-the ones w-we've lost along th-the w-way."

"For the ones we've lost along the way," I repeat softly in agreement, closing my eyes as I rest my forehead on his good shoulder.

•-•-•-•-•

-CastrarWolf