His Ruthless Revenge (A Dark Bully Romance)

Chapter Five

Six years earlier...

Eric didn't answer my call that night and wasn't at school the following day. I knew something was wrong as he wasn't replying to my texts. I became desperate and eventually went over to his house to find out what was going on.
I stood outside it for a while, pacing back and forth in an attempt to delay the inevitable.
My intuition just knew something bad must have happened as there was no other explanation for Eric's silence. We never went more than a day without speaking before so I knew it had to be something pretty bad.

I eventually found the courage to knock on his front door, wringing my hands together as I waited. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and took a deep breath.
"April, what are you doing here? Are you ok?" Eric's mum greeted me, smiling warmly.
"Is... is Eric home?" I asked hesitantly, struggling to catch my breath.
"Eric?" She asked, sounding surprised by my request.
"I haven't heard from him all week and he's not responding to any of my texts. I've been so worried." I explained, clumsily stumbling over my words.
"Come on in." She advised gently, speaking softly. "There's something I have to tell you."
She lead me into the kitchen and made me a hot chocolate, placing the steaming mug down on the table.
"Is Eric sick? Is that why he's not been to school?"
"Eric... doesn't live here anymore." She divulged carefully. "He moved away."
"He what?"
"Last week." She revealed sombrely. "It was rather sudden but he said it's what he wanted."
"But where's he gone? Why would he leave without telling me?" I demanded roughly, grappling with the idea that my best friend had abandoned me without saying goodbye.
"He said he had to. He said he wanted to spend some more time with his dad and as much as I didn't want to let him go... I had no choice."
"But why?" I persisted, shaking my head in disbelief. "This doesn't make any sense."
"I completely agree with you which is why I need to ask you if Eric was being bullied. Was someone tormenting him at school? I knew nothing about it of cohrse but that doesn't mean it wasnt happening. Why else would he want to leave everything behind and start again?"
"I can't believe he didn't tell me." I whispered faintly, avoiding her question as I lowered my gaze.
"I'm as shocked as you are and I had no idea you didn't know about it." She consoled me, placing her hand on top of mine. "I just presumed you already knew."
"He's my best friend." I murmured dispondently, staring into space.
"Honey, come here." She said, pulling me towards her for a hug. "It's going to be alright, I promise you."
"Can you give me his new number?" I asked, pulling away from her. "I can't get in contact with him using the old one."
"He's still got the same number which is why I'm so surprised you haven't heard from him. All of this is really confusing to me and still doesn't make any sense. He just woke up one morning and said he didn't feel well and by the end of the day he announced he wanted to move and be with his dad."
"Can you give me his new address then? I'm so worried about him."
"Of course." She assured me, offering me a smile. "Just remember that I'm always here for you, April."
"There is something you should know about Eric." I blurted out foolishly, determined to be honest with her. "Eric was being bullied at school and I know exactly who by. I'm sure he's the reason why Eric chose to leave."
I went onto tell her everything that day, revealing every detail about Chase and his relentless bullying of us both. Eric's mum was furious and vowed to get to the bottom of it, reassuring me that everything would be ok from now on.

Of course she was wrong...

Things got much worse for me after that.

I charged into school the following day, my eyes roaming the corridors until I found him. Chase had already taken so much from me, I really wasn't prepared to let him get away with it any longer. Losing Eric was the final straw.
He was standing by his locker when I finally found him and by this time the busy corridors were now empty as everyone was already in class.
It was just the two of us.