“Correct again!” He beams. “But you’re missing one key thing,” he states, taking another step towards me. I take another step back. I glance at the edge of the cliff, suddenly aware of how close I am to falling.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“We…take careof people who become an issue,” he barks as he takes out a knife. My eyes go wide. I’ve forgotten how to breathe.
“Fortunately for you, we gave you an option, since my father has a soft spot for you. We told you to leave, countless times. Yet you stayed. You chose to ignore our warnings.”
The men pour petrol onto my mother’s bench and I watch in horror as one of them pulls out a match. The match sparks, an orange light fills the scene.
“Please don’t! This is cruel!” I cry out as the one with the match catches my eye. He hesitates, but is bumped into, and the match escapes his grip.
I see it fall in slow motion. The match lands on the bench, and it instantly catches fire, spreading through every inch of the wood. Molten anger flows through me, threatening to spill out.
Suddenly, I feel a push on my chest, and I’m falling backwards off the cliff. A hand grabs me by my collar, and a knife is put against my throat.
“Listen very carefully. I want you to stay away from that boyfriend of yours. Stay away from that stupid bookshop. Get a train ticket and go home. You don’t belong here.” His knife leansinto my throat, and I become hyperaware of my breathing. My shirt is threatening to rip.
“And if you don’t leave? My family and I will hurt everyone you love, including your pathetic boyfriend. We’ll make you watch as we break each one of his fingers and rip his teeth from their sockets,” he sneers. He pulls me up and pushes me to the ground. My head hits the ground, and the whole world blurs.
“The look on your face when your mother died was priceless. It’s up to you whether or not we see it again,” Stanley threatens as the family walks off.
“You’ve got until tomorrow night. Say you’re goodbyes and fuck off,” Stanley shouts behind him.
I want to run after him and hurt him. I want to see him suffer with every fibre of my being.
But I don’t dare move. The waves roar as raging sobs fill the air.
“What the fuck do I do?” I whisper, hitting myself on the head repeatedly. My whole body trembles while my heart pounds in my chest. I struggle to breathe as I sob into the earth.
“FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!” I scream as they walk away.
I can’t do this. I need to leave.
I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.
I’m sobbing at Kai’s bedside, surrounded by nothing but my thoughts. I don’t want to leave. It isn’t fair. I want to scream and destroy this entire hospital room until my knuckles bleed, but instead, I sob beside my best friend.
“Why can’t you just wake up? I need to hear your voice, Kai. I can’t do this without you.” Deep down, I know if I told him I was leaving, he’d probably hate me again. I already did it to him once. I just want him back. He shouldn’t even be in this fucking hospital.
What if I leave and he dies in his sleep?
What if I’m not there when he wakes up?
What if he hates me again?
I can’t leave. I can’t do this. My heart throbs as all these dark thoughts swim around in my head.
I hear a knock at the door.
“Noah?” Demi says as she enters the room. It’s dimly lit by a lamp by Kai’s bed. “God, it’s so dark in here,” she laughs, but the way her voice cracks as her eyes linger on her son’s body makes the lump in my throat grow larger. “Do you want a tissue?” She asks as she sits down next to me.
“Already got some, I had a feeling I was gonna need them,” I say, attempting a smile. I wipe my eyes and turn to look at her.
“Can you promise me when he wakes up, you’ll make sure he’s okay?” I ask her, hoping to have some confirmation that he won’t be alone when I’m gone.
“I should be asking you that. You were always closer to him than I was. But that’s what happens, isn’t it?”
But I won’t be here when he wakes up.
