“Welcome to the show, my love! Take a seat, grab some popcorn. It’s going to be a hell of a show,” Austin announces, filled with pride, as Kaitlin laughs next to him. I give her the ugliest look I can possibly muster and all she can do is smile at me.
I've never felt this type of hurt and betrayal before in my life. Losing my mom was hard enough, but this? This is an entirely new level of fucked up I wasn’t prepared for. Was she pretending to be my friend the whole time?
Miles lifts his face and I turn to look at him, making eye contact with his intense blue eyes. The right side of his face is covered completely in blood, the left side beginning to bruise. Oh my god, Miles. What did they do to him?
I don’t care what happens to me anymore or what they plan to do to me, I just need to help him. I start to run towards the stage, but Austin stops me.
“Ah ah ah, where do you think you’re going?” He gets behind Miles and grabs him by the hair, lifting his head up to where hisneck is visible and holding what I can only imagine is a knife up to his throat.
“No! Stop! Please!” I scream, holding my hands out in front of me, hoping to god he’ll just listen to me and not hurt him any further.
“Please, I’ll do whatever you say, just don’t hurt him, Austin. Please! This isn’t like you.”
He tosses his head back, laughing hysterically, and Kaitlin joins him like this is all some sort of sick joke to them. I can feel my heart start to crack knowing that whoever my best friend was, he isn’t here anymore.
Kaitlin walks up beside Austin and brings her hand up to his cheek, caressing it like they have some type of connection. She looks over at me and winks before turning back to Austin, kissing him. She breaks their kiss and looks back at me, a prideful look painted on her face.
“Look at you. You look so fucking pathetic. Begging for his life. ‘No, stop, please!’” She laughs as she mocks me. Watching her all over Austin makes me fucking sick.
Austin’s eyes travel back over to me and widen as he holds the blade of the knife up to Miles’ throat.
“Thisislike me, Maddie. This hasalwaysbeen like me. You just failed to see it. You failed to pay attention to it, just like you stopped paying attention to me! Why would you do that to me, Maddie? All I wanted to do was love you.”
What is he talking about? He sounds like some kind of crazy person. I never stopped paying attention to him. He’s the one who stopped hanging out with me to hang out with the people who used to bully us. How could he even say that?
“And when you left, you know who was there for me? Kaitlin. She gave me the love and attention that I needed. The love that you decided I didn’t deserve.”
I can feel myself getting defensive, but I can’t do anything to risk Miles' life when he has a blade held to his throat. I take a steady breath and think about what I’m going to say next.
“You’re right, Austin, and I’m sorry. I should have never left you.” My eyes quickly flash to Miles and I can see the pain in his eyes from my words, but I need to say whatever I can to save him.
I take a step towards the stage, holding my hands up so Austin knows I mean him no harm. Kaitlin’s body grows stiff and I know my words are getting to her, too.
“I should have just stayed with you that night at graduation when you told me you loved me.” I take another step towards the stage and he doesn’t move.
“I love you too, Austin. So much.”
“You’re just saying that!” he screams, holding the blade firm up to Miles' throat and I stop when I see a bead of blood drip from where the blade sits, still holding my hands up in front of me hoping he’ll see that I’m serious.
“No, I’m not! I mean it. If you’ll just let me show you…that I do.”
He looks back at Kaitlin, who shakes her head at him, but he doesn’t listen. He looks back over at me and nods his head, and then motions for me to go up the stairs to my left.
I slowly and carefully make my way over to them, never breaking eye contact with Austin. I walk closer to the three of them, trying not to look down at Miles, but I can’t help it.
His feet are bloody because he’s missing toenails. A set of bloody pliers are on the floor next to him, telling me everything I need to know. I close my eyes and cringe away at the sight, trying so hard to keep the bile from coming up my throat.
His body is covered in little cuts that are slowly still bleeding. And his face. Oh my god, his poor, beautiful face. His cheekon the right side of his face has been skinned, the left side completely beaten in, and his eye is swollen shut.
He looks like thisbecause of me.
I try to hold back the tears that are threatening to escape, but I can’t help it. They fall freely and I put my hand over my mouth to try and contain a sob. I look back up at Austin, who stares at me intently.
“Why would you do this to him?” I ask softly, trying not to sound like it hurts me even though it does.
“I did this because of you, Maddie. You fucking left me! Everything that I ever did was for you. I even killed your father,for you.”
I stare at him with complete shock as my heart sinks deep into the pit of my stomach. He didn’t kill my father, I did. How does he know about that?
