My Lifeline

21

River's POV
THE PRESENT

I leave the building and run through the dark woods. The tall trees are hiding the sunlight, only a glimmer of it shining through the branches which no longer hold leaves from the summer. They're ripping away, blowing off in the air and swarming around me, guiding me to Will.

All I can do is hope that I'll find him there.

I sniffle as my nose runs due to the weather than makes me feel like I've just been trapped in a freezer. I'm surprised my hands haven't turned to ice.

Five minutes later, I'm at the quarry. In the distance, I can see Will's frame. He's at the edge, standing too close for comfort. The sight sends shivers down my spine and makes my eyes widen as far as they can.

Before I can even think, my feet are running against the wet grass, not stopping for a second until I reach him. I'm breathless and sweaty by the time I'm stood five meters behind him.

"Will," I say out loud.

"Leave me alone, River."

"I will. Once you get away from that edge."

He snorts with laughter and looks at me like I'm stupid. "You think I'm gonna jump? Calm yourself, I'm just...trying to calm down."

"Okay. Well, can you do that away from the edge? Please? The wind is really strong. You could slip."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I do. Because you're...my friend."

He looks over his shoulder and gives me this pained expression that cuts right to the depth of my core.

"I scared you."

"You didn't."

"I saw the way you looked at me in class. You think I'm some sort of monster."

I could laugh at his misconception. "You're wrong."

"Am I?"

"Yes. You never scared me, I was just worried about you. What happened in there?"

"Mr Peters pissed me off, you saw that."

"You were upset the second you stepped into class. Something happened. This isn't about Mr Peters, I know it isn't."

He closes his eyes and continues to stand there, refusing to step away.

"I'm angry. I don't want you to see me like this. I'll just fuck everything up, I'll say something. That's what I do."

I take a subtle step closer. "I don't think so."

An unexpected laugh echoes around us, coming straight from his mouth. "You're a good liar, I'll give you that."

"Clearly you can't spot liars if you think I'm lying."

"I always know when you're lying."

"Then how can't you see that I'm telling the truth now?"