The Project

Chapter Eleven: Beaten

I've decided that I'm going to give Phil the letter. It may be too personal, but Dan trusts me to do what he asks. I don't really want to lose Dan as an inside source, so I should just humor him for now. 

Although, I'm afraid what Dan said might make Phil angry and make him do something that he'll regret. Like saying my real name again.

 I'll fucking kill the bastard. He has no idea what I've been through these past thirteen years. Dan walked through the door and I looked up from my lap. 

"Ready for lunch?" I could tell he was drained from the events of today, but I nodded. He gave me a wide smile and beckoned me to the door with him.

He didn't grab my arm like usual and we advanced down the hallway. I took the rings from my pocket and put them on each side of my head. "Aren't you suppose to be holding my arm so I don't hurt someone or run away?"

 I pointed to my arm and he gazed at it with a tired expression, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, yeah. I guess." 

He took hold of my arm and we continued down the hallway. Once we arrived at the cafeteria he motioned for 'Rocky' to get up. The guard lazily stood up and walked down the hallway where we came. He released my arm and gave me a stern look. 

"Don't forget about the letter." I rolled my eyes and nodded, feeling the note in my pocket. 

He briefly looked to my pocket before giving my shoulder a tight squeeze and whispering a thank you. I nodded again and he opened the door, letting me into the cafeteria with the others. 

My stomach growled loudly at the scent of food and I hurried off toward the dispersing line of people. Some of them gave me a small smile while others simply avoided me.

 I noticed the lady was looking at me and when I met her gaze she immediately went back to serving food. I grabbed a plastic tray and she grabbed a plastic bowl from her side, filling it with beef stew and putting it onto my plate, adding a green apple. 

"Don't hesitate to come back for seconds, darling!" Her cheery voice made me uneasy. She was never this nice before.. did she get a raise? The others waved me over with happy smiles and I sat down beside Felix again.

 My hand instantly reached for the note and I reached for Phil under the table with my free hand, getting his attention. 

He glared at me and I nodded to the underneath of the table. His glare turned to a puzzled look and I tugged the note from my pocket, reaching to him with it. 

He nodded and grabbed the note from my outstretched hand. I suppose they want it to be secretive seeing as they're not supposed to be doing this.

 His gaze dropped to the note in his hands as he read it. A look of shock came over his face and a blush rose to his cheeks. He gave me an apologetic smile and I waved it off.

 He put the note into his pocket and was about to speak when I glared at him and shook my head. He nodded in understanding and went back to eating.

 "Uh.. Mcloughlin. Tell him I said that I understand." His voice dropped as someone went by our table, quickly glancing at me and returning to wherever they came from."-And that I'll be careful." His eyes widened and he quickly added, " Tell him to be careful too!" 

I nodded and dug my spoon into the soup, taking a bite. I forgot the damn water bottle. I got up from my seat and made my way over to the coolers. Something caught my foot and I fell to the ground with a thud. 

No- not something. Someone. The whole cafeteria silenced and look at us with gaping mouths. I looked up to see who it was. A boy with green eyes and brown hair stared down at me, smirking.

 "So you're the legendary Mcloughlin? Not much of a looker are you?" He scrunched up his nose in disgust and crouched beside my form. My heartbeat thumped inside my chest and I could hear it pounding away at my skull as well. I clenched my fists and anger ate at my insides, making me lunge on the naïve boy.

We struggled against each other and he landed a blow to my stomach, throwing me off of him. Pain erupted from my side and I let out a small yelp, holding onto it. He crouched by me again and smiled that same, annoying smile. 

"Not much of a fighter either, are you Sea-" Before he could finish I lunged for him again, knocking the breath out of him. 

He coughed and sucked in a breath as I punched him repeatedly in the face. I gritted my teeth as I got off of him and started to kick his side. He cringed at the pain and curled up into a little ball. My foot connected with his face and he lost consciousness.

 My anger boiled inside of me as I kept going, kicking him as hard as I could. No one, calls me that. NO ONE. Felix tried to pry me away from him and I shoved him off of me, sending him flying backward and into the coolers. 

"MCLOUGHLIN, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" I couldn't recognize who the voice belonged to until he stood in front of me, reaching his arms out to stop me from doing anything else to the boy. 

Ethan. My chest rose and fell rapidly, my fists clenched at my sides. I glared at him and he took hold of my shoulders. I jerked at the sudden touch and he held firm. "Calm down, calm. Down." My breathing evened ever so slightly and I looked over at the one who didn't deserve to use my name.