Other Worlds - The Wilds

Chapter 23

  Toni couldn't react at all, she just stood there with her mouth hanging open slightly as Carol approached, completely motionless even when Carol seized her by the wrist.

  "Drop it," Carol growled, her voice gravelly and cold.

  She definitely preferred blubbering wasted Carol to violent hungover Carol.

  The grip on her wrist tightened like a vice and her hand started to go numb. She finally snapped out of her trance and dropped the photo; unfortunately, it landed directly in a huge puddle of whisky.

  Seconds ticked by in slow motion, neither of them saying anything, just watching the picture soak up the liquor.

  Shit.

  With the arm Carol was still holding on to, she pulled Toni towards her, her face just inches away from Carol's, inhaling her sour breath. "Fuck you." Carol hissed in her ear, before shoving her. Toni's back clipped the corner of the coffee table on the way down, causing her to gasp in pain. She closed her eyes, willing the pain to ease so she could get up and protect herself. But she she finally opened her eyes, Carol was standing in the hallway, watching her.

  "Leave," she grunted before slamming her bedroom door behind her.

  Toni stayed on the floor for a few moments, processing what had just happened. She got up slowly, letting herself assess the soreness in her back. Manageable, was the conclusion she came to. She could cope with this. Her wrist on the other hand, throbbed. Bruises were already beginning to blossom on her skin. She had a feeling it was going to be very obvious how she obtained the bruises, with a red pattern already forming in the shape of a hand. Good thing it was winter.

  She debated going back to her room to get her backpack with all her books but decided against it in the end. She didn't want to risk an actual beating. She was lucky Carol left it where she did.

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  Toni wandered around town for about an hour. Most of the shops were still closed. She had about three hours to kill before her study date with Shelby. She was still shaken and aching from her encounter with Carol this morning. It took a little while for her body to stop involuntarily quaking and the anxious fog in her mind to clear up.

  She walked to the lake where she usually skipped stones but it was frozen over, so she just sat there for a while. Then she climbed a tree, nearly plummeting to her death due to her bulky winter clothes. After that, she was out of ideas so she made her way to the cafe, ordered a coffee and sat by herself, people watching out of the window. She started to read one of the books they kept for customers for a while but eventually got bored.

  The book slammed dully as she closed it in frustration. She tipped her head to the ceiling a took a deep breath feeling restless. She still had over two hours left until Shelby came.

  She only had one friend that would be up at this time on a weekend. Well, only one that would be up and available. She scrolled through her phone list until she found Martha's name.

  As usual she answered after three rings, "Toni! What's up?"

  "Martha I'm dying of boredom please entertain me."

  "You're so dramatic... Where are you why don't you just watch tv, or play basketball, or..." Toni zoned out slightly as Martha continued to rattle off a list of possible cures to her boredom that she couldn't do.

  "Marty, stop," Toni laughed, "I'm in town Carol wanted some time to herself."

  "She is a bit weird don't you think? I don't know, maybe there is a better placement for you."