The Why Behind What We Feel

Chapter 41- Walk Out

There was nowhere else to go after I was released from the hospital except for my grandma's house. I was supposed to be headed back to Baltimore yesterday, but I can't even think about school until I'm no longer afraid for my life every time I walk outside.

Tyler has been here with me, taking care of me just like he promised me he would. Agent Sorse has the Slidell Police Department patrolling our neighborhood and we even have a unit posted up just outside the house.

I've never been more grateful to live in such a crime-ridden neighborhood. Maybe whoever is after us will be too afraid to come around here. If they do, firing a gun means fifty more guns firing back. The people here are absolutely nuts, but they take care of their own.

"What did I tell you, Sessy? Get away from the windows!" Tyler growls, coming into the living room and stalking over to me.

He grabs me by my good arm, yanking me up off the sofa and dragging me across the room. He practically shoves me into the armchair next to the television.

I look up at him, furrowing my brows. "Do not put your hands on me like that again."

"Then do what I say!" he barks back.

I can only stare at him in disbelief. He's been so edgy since we left the hospital, and I get why, but there's no reason to take his frustrations out on me.

"Look, I know you're stressed out right now, but you aren't going to talk to me that way and you damn sure won't put your hands on me again," I say sternly.

He sighs in annoyance, turning away from me and pacing back and forth like he's about to lose his mind.

A few tension-filled seconds go by before he speaks again. He pauses, but doesn't meet my eyes. "You're not taking this seriously enough."

"What do you want me to do?!" I snap. "Lock myself in the closet until it's safe to come out?!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sessy. I'm not asking you to lock yourself in a damn closet. I just want you to be smarter, that's all."

"Smarter?" I scoff.

"Yes, smarter," he says pointedly. "Sitting in front of the window is not smart! You almost died! How are you able to just act like nothing ever happened?!"

"How the hell am I acting like nothing ever happened?!" I ask defensively.

"All you care about is getting back to Baltimore," he says, rolling his eyes.

"You know what? I do care about getting back to Baltimore. In case you forgot, I lost my grandmother not even two weeks ago! I can't even mourn her properly because I'm being hunted down by people I've never even met before who want to kill me for no other reason than I'm your girlfriend! I just want some normalcy in my life again!"

He turns his eyes to me and my breath catches. I've never seen him look so dark and...evil...

"So that's it? You'll be better off in Baltimore, without me?" he asks.

I swallow hard. That's not exactly what I meant, but isn't it the truth? If Tyler isn't in my life anymore, I can be safe. I love him and I've felt the need to protect him since the day we met. But those feelings are ultimately what led me here. I'm in danger, afraid for my life, all because I got wrapped up in some boy with a past that sounds like a Netflix documentary. I can't keep living this way.

But getting out means leaving him behind. He's in just as much danger as I am. He's been trying so hard to get his life back on track and just when he started making progress, these assholes came along and destroyed everything he's been working so hard for.