Whispers and Rumors: Leaves of Love, Laughter, and Lies

Chapter 32 - Winnie

Apparently, Isa wants to make a 'dramatic entrance', so here I am, sitting in the big stall of the girls' bathroom while Isa paces around.

"Hand me the bat." I look next to me and notice the shiny bat sitting next to me. When I pick it up, my hand shakes a bit. I know Isa promised that as long as I keep my mouth shut, she won't hurt me. But I can't help but think she'll go crazy and swing at me.

"Isa, are you sure..." I trail off, realizing I definitely shouldn't say anything if I want to stay alive tonight.

"Yes, Winnie. I've got everything under control, and I only have one main target! Well, I'm probably going to take a swing at Mack if I can, but he doesn't matter to me anymore." That's it, she's a maniac. I shiver at the thought of what she'll do to Arcadia, wishing I could text her and tell her what's going on. Isa glares at me.

Don't just sit there, we're going into action in five minutes. Stop being a baby and get up." I shoot up and when she turns around, stick my middle finger right at her.

We burst out of the stall and towards the cluster of people in the cafeteria, and my heart pounds Principal Oldmore is somewhere around, and I definitely don't want to get caught just by standing guard as Isa's henchmonkey. She walks around casually, swaying to the music. Like she's not holding a fucking baseball bat in her right hand.

"Oh my god, I see Mack. Should I hit him?" She looks at me, genuinely asking. What am I supposed to say to that? Yeah, go hit your ex boyfriend, possibly kill him, and then walk away like nothing happened.

"I don't care. Go ahead." My voice is flat, but on the inside I'm full of nerves and anticipation. Isa thinks for a second. Then regains composure and walks over to him. She taps Mack on the shoulder, and he spins around.

CRACK.

She swings and ends up hitting him right in the arm, also grazing near his stomach. He groans, then loses his balance and topples over backward. His eyes close, slowly. Since he hit his head so hard, a pool of blood forms around it. I feel dizzy and grasp the railing of the stairs next to me. Isa takes a strand of hair out of her mouth and turns to me. Something unfamiliar dances in her eyes, and I realize she's not okay. Maybe I'm not either, to be able to go through with this.

People scream. They run, they back away from Isa, they film on their phones. I look down at the floor.

"Winnie, do something," Isa hisses, obviously not enjoying the attention. And then the world stops. Arcadia walks through the doors, and Ella and Octavia rush over to her. Ella tugs on Arcadia's arm, trying to get her inside. It would've saved her life. Arcadia's knocking on death's door, and Ella Tarzan could've saved her. Isa looks over. She sees Arcadia and smiles. She shrinks against the wall, waiting for Arcadia to turn the corner. And when she does, we make eye contact. Quickly, I look away. Isa grins.

"Arcadia! You're just the girl I was looking for. Stay right there." And in a blur, Charles darts in front of Arcadia before the bat is able to come in contact with her. He gets hit in the leg, falling backward. Arcadia looks so scared, my heart wrenches and I look away. It's not fair, that they have to suffer and I just stand here. Before I can stop her, Isa walks around behind Arcadia while she whispers something to Charles, fumbling with her phone.

"You brought this upon yourself, bitch." Isa says, punching Arcadia in the stomach. And there she and Charles lie.

"We need to go." Isa jerks her head to the side, where ambulances are parking, and cops and firefighters are running over. She grabs my hand and we rush away, turning the corner. I look back once, to see everyone gaping as Charles, Mack, and Arcadia are wheeled away on stretchers. I hold my face in my hands, wondering what I've done.