The Boy in the Woods (2014 Wattys Winner, Wattpad Version)

Chapter 26 - Am I Losing You

No!  

Marty hadn't realized he'd started struggling until the driver tightened his hold on his arms, nearly lifting him off the ground and causing a searing pain across his shoulders.  Blackwell gave him a dirty look as he stilled, gritting his teeth against the pain. 

"He's – he's –," Jess stammered, getting her uncle's attention.  "He's – in some of my classes.  He's not a bad boy."  Blackwell snorted in response.  "He just made a mistake.  I'm sure he won't do it again." 

"I'm not going to argue with you about this, Jessica" Blackwell muttered angrily, putting the receiver to his ear.

"It just doesn't seem right to ruin his life over a mistake!" she pleaded as he began dialing.

"Johnny, he's so young," Marty heard the maid implore behind him, but Blackwell ignored her as well.

"Dad – Dad, wait," Doug said loudly. "I think they're right." 

Blackwell stopped mid-dial and both he and Marty looked up at Doug with incredulity.  Was Doug actually speaking up for him?

"He's just a stupid punk kid.  He won't come back now that he knows what will happen to him if he does."  

Marty watched Blackwell stare at his son, wondering what was going on.  As the silence stretched, it seemed everyone was holding their breath and it occurred to him Blackwell might be considering letting him go.  Then Blackwell's hand slowly placed the receiver back on its cradle and Marty's heart began racing, hardly able to believe it. 

"Alright," Blackwell said as he turned and approached Marty.  "I'll let him go."  Then Blackwell grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and glared down at him.  "Let this be a lesson to you, boy!" he growled.  "If you ever come on my property again, it'll be years before you see the outside of a jail cell.  Do you understand?"

"Yes, s-sir," Marty muttered, stumbling as he forced the word out. 

"Escort him off the property!" Blackwell barked, and Marty was jerked towards the door.  He couldn't help glancing up at the stairs, getting one last look at Jess, but he wished he hadn't.  She looked like she was in agony, her eyes red and full of pain. 

The maid quickly stepped out of their way and he was wrenched out the door.  As they stumbled down the steps, Marty worried they were going to fall into the gravel, but the driver released one of his arms and grabbed onto the back of his neck while his other hand gripped Marty's upper arm like a vice. 

While they walked down the drive, Marty's instinct was to break loose and start running, but he resisted the urge.  Even though the driver was gripping him tight enough to hurt, it was best to keep his cool and not make any more mistakes. 

"Yer thinkin' ya got away with somethin', don't ya?" the driver hissed under his breath once they were hidden from the house by the trees, his fingers digging into Marty even more painfully.  "Yer thinkin' maybe the family's a soft touch.  But you'd be makin' a mistake ta think that." 

There was a coldness in the man's voice that instantly made Marty's body tense and his heart pound in his chest. 

"I know what ya are," he sneered.  "Trash – just like the young master said, and I know how ta deal with trash."

He was baiting Marty, just like Marty's old man would.  He saw the gate appear after a turn and he kept his eyes glued to it.  He was almost there.  He just needed to keep quiet a few more minutes and he'd be free.  He could do this.

"If ya come around here again, jail will be the least of yer worries, I'll tell ya that right now."

What did he mean by that, Marty wondered as they approached the gate, and then he was pushed hard from behind.  He landed painfully against the iron bars, nearly falling to the ground.  What the hell?  He jumped up and wheeled around, his hands balling into fists in case he needed to defend himself, but then he froze.  The man had pulled one half of his suit jacket away from his body, revealing a holstered pistol under his left arm.

"Now ya see, don't ya?" he said with a leer.  He took a step towards Marty, and Marty stepped back, hitting the gate. 

"If I catch ya anywhere near Mr. Blackwell's property again," he said, his voice low and ominous.  "I'll be puttin' a bullet in yer head.  Do ya hear me?"

Marty nodded once, his heart pounding in his chest.  From the cold look in the man's eyes, he had no doubt he meant it.

"Don't ya move!" he warned, letting go of his jacket so he could pull out a pair of keys.  Marty tried to stay perfectly still as his body shook, watching the man unlocked the gate.

 "Now go on with ya!" he said, grabbing Marty's arm shoving him through the opening. 

Marty stumbled but quickly recovered, and began running down the dirt road as fast as he could to put as much distance between himself and the gun as quickly as possible.  As he sprinted, the sound of his shoes hitting the packed dirt made one word pound through his head; stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.  How could he have been so stupid?

Reaching the highway, he stopped, wheezing for air, his body still shaking.  Feeling unsafe, he stepped off the road and hid behind a bush next to the iron fence.  He put his hands on his knees and tried to collect himself while he struggled to get enough oxygen, his lungs burning with the effort.

Waves of fear, humiliation, and anger washed over him.  Why hadn't he stayed at the cabin to wait for Jess?  If he had, he'd probably be on his way to the pond with her by now.  Not only had he almost gotten himself locked up, if Blackwell had called the police, they would probably have figured out he'd been visiting the cabin, and then Jess would be in trouble too.  He could only imagine what Blackwell would do to her.  He'd almost ruined both their lives.

When he was finally able to breathe normally, he straightened and stepped out from behind the bush, but he didn't know what to do.  He wandered alongside the highway, sticking close to the iron fence, his ears open to any sounds of approaching cars.  Reaching the road that led to his house, his eyes automatically rose, and he gazed at the tree branch he used to hoist himself over the spikes at the top of the fence.  He longed to climb it, but he thought of the driver's leering face and the gun under his arm. 

Then he remembered Jess's anguished face as she looked down at him from the stairs, and he finally tore his eyes away from the branch, taking a deep breath.  Imagining her looking just like that, standing over his dead body, he let it out and turned.  Walking down the road that led to his house, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

****

Are you surprised Marty was set free?  Do you think he's never coming back to the cabin?  Do you think he should?  And what about Jess?  Do you think anyone will guess she's more involved than she's let on?  Let me know what you think! 

Thank you so much for reading!  I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!  If you did, please consider giving it a vote!  The picture in the multimedia is the actual house.  The video is Am I Losing You by Jim Reeves.

Dedicated to @Cfunk3.  A very good friend and a phenomenal author.  She's just completed her second story, The Resurrection, which is part of a four book series.  If you're not already reading her mysterious young adult romance, be sure to start with The Return.  You won't regret it!