Between The Lies

Part Five: Hugo

PART FIVE: HUGO

As soon as I see the axe I know that I’ll be safe. By some miracle stroke of luck, it comes into view within seconds of my entering the clearing. Someone has left it stuck in the small stump of wood where a tree used to be; I guess the caretaker had been preparing the woods ready for fall, when teachers would take small groups of kindergarteners into the clearing to search for bugs and wildlife.

Right now, though, he's helping me a lot more than the teachers. I run fast towards the stump, stopping just a few feet away so that I can turn around and make a big deal of panting for breath. The idiot chasing after me is right in my face within seconds, shoving me back and pulling my head up to look at him.

“You got her pregnant?” His eyes are wild like I’ve never seen them before, and when he talks he spits saliva right at me. He really does love her, doesn’t he…

“Newsflash, jerk, she’s my girlfriend,” I remind him with a sneer.

“That doesn’t mean shit!” he yells back. “She’s seventeen!” He pushes me right into the stump with the axe sticking out. I catch hold of its handle to steady myself. 

Bingo. Nice one, buddy.

Now that I know I’m safe, I lift my arms up in fake surrender. He thinks he’s got the upper-hand. Time to change the game…

“What’s this?” I say. “You gonna play the innocent, like you haven’t been sleeping with her too for the past couple of months?” I purse my lips and wait for his response.

His grip on my neck seems to loosen off a little. I can see it behind his eyes: he wasn’t expecting that. But he really must be fucking stupid if he thinks I don’t know. Samantha tells me everything. He can fantasise about how much they’re in love with each other all he likes, but I know the truth.

Like now, for instance. I have to admit, I revel in the glory of the moment for a while longer than necessary before answering.

“Oops,” I say eventually, hearing the amusement in my tone. “Busted.”

And it’s then that his face changes. He lurches forwards like an animal, baring his teeth for attack. He lands the first punch in my stomach and the second hits my neck. I’m caught off balance for a second, keeled over in pain, but it isn’t long before I’ve hit him back, winding him completely, and I’m like a dog with a taste for blood; we’ve started now, and we’re not going to stop until one of us is destroyed.

“She loves me,” he yells pitifully, lurching forwards for another attack. “You don’t deserve her! That baby isn’t yours —”

“Oh, trust me, buddy, it’s mine.” I duck as he aims a punch at my face. Return it with another punch to the stomach.

“Who do you think you are?” he’s yelling. “You use her! I know you do! There’s no love there at all, it’s just all about power, isn’t it?”

He’s wrong. I do love Samantha.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tell him cautiously, readying myself for another hit.

“Oh, I know exactly what I’m talking about, Hugo,” Shane replies, shaking his head accusingly at me. “She’s the hottest girl in school. You got her pregnant. One hundred points to fucking Slytherin.” He snorts. “You’re a joke. You know that, right?”

“Shut up, asshole.” I glare at him. “Like you’d know the first thing about my life.”

“Well, you see, that’s where you’re wrong, Hugo!” He draws himself up straight and puffs his chest out. “I know all about you. What I haven’t learned from Samantha, I’ve seen for myself just by watching you. You’re nothing but a cocky, good-for-nothing rich boy with a small dick.” He grins. “Ain’t that right?”