"Life does get tough."
-Revofev, Kid Cudi
________________________________
Alec
Evening falls on the school slowly, until darkness slams into the sky and the moon comes out to play. I skip dinner, having no appetite.
How can I be expected to watch Liv get hurt? Is it even possible? But she needs me there. As much as it's going to hurt seeing Naomi hurting her, I have to be there.
I sneak out my window and ease it shut behind me before treading carefully along the ledge and climbing down the pipe. I land on my feet and jog towards the front of the school, owls hooting in the distance. The woods engulfs me while the darkness engulfs the woods.
I know the way, and the pounding of the music guides me until I make it to the clearing, where a huge fire is burning. It's extremely crowded, maybe the most crowded a gathering has ever been.
I run my hand through my hair like I do when my thoughts are stressing my mind, and approach the crowd.
Seth appears at my side, face so serious I barely recognise him. "You made it."
"You think I'd miss it? This is Liv we're talking about," I mumble, the realisation stabbing me in the stomach.
Seth shrugs. "I just know how much she means to you. If I was you, I wouldn't want to see her get hurt."
"It's because she means so much to me that I'm here," I deadpan, looking around for Liv.
When I can't see her, I weave in and out of the crowd. Many move out of the way when they see it's me, others give me pitying looks. And one thing I hate more than conceited assholes like Bailey? Conceited assholes pitying me.
Seth follows right behind me, and I still can't see Liv anywhere.
I finally break out of the crowd of excited Fighters, and something inside me cracks. This is my fault. This is all my fault.
Liv has her arms tied around a pole someone has planted into the ground. She's sitting limply on the floor, head hanging forward so her soft brown hair falls in her face.
This isn't the girl I met on the roof that night. But I know I did this. And I hate myself for it.
I stumble to her side, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to my chest. She looks up and murmurs, "Alec?"
"Liv, I can't let them do this to you," I say, trying to stop how much pain is filling my heart from corrupting my voice.
"Alec, you need to leave. You can't watch this," she says in that gentle, soft voice. She's calm. How is she so calm?
I look down at her and loop a stray strand of hair that had fallen into her dark green eyes around her ear. She gazes up at me, eyelashes long and eyebrows defiantly angled.
"I'm not leaving you," I say resolutely.
"You shouldn't have to see this," she says, her voice cracking a little.
I grip her tighter, to reassure the both of us. "I'm not leaving you," I say again, softer this time.
She stares at me for a moment, then looks down again and nods.
I have about a thousand things I want to say to her, but before I can say any of them, Seth taps me on the shoulder and mumbles, "It's starting."
I don't let go.
"Alec, you need to let go," Liv says.
I can't. I can't let this happen.
"Alec," Seth warns.
I don't move.
Until two hands grip onto my arms and violently pull me off of Liv. My legs scramble to gain balance as the person drags me along the hard ground, towards the crowd. I can hear Seth yelling at whoever is pulling me away but it's barely audible over the ringing in my ears.
I'm thrown into a tangle of legs but quickly stand up. However, when I turn around I have no idea who dragged me away. It doesn't matter though, because Naomi is approaching Liv.
"Stand up," Naomi grunts. She isn't wearing any casts or bandages, and honestly I don't know the point of this if she isn't even that badly hurt. She's just as bad as what she's making Liv out to be.
Liv stands up slowly, arms still tied around the post, and glares up at Naomi as courageously as...well, Liv. My hands are shaking with anger at my sides, and I try to make them stop but there's nothing I can do. Seth notices and puts his hand on my shoulder reassuringly, but it's a pointless motion. Not even an assurance from my best friend can help.
Naomi cracks her knuckles and then proceeds to stretch her arms out, all the while smirking.
I'm afraid. It's been a long time since the last time I was afraid. Maybe the day I put my teacher into a coma. Maybe the day my dad told me my mum had died in hospital. But this is a different type of fear completely.
"Are you ready for this?" Naomi asks casually.
Liv grimaces and spits at her, triggering a few laughs from the eager crowd.
Wiping the saliva from her cheek where it landed, she scowls and swings her fist back. She proceeds to plunge her clenched fist into the side of Liv's face. The power is so intense it even hits me, so I can only imagine how painful it is.
I jump out of the crowd and yell her name, fear ripping through every part of my body. But someone grabs my arms before I can get to her, pulling me back while everyone is yelling and cheering and hooting and my mind is spinning and my heart is racing and my lungs are completely empty of air.
I try to resist my restraints but whoever it is is strong. I turn around to see it's Seth, shaking his head with warning.
I turn around to see she's lying on the floor now, her arms still bound to the post. But just before I can worry even more, Liv's eyelids flutter open and she heaves herself to her feet again.
"Think you can do better than that," she grunts, and it looks painful when she speaks. She spits blood onto the floor by Naomi's feet.
Naomi smirks and lifts her leg, swinging it back and crashing it into Liv's ribs. She plummets to the floor again, and before she can get up, Naomi kicks her. Again. Again.
I yell, "Stop!" But no one listens. They just cheer and laugh because it's not them who's being beaten it's Liv.
I try to pull my arms out of Seth's grip but his hands only tighten. "Let me go!" I shout at him, but he shakes his head, sorrow in his eyes. He knows it'll only make things worse if I interfere, but he doesn't understand. He doesn't see what I'm seeing because he doesn't look at Liv the same way I do.
He doesn't love her.
Naomi kicks her again, before picking her up by her hair, forcing her to stand, and punches her in the stomach. She hits her again and again, until Liv's eyes are no longer open.
"Enough!" I shout louder than my other protests, so loud that my lungs are burning and my chest is aching.
Naomi stops. The crowd stops. Even Seth lets go of my arms. Liv falls to the floor.
"You've done enough," I say breathlessly, less loudly since I have their attention now.
Naomi steps back from Liv, staring at the floor with what I assume is guilt but I can't be a hundred percent sure with her. It could just as easily be disappointment that her fun ended so quickly.
Everyone bows their heads a little but it's too late for guilt or remorse. I advance towards Liv and fall beside her, before removing the rope bounding her to the post and holding her in my arms. I whisper her name.
She doesn't say anything. I check for a pulse, and when I hear one I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. But she does have a nasty bruise across her face, and I can only imagine what the rest of her body must look like.
I slip one arm underneath her legs and my other under her shoulders, before carefully lifting her up. No one says anything as I share a knowing look with Seth, glare at Bailey, and carry Liv away from the clearing.
"I got you," I whisper.