Worse Than Enemies

“Get your fucking hands off her.” Hayes takes my other hand, and now I’m being pulled back and forth. “If anybody is going to take her home, it’ll be me.”

“You’re the reason she has to go home now.”

“Leave her alone,” Salem calls out. I’m not sure which one of them she’s talking to.

Franky gives me a tug. “It’s not bad enough you have to let personal shit ruin everybody else’s lives?”

Hayes drops my hand in favor of shoving Franky hard enough that he stumbles back and almost hits the ground. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Franky throws himself at Hayes, who fights to stay on his feet.

“Stop!” I shout, horrified. “Don’t do this!”

Either they can’t hear me, or they don’t want to. Hayes cocks his arm back and catches Franky’s chin with his fist. Salem screams along with me as Franky hits the ground. I can’t help but flash back to the night he beat Logan, and horror turns my blood to ice even as I lunge forward, hoping to stop them.

“No, no, don’t do that.” Theo grabs me around the waist with one arm. He’s already holding Salem back. “You’ll just get in the way. You don’t want to get hurt.”

Meanwhile, Hayes is leaning down over Franky, shouting in his face. At least he’s not hitting him anymore. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

Red and blue lights wash over the front of the house, causing everyone to scramble away. Somebody called the cops. Of course, we’re on the front lawn, for God’s sake. Salem goes running for her car, and I’m left wondering what I’m supposed to do before Hayes finds me and takes hold of my arm. “Come on.” It doesn’t even occur to me to fight. I need to get out of here just as much as anybody else does.

He peels away from the house, tires squealing. I hold on to the door handle so tight my hand hurts as he takes the curve leading down from the driveway. Only this isn’t the way Salem came onto the property.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a back exit,” Hayes informs me through clenched teeth. I’ll take his word for it. So long as we get out of here before we get caught.

And we do. The winding path leads down to a dark road. I turn around to look behind us and can’t see the flashing lights anymore. I let out a sigh of relief and slump against the seat.

But not for long.

“What the hell was that about back there?” I ask. “Why do you have to do this? I wasn’t trying to bother you. I was only trying to hang out. You started things.”

“Do you know what a whiny little bitch you sound like right now?”

“Fuck you.”

“Is that any way to talk to me when you know what I have on my phone? Don’t act like you don’t, because you sure as hell freaked out when I sent that meme around.”

“Which you knew would make me freak out. Why are you doing this to me? Is it really only because you don’t want your dad to get married, like Franky said? We’re supposed to be adults now.”

“Franky doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about. He only thinks he does.”

“He sure seemed like he did. What’s your problem with him? I thought you were supposed to be best friends.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“It sort of is, since he’s the one you don’t want me talking to.” We’re still rolling down this dark, empty road, and it’s creeping me out. “Where are we? Are we going home?”

“We’ll go wherever I want to go. I’m the one in the driver’s seat, not you.” The engine revs as he presses against the gas pedal, and the glance I dare take at the speedometer tells me we’re coming up on seventy miles an hour. On an unlit road with woods on either side.

“Slow down.” I’m amazed I can sound so authoritative when my heart is racing as fast as the car.

“Pussy. This is nothing.” The car seems to jump forward, and now we’re closing in on eighty. Eight-five. “Wait until you see what this baby can do.”

“I want to get out!”

“Going this fast? You wouldn’t have skin left by the time you came to a stop on the road. But be my guest.” He leans over like he’s about to open my door. I want to beat his arm away, but I can’t risk it when he’s going this fast.

“Stop it!” I beg in a voice that doesn’t sound like mine. “You’re going to kill us!”

“And?” He laughs when I let out a broken sob. “Should’ve let me jump, huh? Now, I’m going to take you with me.”

“You’re crazy! Stop this! You win, okay? You win.”

“What do I win?”

“I’ll do what you want.” The needle creeps up toward ninety. “Please, just slow down. Don’t do this.”