to. Had to. He was the reason she'd done those things. The reason why those things were okay. Worth it. How
was she supposed to live without him? How was she supposed to continue to watch him with Reed? Her
stomach heaved at the thought and she gasped for air. In... two ... three... Out... two... three... "I'm going to the
police. I'm going to tell them everything. I'm coming clean-about you, about me. And maybe while I'm
there I'll tell them what you and your little Billings friends did to me tonight, too."
"No. No, no, no." Ariana doubled over. This couldn't be happening. Couldn't. What had gone wrong? Why
was he doing this? How could he not want her anymore? Not want to protect her? "You'll ruin everything.
My life will be over. Please," she begged, stumbling toward him. She tripped over a rock and fell at his feet,
heaving sobs emanating from her shaking body. "Please don't do this to me."
"I have to," he repeated slowly. The cut from his shoulder had started bleeding again. "For Reed. She
deserves the truth."
"Thomas," Ariana moaned, collapsing into the cracked earth. Tears streamed down her dirty face. Everything
she had worked so hard for was slipping away. Soon, she would be left with nothing. No one. The blurred
image of a baseball bat wavered in front of her, just inches away. She watched as her fingers closed around its
wooden neck. Watched as
she drew the bat closer and brought herself slowly to her feet. It was as if she was
watching someone else. "I can't let you do this to me. I can't let you ruin me, leave me," she said quietly. It
was someone else's voice. It wasn't hers. It couldn't be. She was Ariana Osgood. Easton Academy's Good
Girl. "I'm sorry, but I just can't."
Fear and resignation seeped slowly into Thomas's face, his voice. "You're fucking insane," he said quietly. "I
should have known."
"Shut up, Thomas." She raised the bat over her head.
"Just like your mother." He looked her directly in the eye and spat at her.
"Stop it!" she shrieked. The tears were coming harder now. "I'm nothing like her! Nothing!"
"You were never good enough for me. For anyone."
You never know what people are capable of until they're pushed to their edge, Ariana.
"You're crazy. You're insa-"
The sickening crack of the bat against Thomas's ribs startled her. A primitive, guttural scream escaped from
her soul as she felt his body give way under her hands. His cries intertwined with her own, until she couldn't
tell them apart. The begging, the pleading, the hollow thud of the bat swelled around her. She needed silence.