BAD BOY SAVED (male pov)

I'm lost but I know where I'm going.

"You got I.D?" I passed the small hard piece of plastic over to him and watched as he studied the picture with the person. The whole time he looked down his nose at me, the guy working late night in the convenience store had an issue with me drowning my sorrows in a bottle of vodka but here he was, middle aged wearing a suit to work to make him feel more superior in his career. I'm not one to judge anybody trying to earn a living but how dare he judge me when he was working in a corner shop selling toothpaste and cigarettes. He gave me a curt nod and then rang up my order on the vintage register.

"You want a bag?" He asked with a tone as cheerful as I felt.

"No I will just balance it on my head." I told him with a straight face. His eyes narrowed and with a sigh he pulled out a paper bag, I hated the paper ones but I didn't complain. Save the planet and all that, because it's clearly worth saving.

This wasn't my first bottle of vodka this evening. I already finished off a smaller one earlier in the day. Somewhere between fucking Liv coldly and buying a gun from a brothel house pimp.

I sat on a bench in a park somewhere, watching the trees shake in the wind. The shadows cast over the ground thanks to the street lighting that dotted around the pathways. The air had grown colder now but I welcomed it because it let me feel. I placed the joint in my mouth an inhaled strongly, instantly letting the substance fill my insides with a calm but it only masked my chaos, not took it away.

"You partying on your own?" A girl sat herself beside me, she seemed around similar age to me and on first impressions she looked equally as damaged.

I took a swig from my vodka bottle and then offered her some, she gladly took it and drank from the spout, knocking back more than I cared to share.

"Not anymore I guess." I told her, keeping my eyes on the dancing shadows. She sighed deeply.

"Life fucking sucks." She pointed out.

"What's up with you?" I asked taking another generous swig.

"I walked in on my boyfriend with some whore." She snatched the bottle from me and tipped it to the back of her throat.

"Rough. That all?" She raised her eyebrows at me in dismay.

"Don't be the dick that minimizes other peoples troubles just because yours seem bigger."

"Sorry." I admitted genuinely. "Your boyfriends a idiot."

She stood up and smiled back at me, nodding in agreement.

"Well thanks for the drink stranger." She turned to walk away, but when I called her back she turned to face me.

"Hey, you wanna get out of here?" After a few moments she nodded her head.

In the cab over to her house I learnt her name was Ali and she liked to talk. She hated men, all men. She has pet iguana named Fifi and she has only ever had three one night stands. None of them were with a stranger picked up on a park bench in the middle of the night. Her house was sweet, a small one bedroom apartment without fancy decor or expensive furniture but it was homely.

"My bedroom is this way." She muttered seductively, making sure her hips swayed as she walked. I rubbed the back of my neck, sheepishly following behind her.

I've only ever been in one girls bedroom. They had similarities, much nicer than a boys room. Girls had a way of just putting things together and making them look nice. But then the logic often ceased. Like having pillows that you were not allowed to sleep on, they were only for decoration. I didn't understand it personally but whenever we slept in Livs bed she would always remove most of the pillows before we were allowed to sleep.

"Decorative pillows?" I asked eyeing up the display on her bed.

She looked at me strangely but then nodded. I could feel her inching closer to me, waiting for me to start the very thing I came here for and boy was I going to.

"Can I use your computer?" I nodded my head toward her desk in the far corner and her mouth curled up.

"Seriously? Now?" She questioned in disbelief. I nodded my head, situating myself in her desk chair before she could deny me access. Then I moved the mouse and the screen came to life, thankfully she didn't have a password.

She sat herself down on the edge of her bed and watched me but I paid my full attention to her computer screen, searching all of the local elementary schools in the area. I visited each website and looked at the staff listings. They made this far too easy.

Bumble Grove Elementary, Mr Colin Wilson - Geography Teacher.

There was a picture of him smiling for the camera, I remember his smile down to every last tooth in his mouth. The first time looking at his face in seven years because I refused to look at him at the diner. He looked exactly like I remembered him, not a wrinkle more. Only his head and shoulders were visible but he wore a grey suit, white shirt and pink tie. His ginger hair cleanly swept back and his stubble maintained. It was sickening and made my hatred grow.

"Take a look at this image Ali, because you'll see him all over the news tomorrow morning informing everyone that he's been shot dead."

She laughed but then stopped laughing. "What?" She asked with unsurety.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your net, I gotta get going now." I stood up and left. She didn't say anything or try to call me back, she probably thought I was psychopath and maybe that's what he has turned me into. But she was wise not to chase me down, not with this heavy chunk of metal weighing down my pocket.

The school opened at eight AM and I was going to be there before that so I could watch him walk in. But first I needed go to the one place she would find me. Leave a piece of myself behind because after this everything will be severed by the bullets of a short life.

Sunlight was almost rising, I could see the slightest of sunbeams through the trees, the shadows disappearing. I followed the sound of cascading water, trickling into the spring as it hit the surface. It was my trail back to her and my reminder of everything I did.

As I neared the waterfall I could see a figure laying on the floor and my body froze, watching from a distance as her chest rose and fell deeply like she was breathing evenly. I needed to be sure she was asleep before I approached.

She lay on the cold ground, her knees tucked up to her stomach, looking small and alone. It broke my heart to know that she was waiting for me but I would never be coming back. Her crystal clear skin lay in the dirt, her cheek pressed up against soggy leaves that fallen from the trees and grown damp with the humid night air.

She deserved a palace and a bed with a thousand mattresses on, not a dirt pile on the ground. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms, protect her and provide what she was worth. But I wasn't the savior, she was. Only this time I was too far gone to be saved.

So I took off my jacket, setting the gun down on the ground and fishing out the friendship bracelet because I needed her with me to feel strong enough to follow through. Then I carefully lay the jacket over her, letting her take all of my warmth.

She smiled sweetly in her dreams and cuddled into the jacket as if she knew. Her pink lips stretched over her face and small dimples appeared in her cheeks. Her eyes remained closed, delicate lashes fanning out over the paleness of her cheeks. She was perfection, too good for me. Too pure and innocent to take on my damage. She's better off without me and I'm going to give her that.

I sat with her for a couple of hours, watching her sleep peacefully, blissfully unaware of everything. But as the sun fully rose into the days position I grabbed the gun and left with only one destination in mind.

Bumble Street Grove Elementary.