WATTPAD FEATURED NOV 2020 AND OCT 2021 - FROM OUR STARS LIST
WATTPAD MULTICULTURAL FEATURED SEP 2022 - AUSTRALIAN WHISPERERS READING LIST
It's difficult to save someone who doesn't want saving, particularly when they're lying to you.
...
Claudia and...
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WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME READERS. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF SELF-HARM IS DISTRESSING TO YOU.
...
Aleisha's scream is all the warning we get before Jake barrels into Matt and they're crashing to the ground and tearing at each other.
Harper and I lurch forward, trying to grab legs, arms, whatever we can reach, but the two of them are fighting as if they're possessed, their limbs snapping out of range the moment we reach for them.
Jake's fist slams into Matt's stomach. Then Matt's knee cracks into Jake's jaw.
"Tell me where she is!" Matt yells. "Tell me!"
"Stop it!" I scream, but the fighting continues, their fists slamming into one other, filled with a terrifying amount of rage.
Finally, Harper and I get some traction. Harper gets hold of Matt's leg, and I fist the back of Jake's shirt, and we pull them away. Jake fights me though, twirling and twisting, and because I made the idiotic decision to wear 6-inch heels, I'm losing him.
I'm just about to shout a warning when Lewis appears at the door and grabs Jake's shoulders, pulling him back.
I turn and see Emmy and Heather standing in the doorway as well, their faces white, and I let out a strangled sob, overwhelmed by everything — by the months of lying that's crumbling right in front of me, by the hurt and confusion and constant stress. By the knowledge that this is probably the end of my life here.
Emmy hurries over, stroking my back.
"It's okay, Claude," she says. "It's going to be okay."
But Matt's yells drowned her words out, his screams and threats echoing. And I'm 100% certain this will not be okay.
"Matt?" Heather squeaks. "What are you doing?"
She's staring at him, absolute astonishment on her face, and as I glance between them, I notice their matching outfits, the stark similarity of the colour of her dress to his tie.
"He's your date?" Harper asks, coming to the realisation at the same time as I do.
Heather nods.
"Can you control him, please?"
She hurries over to them and the moment she reaches Matt, his anger morphs into something else, something that makes his limbs slacken and his head drop, and then he bursts into tears. Harper lets him go, stepping back and allowing Heather to take his place.
"I'm sorry," Matt sobs. "I'm sorry, but I need to find her. I have to. You were supposed to be my friends!"
This last part is yelled and Jake and I, and I feel Jake's fury evaporating beside me, disappearing as quick as it came.
"It's okay," Heather says, dropping to the floor beside Matt and pulling him into a hug. "It's going to be okay."
I can tell she's trying to be reassuring, but the shock and confusion still hangs heavy in her voice, and she shoots Emmy an incredulous glance.
