LIABILITIES

Chapter Five - Tomorrow Never Comes

ELLIS
"Well, well, well - If it isn't baby Bainbridge."
Griffin fuckin' Delaney.
"Rose, lets go." Before I lose my shit, I think to myself but don't say out loud. I put my hands on each of her shoulders which she doesn't seem to happy about but I don't lose my grip as she tries to shrug them off.

Griffin puts on fake puppy-dog eyes, "Aw, Rose. That has a nice ring to it." I'm gonna fucking lose it.

"Keep her name out of your dirty mouth, Delaney."

He belly laughs and throws his arms up - "Or what, Army Boy?"

"Okay, that's enough." Hadley is now squished in between us, facing me, as we move in on each other. She's refusing to touch either of us. Why? Is she scared? Did he try something?

"What's he done? Has he touched you?" I look into her eyes, begging her to tell me something good so that this overwhelming surge of anger goes away but I'm finding it really hard to read them. "You better not have laid one finger on her or I swear -" I'm screaming over Hadley whose head doesn't even reach the height of my chin.

He slaps his hand over his mouth and does a little fake gasp. "Oh, my god. I'm petrified." Then he laughs again. "What you gonna do if I have, huh? Throw a grenade at me?"

That's when a dark shade of red began to cloud my vision. "I'm going to fucking murder you."

He's still laughing. "Oh, just like you --"

I launch myself at him but a small hand presses against my abdomen. It's not the force that stops me but the shock. "Guys, stop! Stop it!" She turns around and shoves Griffin hard so that he moves away from us both. His face goes sour but he knows better than to try something when I'm stood right here. She then turns to face me, both of her hands now resting on my lower stomach - "Ellis, I'm fine. Nothing happened. I just wanna go, let's just go back to the party."

I look at her in actual disbelief. "Yeah, no. We are going home."

She moves her hands and folds her arms in protest. "No. I wanna go back to the -"

"Can you for once just do what you're fucking told and go and wait in my car?" I didn't mean to raise my voice but I really need her out of this situation, right now.

"You fucking drove?!" She's just as angry as me now.

I take a deep breath and look down at her. "Rose. Please. It's just up the hill behind me." I'm practically begging.

She glares at me, puts her hand into my sweatshirt pocket and takes the car keys. Before she leaves, she turns around to Griffin and pushes him back one more time. "Leave us the fuck alone, got it?". She then walks past me and up towards the car.

"She's a cute one." He makes me feel physically sick.

I storm a few steps towards him and get right up in his face, "I swear to god, you leave her alone. If you come near her again I won't hesitate to rat your criminal ass out to the cops." I lean in close enough that I can feel his angry breaths on my neck. "You know, I saw what you did last summer. I will tell them everything. I promise, I will."

Once I see his expression turn bitter, an indication that my words have actually registered in his brain, I turn and walk away when he calls out to me "I know about what you did, too!"

My heart drops but I know better than to let Delaney fuck with my head. "You don't have shit on me."

"You sure about that, Private Bainbridge? Because I think you and I both know that's not true." He calls out to me as a storm up the hill to find Hadley.

I bite the inside of my gums so hard I can taste metal and keep walking.

- - -

I reach the car and see her leaning against the driver side door. I exhale a breath I didn't even realise I was holding in when I see her, safe and in front of me.
"Rose." I say like I'm demanding answers. I don't know when that nickname came about but I don't think I'm able to stop saying it now. "You wanna explain to me what the hell just happened?"