From the Diary of Daphne Blake

Chapter 25 - Willow Bridge

During the entire drive to Willow Bridge I said nothing, Landon had tried to make small conversation but all I would do is smile and nod. He eventually stopped, probably because he could tell that I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. All I could think about was Fred and how he looked at me with such hurt in his eyes, I felt bad for leaving him without an explanation but I know that if I had tried to explain the situation to him it would take forever and I didn't have forever, I had here and now.

"Daph, we are almost there," Landon said, pulling me out of deep thought.

Sighing I took in a deep breath, "You're sure about what you saw right?"

He nodded, "Positive."

I hadn't been to Willow Bridge since the accident and vowed to myself I would never go there again nor would I think about what happened that night. I did wonder if Landon had thought about it since it happened, he seemed to have pushed it deep into the corners of his mind from how calm he looked. I on the other hand had not been prepared to go back, I could practically feel my heartbeat out of my chest.

We suddenly came to a stop, Landon had parked his car on the side of the road and ahead of us I saw the bridge which I only looked at for a couple of seconds before averting my gaze, "What are you doing?" I asked.

"We need to walk from here, through the forest." Landon explained, "That's the only way we'll get there."

On the bright side I guess we didn't have to cross the bridge, "You sure you know where you're going?" I raised a brow.

Landon chuckled, "You don't trust me."

I scoffed, "You want me to answer that honestly?"

He looked at me with narrowed eyes before he climbed out of the car shutting the door behind him, "Come on, we should do this before it gets dark."

Landon was right, I didn't want to be here longer than I needed to be, and hesitantly I made my way out of the car and made my way to Landon who leaned against the car and pulled out a flask from his leather jacket, twisted open the top and took in a long sip.

"Want a hit?" He smirked, gesturing for me to take a sip. I could immediately smell the strong scent hit my nose, I shook my head at his offer, "No thanks."

He looked over at the bridge then back at me, "Sure about that?"

"I'm sure." I needed to be 100% sober for this.

Landon took another sip, closed it, and put the flask back in his jacket pocket, "Let's go."

It looked as if the sluggish leaves were trying to suck my feet deep into the undergrowth as I entered the eerie forest. I thought there would be no end to the trees ahead of me at least that was my perception. There was a slight glimpse of the overcast weather from the spaces between the trees, which turned the shades of green to an even darker shade. I could hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet as I followed behind Landon who seemed all too familiar with this path, from my understanding he hadn't been here in ages.

"Are we almost there?" I questioned.

"Yip, just a couple minutes." He answered.

There was not a moment where he questioned where he was going, he had gone down this path before, "Are you sure you haven't been here before?" I stopped not taking another step forward.

He looked back at me, confused, "What?"

"You're familiar with the path to the tree; I wonder how that is if you've never taken it before." I watched him closely with narrowed eyes, "You've been here before."

Landon clenched his jaw, turning away from me.

There had immediately been a bad feeling that made its way into the pit of my stomach, I slowly began to back away. Twigs crunch beneath my feet as I tried to put as much distance between us as possible. I've always been good at judging when not to trust someone but it seems that today I might've been completely wrong.

I feel my back hit a tree and my blood turns cold when I see the look on Landon's face as he turns around to face me. His features are set in a hard tone of determination and I come to realize that he's not letting me walk away from this.

"I'm sorry Daphne." He says, shaking his head as if trying to convince himself. "I just can't deal with this anymore."

I have no idea what he means by that and I have no time to figure it out either as my brain runs through how to get out of this situation.

"You can make this easier for both of us by not putting up a fight, okay?"

I looked around frantically before my eyes settled on a stone by my feet.

"Like hell, I will," I replied before picking it up and tossing it at Landon's head. He stumbled back from the unexpected knock and I don't wait around to watch him wipe the blood from his forehead as I take off running. The mud is soft and wet, making it harder to run but I push through as I weave between trees. I know he's running after me by the sounds of his footsteps thumping on the ground although I don't look back to see how far he is in fear of losing my momentum.

I have no idea what direction I'm running in and whether or not I'm running further into the forest or closer to an exit. Panic flares up in my chest.

"Daphne!" I hear Landon yell with a mix of rage and desperation. If he wasn't chasing me down I might've even felt bad for him from the way pain laced his voice.

My legs ache and my chest burns and I can feel myself slowing down even though I try to keep moving. I know I'm right when I feel a hand wrap around my forearm and tug me backward. I fall against Landon from the aggressive tug and his feet slide against the soft mud, taking us both down. He lets go of me for a brief moment and I try my best to stand up again but the yank on my ankle sends me down to the ground again.

I claw at the mud, trying to wriggle free from his grasp as he drags me backward. I kick and shake and try to be as forceful as possible but all it does is coat me in mud and send dirt into my mouth so that I cough.

"We could have avoided this," he mutters, "but you just never listen do you?" It's not a question really, more like a statement that he's saying to myself.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, kicking his arm but all it did was make him grip me harder.

Landon scowls at me, the shadows from the trees making it even scarier than it was. "You're such a bra-"

A sudden and awfully loud thud makes me grimace as I brace for impact. But it never comes. Instead, I feel his grasp loosen and hear him fall to the ground as he groans in pain. I crawled back in relief and confusion, not sure what happened for a brief moment before I look up to see Fred standing with a thick branch in his hands as he hovered over Landon who cradled his head.

"Fred?" I wheezed out loud. It seemed to capture his attention as he looked up at me and dropped the branch. He's by my side in seconds, helping me up from the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you. Let's go." He replied, lacing his fingers through mine and pulling me away from Landon who tried to rise to his feet but only to fall as he holds his head in his hands. I'm sure he's suffering a mild concussion.

It might've been minutes or hours before we reached Fred's car but all I know is that I was out of my breath and my new boots were completely ruined. Only once we're seated in his car and driving away from Willow Ridge do I turn to Fred and, breathlessly, say:

"You know I would call you a stalker if I wasn't so relieved you were following me."

He laughs and I lean back in my seat, closing my eyes as I try to get my breath back all the while trying to process what just happened.

...

Special thanks to ray_xo for helping me co-write this!

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