Scream 4

Chapter 11

You expected them to take the news badly, alright. You expected annoyance, second thoughts and maybe opposal. What you didn't expect was both men getting incredibly jealous, and the shorter one of the two exploding and denying you of what you were yearning for.

You felt bad—of course you did. Had the roles been reversed where either Billy or Stu were out and about having a one on one conversation with a female, you maybe would have felt jealousy gnawing away at your insides, too.

Which was perfectly fine. Jealousy was an emotion and was a part of being human. But you would have at least made an effort to surpress your overthinking and not let it influence your behavior.

Not nearly as much as it controlled them, anyway.

Billy was pacing back and forth in front of you, appearinf like he was ready to inflict some real damage.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us?" Billy barked out, his anger obviously growing as he flicked his mop of caramel bangs away from his vision.

You hated to see him like this. Really, you did. You'd take his silent anger or silent treatment over him outright raging at you any second of the day.

"I couldn't."

And that was it. One moment you were sitting up straight on the couch, hands locked behind your knees in an upright fetal position, and the next your back was up against the wall.

"You can't fuckin do this." The growl inherent in every syllable Billy ground out sent shivere through every pore of your body and, for the first time, you weren't so sure that he wouldn't hurt you. Maybe you had crossed a line. Or maybe he did.

"I'm sorry! Billy, I want to remember, why can't you see that? I'm sorry! I should have told you but you were gone." You almost babbled, your words crowding out each other in a breathless tumble. This might be the only chance to get it out before violence ensued, so you needed to make sure that Billy understood. "Jed didn't offer, I asked him to because he might be able to help! There's nothing going on between us..."

One desperate peek into Stu's direction, and you knew you were on your own. Hell, you weren't even sure if he would stop Billy from doing something to you by the distant and sad look in his icy eyes that held the same red rim yours had.

Stu sat slouched over, leaning his elbows on his knees as he let his head fall on his hands and clawed at the roots of his locks. His mouth was skewed into an unusual concentrated frown, most likely still repeating the past ten minutes or so in his head.

Since your conversation, he hadn't said a word. You knew that look. You had worn it in the past. A look filled with doubt, disappointment, sadness. It was the first time you'd seen Stu so expressive and you didn't know what to do or say to help him.

Your mind felt numb at this point, the battle between your need to comfort him and your knowledge that you shouldn't over taking every other thought. It wasn't like you had cheated on them in any shape or form. There was no reason for them to behave this way. You should probably be the one angry at the manhandling and lack of support, it would be a normal reaction, but nothing was normal anymore. This wasn't right.

"I want to do it." There wasn't really anything else you could say even though you didn't please Billy in the slightest with your decision. "I wanna be able to put the past in the past and then we can live a normal life. Isn't that what you want?"

"Maybe you can live a normal life with that fuckin idiot."

"Idiot?" You parroted back in obvious confusion, brows furrowing in thought as you stared at Billy, whose darkening eyes flicked back and forth between yours. "Why would you... You don't mean that..."

Or did he? Anger brought the worst sides out of people, and maybe even worse when it came to him. It made people say things they didn't mean. You had accepted that fact the moment you jumped into a relationship with them.

But this... This was going too far. You didn't want to fear for your own safety from the people you held closest to you. It broke your heart.

Just as Billy was applying just enough pressure on your shoulder to leave a bruise and you could feel him shake with uncontrollable rage, Stu stepped in by pulling you away from him to stand in front of you.

You could tell he was still upset with his face being tinted all red, but he still adopted a protective posture. "You're goin' too fucking far man. Don't hurt her."

Were you appreciative of Stu's gesture? Absolutely. But that didn't stop the broken sob that left your mouth.

Not once had you expected Billy to actually hurt you. Abuse was a big deal. On top of all of this, just as you were about to take a step back, a memory flashed by of a time long past.

You had yanked your arm away, feeling a bruise forming underneath your skin from where he had held you.

"Ryan?! What the fuck?" You shouted angrily.

Ryan stood there, his black hair disheveled and his grey eyes filled with regret. "Sorry, I had to resort to extreme measures to get you to talk to me. Just listen."

"I have nothing to say to you," you told him.

"Well I do," Ryan spoke as serious as he could be. "I didn't do it. Why would I ever want to kill you? You were everything I had, (Y/N)!"

You shook your head, refusing to sob in front of him yet you felt your eyes starting to get glossy. You panicked at the lack of people near you and you found yourself wishing for Stu's or Billy's presence.

You felt your lungs constricting as your brain was trying to figure out what course of action to take.

"You have to believe me," he pleaded and took a step closer to you, making you take a step back as he uttered his next words heartbrokenly. "You're... Scared of me."

Clenching your fists, you blinked rapidly to keep the hot tears from spilling out. If it counted for anything, Ryan looked like he was on the verge of crying too.

You swallowed harshly and stood stiffly, not knowing what to do or say or even think. Your feet stayed firmly planted to the ground for another five minutes while nothing else was said.

You blinked, and away was the image. Back in the present, you weren't noticed your heart rate had sped up drastically, and had trouble figuring out why you'd be reminded of your deceased ex now of all times.

Shoving Stu out of the way, Billy brusquely passed you towards the door that he stormed out of, making a point in slamming it shut so hard the door almost fell off its hinges.

"Sorry..." Stu's voice suddenly became very monotonous, looking at you with his eyes that took on a shadow of regret.

And with that, you were left alone standing in the middle of the spacious living room, feet rooted to the floor as you found yourself trembling in disbelief.

It took you enough will power not to chase the two and stand your ground. You needed them—you did—but unlike all the other silly arguments you'd had in the past, this one wasn't going to be solved tonight or tomorrow, if you would even see them then.

This prediction turned out to be accurate when two days went by and you still hadn't heard a word of either of the men as they just left you to your own in the house, just when you needed them the most.

It was on the third day after their disappearance that you pulled out the wrinkled piece of paper from your back pocket, punched in the number written on it in your cell and called Jed Olsen up.

You figured that now that this had happened, you better made it worth it, and it was a better alternative than sitting back and doing nothing. What's done has been done, and now may be the only time to reach out for help.