Where I Found You

Chapter 27 - Will.

Chapter 27 - Will.

I think God actually hates me. Why wouldn't He anyway, after what I did to Alyssa? And besides, I haven't been very good at trying to apologise.

Mum and dad are home now, and Ben is sitting opposite me at the table with a reserved look on his face as my mother bustles in and out of the room. Leila's upstairs packing. Me, Leila and him are all going back to university tomorrow. And before that, I need to find out what's going on.

After I raise an eyebrow at him, he sighs and rolls his eyes. Then he grunts, just as my mum walks out, "I had the drugs. I got in with the wrong crowd in freshman year. And I was trying to stop, mainly because of Leila. But it was hard, and in the second year half way through, she found out about it."

He abruptly stops speaking, as mum walks in again. I want to punch him square in the face and ask him why he didn't break up with my sister until he was clean, if he was so worried about her. He's a right freaking idiot.

I'm grinding my teeth, and I'm about to stand up, when he continues after my mother walks out again.

"She wanted me to stop, and she was annoyed. And that's when I really began to try to stop. And I did, but along the way she picked up the habits from me and now it's the other way around. I'm trying to get her to stop." Ben's head hangs after he finished talking.

I scowl, then snarl quietly, "Who the fuck do you think you are? Coming and staying here and letting my mum look after you and everything. And you've messed my sister up. You fucking twat."

I can't believe my own sister is taking drugs. My own sister, my older sister who always told me what to do and how to be safe right from the time we were tiny. She's going to ruin her future.

I look at the guy in front of me, and it's all his fault. He's the whole reason. His whole existence is why. I've had arguments with Leila and I've been annoyed with her countless times, but this dickhead has fucked her whole life up for her.

It's all so quick. My impulses are always terrible. Today is no exception. I stand up and he looks at me and I'm so angry that he's clean now and she isn't. It would be so much better if he was still on drugs too.

"Don't pretend that you're all innocent, Will," Ben taunts.

And my fist comes flying forward and it HURTS when it hits his nose. But it knocks him off the chair and it knocks utter shock into my system.

Before I know it, I'm running so fast that it feels like the ground is sloping. My head is spinning and I can just feel my blood circulating to the area of my fist which collided with the bastard's face.

My mum's shouting at me from upstairs, but I don't stop until I am suddenly at the end of the street. I don't know how I got there. I don't know why I'm running away either, because I'm not scared of Ben and I'm not scared of owning up to something I did.

I sit down on the pavement and rest my head in my hands, and it feels like nothing is going to work out anymore. Nothing at all.

-

I want to leave early the next day. Ben left last night. I know I'll be one of the first students back, but I want to get away as soon as possible. Leila isn't angry with me - she just looks kind of sad as I hug her goodbye.

"You have to stop," I say through my teeth to her.

"I've- I've finished, with Ben," she whispers to me, her eyes wide. "I threw out everything that was left but- But . . ."

I look at the anxious state she's in. If this is what she's like after not taking the damned stuff for just a few hours overnight, then it's gonna be next to impossible for her to get back to normal.