All That's Forgotten {RIARKLE}

Chapter 30

He fixes himself a sandwich and offers me one, but I decline thinking that if I try to eat anything I'll puke.

We sit across each other at his small dinner table and just look at each other. I guess neither of us really know what to say.

I finally decide to break the silence. "So, why didn't you come today?"

Josh shrugs. "I know I should've told you guys I couldn't make it, but I've been wrapped up in a lot of stuff lately."

"That's completely understandable," I play along. "Did you talk to my dad at all before his death?"

A pause. It's as if he's weighting what he can and can't say. "He crashed at my place after Topanga kicked him out, but he left about a week before..."

I nod to let him know I understand. "Why didn't you tell us he was here?"

"What's with all of the questions?" he finally snaps.

"What?" I ask coldly, "Can't take the heat?"

He falls back into his chair and shakes his head. I know that he knows I know. I should be scared, but all I feel is rage. Pure boiling hot rage that's ready to burn Josh.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Why did you do it?" I retort. "You could've killed me. Do you now realize how insane that is?"

He nods with a weird look on his face. "I have my reason, but I rather not share them. Come back another time?"

I roll my eyes. "Quit it with the games. I'm over all of this crap. People died including my friend and father, not to mention your brother. How sick do you have to be to now realize what kind of twisted thing this is?"

Josh smirks. "Fine if you want to stay we can talk. You want the whole reason? You have everything I've ever wanted. The perfect parents, a loving sibling, supportive friends, smarts, an amazing outlook on life, even a boy for fucks sake.

"Why do I have to be jealous of a high schooler? I should be proud of my life and what I have, but I'm not."

He stands and throws his half eaten sandwich on the wall behind me making me shiver. Josh runs his hands through his hair making him look crazier but the second.

"I made a perfect plan to get back at you, but I never meant to go through with it! I just wanted to make something to let out all of my anger and stress. It was never meant to be done."

"But the day I got fired from my job at the hospital I just... lost it."

At that he throws his arms in the air and kicks his chair back causing it to fall over. Looking at me he walks in my direction making me feel more and more anxious by the second.

I ask, "How did you manage to pull it all off?"

He smiles with a deranged laugh at the end. "I used an app to modify my voice and stole a gun from my dad. Everything else would take a lot of time to explain and I don't have much of that if I want to get rid of you before police or someone else come looking."

What the heck? Doesn't he know the good guy needs the bad guy to talk long enough for them to escape. That's what always happens in the movies.

I shake my head because this could really be it for me. I might've reached the end of the road and I don't know how to feel. I can barely even take a breath to clam myself.

We're both standing now but I'm desperately looking for a way out. All of the windows and doors are behind Josh. He has me cornered and there's no way for me to get out.

My hands shake as I try to back up, but there's no where for me to go.

"Josh, please let's just talk about this."

"Why do we need to talk!" he yells. "I don't want to be talked out of this. You will never understand what I've been though. You'll never get that for once I want to feel like I've got what I want."

"Okay," I agree. "You're right. You deserve to feel that just like anybody else does. Just let me go so that I can tell everyone what's going on and we can talk about this."

He hesitates. I know that Josh is debating if this is a good idea. That's when I know that there's clearly something off in his head right now.

Then everything seems to happen at once.

I drop to the ground as a police officer who had been sneaking up behind Josh tackles him. I saw them sneaking in through the front door and kept my uncle distracted.

Josh thrashes violently trying desperately to get to me. It's all in vain once the cuffs are restraining him and they take him away to be locked up and put to trial.

All I can do is cry.

Farkle rushes in as soon as Josh is out and sits beside me. He pulls me close to him and we cling on to each other for dear life. This whole thing is just so surreal that we hold on in hopes of waking up from this nightmare.

But we don't because this is life.