The Trench

Chapter 55 - Confession

Mae broke eye contact with Randy and her eyes lowered to stare at her feet, her mouth was pressed in a thin line and for a second I thought I saw her jaw quiver.

"Why don't we tell Kane and..." Randy glanced up at me questioningly, an eyebrow raised.

"Riley."

"Riley. I'm sure they would love to hear what really happened that night. As would I, I have my suspicions but I want to hear you say it." His glare was enough to crumble anyone into the dirt, he was a man on a mission, a man that wanted answers. I could see his jaw clench in the moonlight as he waited for her to speak.

"Not talking, hm? Why don't I start." Randy uncrosses his arms and puts them on his hips, leaning forward slightly to get Mae's attention. However, she still wont look up at him.

"Back in high school, Emily was the most important person in my life. I'm not sure how, or why, but Mae took it upon herself to start telling everyone that I was abusing Emily." He lets out a dry laugh that sends a shiver down my spine.

"That night of the party, Emily and I did get into a small argument. She thought I was flirting with another girl, when I was talking one of my friends up so she would go talk to the shy bastard. Leave it to Mae to blow it out of proportion when she came over and SLAPPED ME!"

He was pacing in front of her now, eyes ablaze with frustration at the memory while he waves his arms in the air. I glance at Kane who was staring at Mae, I couldn't decipher the emotion on his face.

"Of course I got mad, of course I wanted to leave and take Emily with me. Because of you riling her up with your nonsense and getting her all emotional she wouldn't listen to me! So I took her home and yes we continued to argue. That woman was being irrational, so I left. I left so I could go home and cool down and come back in the morning."

He paused and I glanced up at him, my heart broke when I saw a single tear run down his masculine face. My eyes started to prickle and I blinked several times trying to keep them back.

"That was the worst mistake of my life. If I would have stayed with her she would still be here." He jabbed a finger into his chest again and his voice broke. "We always came back to one another and I didn't come back!"

He ran his hands down his face as he turned away from her and walked a few steps away, hands on his hips again he stood still with his head bowed. I turned back to look at Kane as I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Aimee said she knew you had shown up to Emily's house, tell me your story." I encouraged him softly, since Mae still wasn't talking. I'm not even sure if she was listening, she hasn't moved or made any noise since Randy started speaking. Just sitting there staring at her shoes like they were suddenly the most interesting thing in this field.

Kane looked back and forth between Randy and Mae before rubbing his hands together in front of him, he exhaled loudly causing a cloud to form in front of his face. We all seemed to have forgotten we were standing in soaking wet clothes while it was forty degrees outside, probably due to the adrenaline.

"Aimee probably told you I had a crush on Emily." He said with his chin tucked to his chest, he threw a hesitant glance at Randy's back before continuing.

"I had asked her out once before, while her and Randy were on a break and she rejected me. Not harshly, but still. That night I had decided to ask her again, and to my defense someone had thrown out a rumor saying you two were broken up so don't even give me that look." Kane held his hand up to Randy, who had thrown a fierce glare over his shoulder at him.

"I went to the party but someone said she had already left, so I went by her house. When I got there the door was open and I saw Mae sitting beside her, crying and using her hands to try and stop the bleeding. She had already called 911." He finishes his story softly as Randy turns back around, completely composed. He stands in front of Mae again and looks down at her, cocking his head to the side.