Page 99 of The Hardest Fall

Reaching for her purse where it sat on the desk, he tried to get her to move with him. I somehow picked myself up and grabbed Kayla’s other hand. The last thing I wanted was to play tug-of-war with my friend in between, but there was no way I was letting him take her anywhere.

“Keith, stop,” I croaked out, my throat still aching, burning.

“Let her go,” he demanded through gritted teeth.

“I can’t do that. You’re scaring her. You need to leave.”

Then Kayla broke my heart by repeating those unacceptable words. “Keith…you raped me. You raped me.”

“Shut up!” Keith hissed right next to her. “Shut up so I can think! Look what you made do. I came here to apologize and look what you made me do!”

Keith shoved Kayla and she broke her fall by crashing into a chair and grabbing the desk. He started pacing the length of the wall, blocking our exit. I hugged Kayla and held on to her as she shook in my arms. She wasn’t the only one crying anymore.

“I’m sorry, Zoe. I’m so sorry,” she kept whispering. My ears were ringing with the ugly truth, and I could barely hear what she was saying, could barely comprehend what had happened.

“Shhh, it’s fine. It’ll be fine. It’s okay. We just need to get away. He won’t do anything.”

But wouldn’t he? He looked fried, high off his ass. I didn’t have any experience with drugs, and I didn’t like being around people who were out of their minds, but even I could spot that he was way off. Was this his first time taking drugs? What the hell was he even on that had turned him into a complete stranger and a raging lunatic, a psychopath? If he didn’t calm down soon, I was afraid he was gonna do something worse to hurt Kayla and me.

Suddenly, he stopped pacing. There was complete silence, and we didn’t have time to get away.

“You, get out,” he ordered me. “I need to talk to Kayla alone. She is not going to leave me over a misunderstanding.”

I stared into his eyes and couldn’t see anyone in there, certainly not someone my friend was—had been—in love with. When had things had gone so wrong with them? How could Kayla not tell us?

I tried my best to swallow down my fear, but even that hurt, and my voice was still shaky. “I can’t leave her here, Keith,” I said, panic swelling in my chest. “She is so scared. You’re scaring both of us. Can’t you see? You need to calm down and let us leave.”

In a quick movement, Keith was on Kayla, pulling her away from me, cupping her cheeks to get her to look at him. He was only inches away from her face. Kayla’s right hand held on to my arm and she whimpered when Keith’s fingers yanked at her chin. Helpless to do anything, I flinched, feeling my heartbeat in my throat.

“Tell her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You would never be scared of me.”

I wasn’t sure if I was shaking because Kayla’s was trembling or if it was just my body, but it only intensified when Keith shot me a look filled with pure hatred.

“That’s why I don’t like you and that other one talking to her. You fuck with her head too much.”

Pulling at Kayla, he broke the hold my friend had on me and started crowding me, pushing at my shoulders until I was once again backed up against the wall.

He kept cursing at me, spit flying out of his mouth, his voice ugly and wrong and hurtful. “You did this. You’re taking her away from me. Get the hell out before I hurt you, Zoe.”

On the verge of having a panic attack, I lost my breath when he pinned me against the wall with his palm on my chest.

Kayla tried to come to my aid, but he held her back.

“Don’t try me, Zoe. I’m not going to tell you again. Get out.”

When he dropped his hand and moved to Kayla’s side, I stayed plastered to the wall. I couldn’t move. I was stuck. Even if I had the ability to move my limbs, how was I supposed to leave my friend alone with this monster? Would I be able to live with myself if he did something to her?

He already did do something to her, you idiot, I thought. He already did something to her and you weren’t there.

“I can’t move,” I admitted honestly, quietly.

He took a step forward, but before he could start in on me, Kayla stepped in front of him, blocking him from advancing farther. She was still trembling, but her tears had dried up.

“Keith—Keith, look at me. You were right, I was wrong. You would never hurt me. You didn’t mean to hurt me in front of your friends. I understand that now. I’m sorry. Please, you need to get out of here. You hurt her. You’ll get in trouble. Please. Please leave.”