Fire with Fire

I TEAR THROUGH THE OPEN FIELD, WEAVING BETWEEN rows of parked cars and clusters of people, trying to put as much distance between me and the maze as I can. My heels keep getting tripped up by field rocks and the soft ground, and at some point I end up falling to the ground in between two cars.

I want to get right back up, to keep going, because the woods are only a few feet away. But I’m completely exhausted. Luckily, there’s no one around to see me. So I sit there on my knees in the dirt and cry.

Go fuck yourself.

That’s what I came back to hear Reeve say?

That’s what I deserve, after everything?

After a few minutes of sobbing, I hear Lillia’s voice. At first I think she’s calling out for me. But then I realize she’s screaming at Reeve.

I stay low and use the car for cover, peering through the windows. I end up spotting them a few rows away. Lillia and Reeve, toe-to-toe. I can’t make out what she’s saying, so I stay crouched down and scurry from car to car, trying to get closer to them.

“You know what? I’m glad you broke your stupid leg. I’m glad you can’t play football and that no college wants you on their team anymore. You deserve everything you’re getting, because you’re not a good person.”

Oh, Lillia. You are a true friend.

She walks away from Reeve. I watch closely for his reaction. To hear him defend himself. To hear what kind of jerky thing he’ll yell after Lillia.

Except he doesn’t do anything. He just stands there, watching her go.

And most shockingly of all, he wipes his eyes on his sleeves.

It’s another punch to the gut. Reeve couldn’t care less about seeing me and the nasty thing he said; he didn’t even care enough to apologize. But Lillia Cho calls him a bad person and he’s in tears.

I know why. Reeve likes her.

He might even be in love with her.

I hate that I’m jealous, but I am. I really, really am. It’s sick. I’m sick.

I want to go home but I can’t. Not when I’m upset like this. Not when I still feel like I could explode at any second. I stand up, wipe the dirt from myself, and head straight into the woods.