Chapter 19: Ren's mistake

"Ren!" Will greeted her warmly. "Just the person I wanted to see." He strode over to her. But not before making sure that the small package was tucked deep inside his pocket.

She gave him a feeble smile. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you here." Ren greeted him lamely.

"I was just on my way to your house. You know, I thought maybe I could pick you up." He stood right in front of her. "I'm glad I caught you here."

Ren could not help but feel a little nervous at Will's imposing figure.

"My car's outside. We could drive to that café as soon as you pay for that…" He took a quick glance on what she was holding. "…bottle of Tylenol," Will said with a slight laugh. "Or hey, maybe I could pay that for you." He reached for it.

Quickly, she raised her hand out of his grasp. "No, that's okay. I can pay for it."

Will shrugged in response.

Ren paused for a bit as she tried to gather her courage. "About this afternoon, I don't think I can make it." Ever. That one failed to escape her lips.

In an instant, Will's smile was completely gone. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Actually, yeah. Ruby had told me what happened last night. And I don't think it's a good idea for us to go to that café."

Will took a step forward. "Listen, I know last night was a mistake. We both had a couple of drinks. Come on, please give me another chance." He begged her.

"I don't think so, Will." She felt the urge to back away, but decided otherwise. Ren finally cut to the chase. "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't really feel comfortable going out with you anymore." In fact, I don't think we can be friends at all,  or Ruby would kill me. That one failed to come out, either.

For a split second, a look of angered registered on his face. It was gone just as fast.

Ren's instinct kicked into high gear, and backed away two steps. The look she saw on his face just now frightened her. "I-I'm really sorry."

Will's face hardened, and didn't say a word. Instead he just stood there, unmoving.

Gauging from his reaction, she could tell he wasn't very happy about it. "I really need to go." His silence unnerved her. "I'll see you around school, then."

It was Will who made the first move. Before Ren could step aside, he turned around and stormed out.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him disappear through the door. Their encounter greatly unsettle her, especially Will's reaction. It took a few seconds before she recovered herself. She tried hard to shake off the horrible feeling.

Ren approached the cashier, trying to forget their exchange. The old woman behind counter didn't even seem to notice the whole incident. She smiled warmly at Ren as she handed out the change and her package.

The scene kept playing in her head as she stood there. The sudden look of anger, the unnerving silence… It wasn't the response she expected – which made her even more worried.

As soon as she stepped out, paranoia had quickly sunk in. She furiously scanned the area. There was no sign of Will anywhere. Even the parking lot was empty. She started her walk back home.

Ren hasn't even gone ten feet from the store when she found a very familiar car blocking her way. Her heart started to race. It was Will behind the wheels. Glancing around, she tried to look for another route.

The alley beside the store – now that looked like a good route. Maybe she could lose him there. She might even cut off a few minutes from her travel.

Of course she couldn't discount the possibility that everything was part of her crazed imagination. Maybe, just maybe, Will was not really after her. But, that being said, she was not about to take her chances.

She started for the alley, clutching her small package tighter.  Even if he followed her here, he wouldn't dare lay a finger on her. Not in full view of other people.

Her blood ran cold with realization. How could you be so stupid?! She asked herself. One, this alley was leading to a dead end. And two, if the need arises – which looked like it would – there wasn't any soul around the place to hear her scream.

Ren's gradual steps soon became hurried. Behind her, a low rumble of an engine emanated. Her heart caught in her throat as she dared and turn around. 

Will had emerged from the car, and was slowly making his way towards her. There was no other way out. Between her and freedom, Will and his car stood in the way.

"Listen Will," she stammered, "this is definitely not funny. Please stop." Losing her head would not be a great thing to do right now. Not if she wanted to escape him.

He just continued on walking towards her, ignoring her pleading. Will had devious smirk on his face.

Ren continued to act calm. "Cut it out, Will!" Her voice, however, betrayed her true emotions.

She broke into a cold sweat as she slowly backed away. Without noticing it, Will already had her back square on a wall.

"No, please, don't do this." Ren begged him as her hands grasp the solid wall behind her. As much as she wanted to fight back, the guy was a head taller that her – a definite disadvantage.

"Do what?" Will asked with a smirk. "I haven't done anything… yet."

His menacing tone sent chills down her spine.

She watched as he moved closer. Ren's mind raced as she thought of a plan. A huge knot had formed inside her stomach. She wanted to kick herself for giving him the opportunity to corner her in this alley. This was what he probably wanted to do in the first place.  

Will stopped a few feet away from him. As long as there is distance between them, she figured she might still have the chance to get away.

Okay, calm down and think, Stevens! Ren took a deep breath. The timing must be perfect. Mustering any courage she's got, Ren looked up and glared at him.

The smirk was still plastered on his face. He shifted his weight from one foot to another, and opened his mouth to speak.

Ren saw this as the perfect opportunity. With all her might, she propelled herself against the wall. She came charging towards Will, who was caught in surprise.

He grunted as Ren's shoulder planted itself on his chest.

For a second, she thought she was home free. Unfortunately, Ren couldn't be more wrong. The momentum was not enough to knock Will off his feet, as she had hoped for. He had just staggered backwards from the impact. But she couldn't care less about that right now. Without sparing a second, she tried to run past Will.

However, Will was quick to recover from the diversion. Just as Ren passed by, he quickly grabbed her by the wrists.

Ren shrieked in pain. Will was gripping her hard, almost cutting off the circulation in her hand.

"You bitch," he angrily exclaimed. Gone was the cocky smirk he had a while ago. Instead, Will was looking as pissed as ever.

She never saw what was coming next. In one swift move, he had planted his fist deep into her abdomen.

That stopped her dead on her tracts. The small package she was holding suddenly dropped to the ground. It seemed like a whole galaxy of stars exploded in her face. Her knees started to buckle.

The punch had knocked the air out of her lungs. She went pallid as she reeled from the blow, gasping for air.

In a futile attempt, Ren tried to fight back the darkness that was threatening to consume her vision. The last thing she saw was Will's satisfied sneer, before finally drifting off into unconsciousness.

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Twitty paddled his bike like he has never paddled it before.

Where did he say he was going?! He thought hard. The first thing he did as soon as he got out of that diner was to find a pay phone and called his friend. Twitty had dialed a couple of times before giving up. Each time, he got the answering machine. No one was there to pick up the phone.

He took a quick glance at his watch. It was a few minutes passed one in the afternoon.

Tawny! Without slowing down, Twitty took a quick turn and headed for the familiar neighborhood. A few more minutes of pedaling and he finally reached Tawny's house.

He jumped off his bike, literally, and tossed it on the lawn. In a few great strides, he was on the front door, ringing the doorbell and knocking furiously at the same time.

Come on, open up," he nervously muttered.

The door suddenly opened wide, with Tawny standing in front of him, looking very much annoyed. "Twitty, you could just break down the door if you really want to come in, you know." she said sarcastically.

Without waiting for her to invite him in, he hurriedly barged inside. "Where's Louis?" he asked. Twitty frantically looked around the house. "Hey Lou, come on, I need to tell you something!" he shouted.

Tawny slammed the door shut and looked at him weirdly. "Twitty, Louis doesn't live here. I do, remember? This is the Deans' residence, not the Stevens'."

Twitty ignored her cynical comment and turned towards her. What do you mean he's not here? Aren't you supposed to be working on some project today?!"

"Yeah, but he went home. He and Ren were having some problems so I advised him to go home and talk to her instead." She gave a shrug. "The project can wait."

"But I called his house, and no one was answering."

"Well, you just missed him. He left a couple of minutes ago."

"Damn!" Twitty angrily explained. "I need to catch him. I'll see you later." His expression was now panic-stricken.

Before he could get to the door, Tawny grabbed him by the wrists. "Wait, would you please calm down and tell me what is going on? You're scaring me." 

"It's a long story, but it involves Will, and quite possibly, Ren. And I don't think it's got a pretty ending to it. That's why I need to hurry and find Louis." Twitty dashed outside without waiting for Tawny's response.

"What do you mean 'quite possibly Ren'? Will and Ren are involved in what?" She stood by the door, arms crossed.

He held out her hand to shut her up. "I really don't have time for this right now, Tawny. I really need to find Louis and warn him. Ren might be in trouble." He said, picking up his bike.

She just stood there for a moment, her mouth agape. "Wait, Twitty! I'm coming with you."

Twitty stopped short  before turning towards her. "You don't happen to have your dad's car keys, do you?"

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