AN: Here it is! The next chapter… man I'm struggling with this fic ;_; its too .. depressing for Ha I think.. I think after a couple of chapters I'm going to make it happy and funny for a while *nod*
a-Leng: The last chapter was incredibly short. If you don't like long chapters…take a break in the middle of them or something… most of my chapters range from 8-15 pages.. this ones 10. I wont post anything shorter than 3000 words.. which is about 6 pages.. which is short in my books. And as for rating it R, I know what the rating guides are and there is nothing in here that constitutes a R rating yet. I know what I'm doing.
The room was silent after her soft proclamation. Bryan was rooted to the floor only about a foot away from where Liika herself stood, her hands shaking so badly she struggled to keep a firm grasp on the small bag of drugs.
Liika was shaken beyond belief. Sure, you always heard stories of people doing drugs—crack being one of the most famous ones—but never, never do you expect to find someone so close to you in possession of such potent drugs. It pretty much followed that he was using the crack, after all, who had crack and didn't use it?
What the hell was he thinking?? Crack?! It was probably one of the most addictive drugs there was out there, not to mention it royally fucked you up. How the hell did he get the bloody shit? She couldn't believe someone in Bakuten could be selling! Surely it wasn't anyone in their class.
"Give it to me." Bryan's frighteningly low and calm voice broke the tense silence.
However, Liika didn't move. She just continued to stare past his head, her eyes glazed with worry and fear. Fear of what the innocent looking drug was doing to her friend. A friend she had known since the beginning of middle school…a good portion of her life!
Bryan was starting to get impatient with her. Actually, he was far beyond impatient; it was all he could do to reign in the rampaging temper that was boiling to the surface. He hated the highs and lows that hit him like a sack full of rocks whenever he wasn't high. He could go from sheer rage to bottomed out depression in seconds, or from anger to depression to fear then back to anger, such as he had right then. His emotions peaked and swirled dangerously. He didn't want to hurt her…he just…he…he wanted to hold her. He wanted to be the one that she ran to when she was sad…to be the one she shone her bright adoring smile at. He wanted to be the one to kiss her…to make love to her.
But she didn't want him.
The rage boiled even higher. No, she wanted a rich, mama's boy, private school reject that had done nothing but ridicule her since the moment he laid eyes on her. She wanted a man that had made her cry on more than one occasion, had caused nothing but sorrow for her while finding his own feelings. She wanted…Kai Hiwatari. She wanted the man he hated more than anything in the world. The man he would gladly kill given the right opportunity.
"Give it to me. Now." He growled once more, his tone becoming even more dangerous as he took a step towards her, one of his hands coming up to take it from her if necessary.
Apparently him moving was all it took for Liika to snap back to the present and out of her dazed state. Instantly her eyes came to life, flashing in righteous fury, and she took a step back, clutching the small package against her abdomen. "Why?!" She demanded, all but glaring at him, "Why would you do something so fucking stupid Bryan?? Why??!" Her voice slowly reached the decibel of screaming, panic welling in her tone. How could he do something like this to his body and mind… to his friend and family?? Didn't he realize how dangerous crack was?
Bryan's eyes flashed just as hotly as Liika's had, only with a darker, more sinister light. "What the fuck would you know little girl? You're life is so fucking perfect it makes me sick!" He growled back, his voice raising a few decibels.
"Perfect?" Liika echoed, disbelief ringing in her tone. "Perfect?! More perfect than yours? How do you figure that line of bullshit?" She couldn't believe him! The part of her that was hurt at his calling her names and speaking to her in a manor that he had never even come close to before was smothered by the anger that was coursing through her veins. "You have two loving parents Bryan, and a twin, and what do I have left of my family? My cousin and my grandfather. That's it. How is that perfect? It's not! But have you ever seen me resort to hard drugs to fix my problems? Huh?"
"You know nothing!" He spat, stepping further towards her. He suddenly had a bad need for the crystal pieces that occupied the bag in her hands. He couldn't handle it…couldn't handle her with out some type of back up. He needed to feel normal again. He needed to feel strong again. He needed to feel like he wouldn't fall to his knees and beg her forgiveness. Fuck! He needed to feel like she didn't make him a weak, pathetic bastard.
Liika saw the look in his eyes, the crazed half-deranged look that was so common in the eyes of drug addicts. So he was addicted, and horribly so apparently. Her eyebrows furrowed as her behind came in contact with the hard edge of his oak desk. She was trapped, and she knew he would hurt her if she stood in his way. But…she couldn't just stand by and do nothing! Bryan obviously couldn't see what the drug was doing to him. He probably didn't even realize he was addicted.
"When Bryan? When did you start?" She cried, raising her chin. He would not frighten her! He would not bully her into giving him the poison! "And how??"
He grit his teeth, boxing her against his desk, his hot lilac gaze boring down at her from his ten-inch height advantage. His hands itched to snatch the bag away from her, but he knew her well, too well, and knew that if he moved too quickly she'd do something stupid and force him to hurt her. He really didn't want that, no matter how badly the little plastic bag was calling him. So, he answered her questions, in short, annoyed answers. "July. In Denver. At a party. Give it to me Liika."
Liika ignored the sound of her name as it rolled off his tongue. He rarely said her name, usually referring to her as 'woman', but when he did, he usually meant business. "And Spencer, he knows of your fucking addiction?"
"He knows. I'm not addicted."
"The hell you aren't!" She shot back, pulling the back closer against her chest. "I can see it in your eyes right now! You'd kill me for it if you thought you'd get away with it!" She screeched, through gritted teeth. "You can lie to yourself Bryan, but you can't lie to me. I'm not blind you know!"
The growl that escaped Bryan's throat was a mix between a primal, animal growl and an angry grunt. His eyes narrowed down at her, his mind whirling with need. "Maybe not blind," he growled, "Just stupid and over emotional. You're making a bigger deal of this than it is. Now give it to me!" His voice became more forceful as the seconds ticked by.
"No!" She screamed. "I wont let you destroy yourself Bryan! I wont let you destroy your life and the lives of those who care about you! You need help, Ryanny…let me help you…" She trailed off, her eyes tearing up again.
Bryan felt something in his chest twitch at the site of her glassy eyes, but the need for the drug in her hands pushed the feeling aside. He could deal with her later. He needed a smoke. "I don't need help woman, I need that bag, now give it to me!" His hands darted forward, catching a hold of her by her shoulders. "Don't make me do something I don't want to do…" He murmured, slowly moving one of his hands down her arm.
"I can't let you hurt yourself…I care to damn much…" Liika whispered back, clutching the bag tighter in his hands as his hand slowly moved towards it.
Just as Bryan's hand tightened on her arm to almost painful proportions a loud pounding sounded on Bryan's door. Bryan's head snapped in the direction, a panicked looking crossing his face. The pounding sounded once more before Bryan caught sight of the doorknob turning. His eyes expanded and he dropped Liika in an instant, flying to intercept whoever it was that was entering his room.
He jerked the door open to reveal his sister—who was looking extremely worried—and her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend, both having frowns on their faces. "What the fuck do you want?" He demanded coldly, eyeing Enrique with disgust.
"We heard screaming…" Riley said, trying to peek over her brother's shoulder. "Is everything ok?"
"Fine. Go away."
Enrique eyed the larger teen dubiously. He could have sworn he had heard a female voice in the room. "Must be some argument if we can hear it over that horrible excuse for music," he drawled, an eyebrow rising. "Who's in there with you?"
"None of your business Sattiay." Bryan spat, snarling at the blond before he slammed the door in the couple's face, audibly clicking the lock in place after he did so.
Riley threw Enrique an anxious look, biting her bottom lip. "Do you think everything is ok?" She asked, uncertainty lacing her voice.
Enrique sighed, his normally cheerful exterior dour. "I don't know babe, but there's nothing we can do about it now. If he does have someone in there, and they are fighting as bad as we think they are, let's just hope whoever it is that's in there is smart enough to get out before your brother flies off the handle."
Bryan turned slowly after he locked the door. Damn meddling fools. Couldn't they leave him well enough alone? Speaking of meddling fools… He searched his room for a sign of the little blue haired wench, and was alarmed to find none. Where the hell could she have gone in such a short period of time?? The it hit him as he caught sight of his bathroom light…then heard the sound of the toilet flushing. His eyes widened to extreme proportions as absolute dread crashed over him.
She didn't.
She couldn't!
He wasted no time in crossing the short distance from his door to his bathroom, pushing the door open forcefully. What he found made his blood run cold.
Liika was standing beside the toilet, an empty plastic freezer bag in one hand watching the water swirl around. "I can't let you kill yourself Ryanny. You can't see it, but you're addicted, almost hopelessly so. But I'm going to help you, I swear, you'll get through this." She turned to face him, her large turquoise eyes pleading with him. "A twelve minute high isn't worth throwing your life away."
Time froze for Bryan. He stared past her, at the white porcelain, his mind slowly comprehending what she had just done. That was supposed to last him another four days. "That was two hundred dollars worth of crack…" He grumbled in a daze, still struggling to grasp the situation.
Liika scowled. "Yeah well, now its two hundred dollars worth of toilet food!"
That was it. Her scornful words were all that was needed to break Bryan from his daze and snap the fragile hold in his temper. How dare she!
Before he even thought, and before Liika even knew what was coming Bryan's hand lashed out and back handed her across the face. The force in the blow was enough to send the small young woman flying the two feet to the tile wall beside the toilet where her head hit the ceramic surface and she slumped lifelessly to the floor.
Bryan stared at her unmoving body, again not really grasping what was happening. He brought his hand up towards his face and examined it, his expression becoming more and more pained. What had he done…?
When she still didn't move, a nauseous feeling welled in his stomach. Why wasn't she yelling at him?? Why wasn't she moving?? Why wasn't she getting up?! He panicked, crashing to his knees beside her with a low wail.
"Liika…Liika!" He called frantically, pawing at her, trying to shake her awake. "I'm sorry…" He almost whimpered, reaching forward and scooping the unconscious girl into his arms and settling himself against the bathroom wall. One hand smoothed down her hair, running over her face.
His hand froze when it came in contact with a warm, sticky substance. His eyes snapped downwards and he tilted her head away from his chest. She was bleeding…he had hurt her…hurt her enough to bleed. His fingers slid over her bleeding temple, trying desperately to stop the minor bleeding that, in his eyes, looked like a gushing artery. The corner of her bottom lip was also emitting a small amount of blood from where his hand had contacted with her face.
"Oh God…" he moaned, finally giving up and clutching her against him, "…What have I done?" He clenched his eyes shut, trying to will away the guilt, pain and terror that were making him physically sick.
Mariah laughed, shaking her head and shoving Tala a bit. "Oh right, like Wolverine could even come close to Cyclops' skills! Professor Xavier made him the leader of the X-men for a reason you know!"
Tala scoffed, pushing her back. "What do you know? You like Kelly Clarkson. Besides, Cyclops' lameness overshadows any sort of 'skills' he might have—which are none. Oooh, laser beams out his eyes, that's really cool. Logan would beat down Scott in seconds, he's such a pansy." He said, throwing a grin at the pink haired girl as they approached her locker.
"Yeah, well, you like Nine Inch Nails! There's no accounting for taste, I suppose. In any case, Storm would kick both their asses." Mariah replied haughtily, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. She opened her locker and proceeded to shuffle her things around.
"Tche, maybe if she flashed them first."
Mariah made a sound of incredibility and stopped what she was doing to smack him soundly on the arm, mock glaring as she did so. "You're such a jackass." She stated, her smile clearly stating that she didn't really think so.
Tala grinned back, a hand striking his chest right over his head. "I'm hurt Kitty, and here I thought you loved me!"
Mariah's face sobered a bit and she turned back to her locker. "At one time I did…" she murmured, continuing to shuffle through her locker.
The red head's smile faltered and he sighed. "Mariah…I know we had a bad end—most of which was my fault—but…I was hoping we could get past that. I'm not the same immature kid I was two years ago."
"I'm with Rei now." She muttered, trying to ignore the fluttering as well as the pain in her heart. Damn it, she wanted so badly to be over him.
"So?" He said, sliding a hand up her arm. "I meant what I said to Kon, I don't do taken women, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends." One day you won't be with Kon…then I'll have you back.
Mariah shivered slightly at his touch, her skin tingling lightly under his fingers. Her eyes closed, and her movement stilled. "We are friend's Tala," she whispered, opening her gold eyes and staring into Tala's turquoise orbs, "But only friends. Rei…he gets upset when you flirt with me."
Tala pulled his hand away, snorting, and crossing his arms over his chest. Fucking Kon, always in his way. "I flirt with lots of girls. It's the way I am, he can just fucking deal." He all but growled, making clear the fact that he was annoyed by the mention of her boyfriend.
"Tala," Mariah sent him a slight reprimanding look and placed her hands on either side of his face. "I'm not saying don't flirt with me, I'm just saying don't do it when he's around. Please? For me?""
He reveled in feeling of her soft hands cupping his face and leaned towards her. "I suppose I could deal with that," he said, smirking. Oh yeah, you want me Kitty, I know it. Kon wont last forever.
She giggled in response.
Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound from further down the call and the pair jerked apart, glancing in the direction of the loud noise—Mariah looking somewhat guilty.
When they caught sight of the perpetrator, who was storming towards them, Tala sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Apparently he hasn't found her yet." He stated dryly, preparing himself for his best friend's tirade.
Mariah's eyebrows furrowed, her concern growing every second the tall Bakuten A captain came closer. However, it wasn't his angry face that concerned her, it was the reason he looked stormy that worried her.
Liika hadn't been seen in almost two days. She hadn't been in school the day before, and apparently—according to Kai and Enrique—she wasn't answering her phone or answering her door. Their whole group was starting to worry immensely.
"Have you seen her today?" Were the first words out of Kai's mouth as soon as he reached the pair. His eyes glittered angrily, his fists clenching at his side.
"No," Mariah sighed, "I was hoping you had. Have you talked to Tyson?"
Kai growled, leaning up against the locker beside Mariah's. "Yes. Couldn't tell me anything except the fact that she didn't come home Tuesday night, nor last night. She called and said that she was staying at your house."
Mariah frowned. "She obviously wasn't. Now I'm really worried, what could have happened that she lied to her Grandfather?"
"Still no sign of her huh?" Enrique's voice cut in as the blond stopped in front of Kai looking worse for the wear. "Damn it Iki." He looked on the verge of tears. He had never been so terrified in his life! His best friend was missing and there wasn't anything he could do about it!
Mariah reached out and patted the blond on the arm. "Has anyone reported it to the police?"
Enrique shook his head. "I tried…but she has to be missing at least forty-eight hours first."
"I think you guys can all stop worrying now."
Three sets of eyes snapped towards the red head, narrowing. Just as they all simultaneously opened their mouths to demand what he meant, he pointed, looking unamused himself. "Cause if I'm not mistaking, there she is right there."
The other three instantly snapped their eyes towards where Tala was pointing and sure enough, there was a small blue haired young woman, struggling to open her locker. Her head was hung, allowing her abnormally loose hair to curtain her face on both sides. Her uniform was limp, attesting to the fact that it had been worn for more than two days, something, which was rare for Liika.
It only took seconds for Kai to react, sucking in a loud and angry breath he stomped down the hall, reaching his girlfriend's side in moments. "Where the fuck were you?!" He demanded, his left hand grasping her arm.
She jumped, gasping. "Ka-Kai…" she murmured, keeping her head bent and turned away from him.
"Fucking hell Liika!" Kai yelled, pulling her against him, circling one arm around her back while one hand buried itself in her hair. "Don't ever do that to me again!"
"…." Liika was silent.
After a few moments he pushed her away, his hands settling on her shoulders. "Now where the fuck were you?? Where damn it?!"
Still she was silent, her head still bent, her hair shadowing her face. As more seconds past, and her silence was filled with the sound of the bell—which was ignored by the small group of teens—Kai began to more and more angry with the girl in front of him.
God. He had nearly killed himself worrying over her. He hadn't slept the night before, as he was too preoccupied thinking up worse case scenarios. After she had disappeared after practice on Tuesday, then hadn't called, he wasn't too worried, just annoyed, especially when he called and she wasn't home. It was only when she didn't show up for school the next day, when she still wasn't home in the afternoon and when Tyson had said she was staying at Mariah's when Kai knew for a fact she wasn't, that he panicked.
He snarled when she still wouldn't look at him or say anything. "Would you look at me??" He demanded, his hand catching her chin and jerking her face upwards.
What he saw made him numb.
Her bottom lip on the right side was swollen and discolored with a hardened scab as well as a yellowish bruise that spread out from her mouth and was roughly the size of a beyblade attack ring. However, it was the wound above her eye that caught most of his attention. It too was bruised, the same yellowish green the bruise by her mouth was, yet there was a key difference.
In the center of the discolored skin were three neat stitches, parallel with her hairline and running down her forehead just above her temple. Kai's eyes flashed, running over her face over and over. Those behind him peeked over his shoulder, gasping as they did so.
Liika for the most part remained silent, only hissing when Kai jerked her head upwards and caused the stitches to pull. She knew she was in a lot of trouble.
"What the hell…" Kai murmured, his hand leaving her chin and running lightly over the wounds. "Who did this to you?" He asked softly, his voice dangerous.
Liika became alarmed. She had heard that tone before, only it wasn't from Kai. Another male had used that tone with her, and she knew it's meaning very well. It meant someone was about to get hurt. She couldn't tell Kai what had actually happened…he'd kill Bryan for sure, and the last thing Bryan needed at the moment was to get in a fight with an extremely angry boyfriend.
Sure she was angry with Bryan, but being angry with him wasn't going to help him. He was angry enough at himself. If the fact that he hadn't let her leave his sight for a day and a half was any indication. Of course she couldn't rightly tell Kai that. He'd be even more angry then. Hell, he'd probably commit homicide. And then there was Mariah and Enrique, accomplices to the murder of Bryan Wakeman.
"No one…" She finally answered, her eyes avoiding his, "I tripped and hit my head on the corner of a table."
"You're lying."
Liika winced at Kai's harsh voice. "No I-"
"Don't lie to me. Tell me who hit you." He demanded again, forcing her to meet his eyes. He could see the nervousness in the aqua depths, he knew she was lying. "You don't disappear for a day and a half then show up again in a worn uniform, with markings that can only be made by someone else, and only have fallen. Don't fuck with me Liika, I'm not in the mood. Tell me the truth."
She sighed, closing her eyes. "I…I can't."
Kai's scowl darkened, his patience worn down to nothing. "And why is that?" He grated out, his teeth clenched. "Just who are you protecting?"
"Wait a second…" Enrique spoke up, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. The wheels in his brain turned. He and Riley heard screaming two nights ago…and shortly after they're 'conversation' with Bryan, had heard a rather loud thump against the hallway wall as they were leaving for his house. …Could it be? "Liika, I, and I'm sure everyone else here would like to know, were you at the Wakeman's house two nights ago?"
Liika froze, her eyes expanding in fear. How did he know??
Kai caught the trapped look that crossed Liika's face, knowing that was exactly where she had been. Now he was pissed, not that he wasn't before, but now he was extremely pissed. She had been somewhere, no doubt visiting, someone he had explicitly told her not to. And if the panicked glint in her eyes was any indication, she had been there yesterday and this morning as well.
His blood boiled in anger he hadn't felt since his father had almost killed his mother. He had warned her, told her that Wakeman was dangerous, and she didn't listen!
Enrique scowled, also catching the trapped look. So he was right, there had been a female in Bryan's room, and that female had been Liika. He suddenly had an idea what the loud thump was. It was probably Liika's head hitting the wall. Yet, that didn't make any sense. Why would Bryan hit her…? Bryan wouldn't harm a hair on her head, and in fact generally harmed anyone who threatened to do so. It was confusing.
"Sattiay," Kai questioned suddenly, breaking the silence, "How did you know she was there?"
"I didn't," Enrique replied sighing, "Not until I put everything together like five seconds ago."
"Everything?" Mariah asked, frowning.
The blond nodded. "Me and Ril, heard screaming coming from Bryan's bedroom…it appeared Bryan was having a nasty argument with someone…someone that sounded female. However, we didn't think much of it and when Bryan told us that it was nothing and to go the fuck away, we did. But when we were leaving to go out we heard a loud thump against the hallway wall. Like someone hitting the wall in Bryan's bathroom. Again we thought nothing of it, figuring that Bryan had tripped over something in the god awful mess in his room. Apparently our first thoughts were correct. It was you that hit the wall, wasn't Iki?"
"…."
Kai seethed, his vision clouded with red. Wakeman had the fucking nerve to threaten him about hurting his witch, then went and did it himself! He was a dead man.
Liika was worried, check that, terrified. Kai's silence told her all she needed to know. He was livid, and blood was going to be spilled if she didn't put a stop to it. "Yes…Ok…I was at Bryan's… and yes we had an argument. But I deserved whatever I got, don't do something stupid Kai. The situation doesn't need to be anymore complicated than it already is. You don't know what's going on." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist in effort to calm him.
"I don't fucking give two shits what's going on. No one touches my witch and gets away with it." He growled, trying to pull away.
"Stop it Kai! You don't understand!" Liika cried, clutching him tighter.
"I understand perfectly!" Kai roared, glaring daggers at the top of Liika's head. "Those stitches on your temple tell me everything I need to know! Let go!"
He was angry. Angry at Wakeman for hitting her, and angry at Liika for lying to him. Then there was the fact that not only had she lied to him and her family, but she had spent two days with Wakeman alone. Two fucking days. Now, he didn't really think Liika would instigate anything, but if the bastard could hit her, then he sure as hell could force himself on her. Why didn't she leave? Why didn't she scream for help? Call someone? If Enrique could hear them screaming at each other, and could hear her hit the wall, then couldn't he hear if she had called for help? His anger levels rose another ten notches. Oh she and him were going to have a talk, a very long talk. After he kicked Wakeman's ass.
"I believe the bell has rang Hiwatari and that you are supposed to be in my class." The group froze at the annoyed voice. "The rest of you get to class before I decided to give you all detention!"
Kai ground his teeth, glaring at his homeroom teacher. He really hated Boris Amery. "Fine. Come on witch." With that, Kai grasped Liika's hand firmly, allowing her enough time to pick up her backpack before he pulled her down the hall towards her homeroom class.
Enrique and Tala followed, frowns embedded on both their faces. Both wanted to know what Liika could have possibly done to Bryan that would drive him of all people to hit her. It was confusing business.
Mariah sighed sadly, her shoulders slumping. Life in their small school was getting stranger and stranger. First Tala decided that he wanted her again, then the unthinkable happens and Bryan beats Liika, his obsession, up. What was the world coming to?