Sorry for the short length and deley of this update. I hope you enjoy, this is a somber chapter.
Chapter 12 Truth and its Consequences
I didn't bother to wait for anybody to come and let me in to the room. After I knocked on the door to the Mason family's room I opened the door and saw Ben putting his shoes on. He looked up at me and smiled.
"I'm surprised to see you." He said, tying his shoes at the same time. "Don't you have morning work outs right now?"
I shrugged, standing awkwardly in the door frame. "I skipped them."
"Won't Weaver be pissed?" Ben said.
"Meh." I shrugged again.
Ben looked at me suspiciously, "Are you ok?" he asked.
"Ya, ya I'm fine. Um… listen, can we talk?" I asked.
"We're talking right now, aren't we?" Ben said, holding his arms out in emphasize.
I didn't even bother to mention to him how stupid that sounded. Instead I turned around and closed the door, locking as well to make sure nobody burst in at the most inopportune time like they do in movies or something. Ben was looking at me even more suspiciously and I couldn't really blame him for it. Getting locked in a room with his best friend who wanted to 'talk' sounded a bit odd.
"Why'd you-" Ben began, but I cut him off before he could finish.
"Ben, I'm going to talk and I need to you just listen and let me finish. Afterwards you can talk and question me at your hearts delight." I said. 'Or maybe yell at me until you pop every blood vessel in your face.' I thought.
"Ok." Ben said, still unsure of what was happening.
I breathed a heavy sigh and decided to start at the beginning. "My uncle told me to stay away from you guys. The razor backs. He said that you guys were nothing but trouble and made it sound like you guys were practically related to the devil."
Ben nodded his head, able to understand what I was saying. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet. "Obviously I disregarded that command." I continued, "and now here we are, friends. I'd even say… best friends."
Ben nodded again in agreement, so I decided to continue. "What if I told you that I hung out with you for, for my own reasons."
Ben looked confused now and I knew I couldn't go back, "I… after my parents were killed I wanted to do something. I wanted to fight back, to try to avenge their deaths. I knew that to do that I had to become a fighter, and I was willing to do anything to get that because at that point I didn't care. I didn't care about my life at all. I didn't care if I died or even became a harnessed kid, I just wanted to fight. And to become a fighter I knew that I had to use you."
"Wh- What?" Ben said stunned.
"I used you Ben. I used you shamelessly. I wanted to become a fighter, so I hung out with you and became your friend because I knew that your father could get me in." I said, feeling as if a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Unfortunately, another was just put on them.
Ben face was dark and somber, "You used me?"
"Yes." I admitted plainly, "I did use you. But now, now I regret it a ton. I should never have done it and I feel terrible now, especially since I consider you a true friend Ben."
"You used me!" Ben shouted, his fists clenched and his jaw tight.
"Ben…" I began, but he cut me off.
"All those rumors, they were true all along! You used me and I actually bought it!" Ben screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I used you in the beginning Ben! Before I knew you well enough to call you a friend!" I tried to explain, desperation not doubt sneaking into my voice.
"You probably just stayed friends with me because you felt bad for me. Do you think I can't get any other friends? Because I could make other friends if I wanted!" Ben shouted.
"I stayed friends with you because you're my friend!" I shouted, "You are my only friend here Ben. I'm your only friend here too."
"Why didn't you say something earlier then?" Ben questioned, "Why didn't you just admit to it earlier?"
"I… I was afraid." I said. But I realized that the lie was too weak and Ben saw right through it, scowling as he did.
"You're lying." Ben said plainly.
"I am not!" I countered with another lie, my anger growing with each second. I was about to blow, even though it should be Ben who was about too. I don't know why I was getting so mad myself, maybe because Ben was just shoving the truth of the matter into my face. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I tried to calm myself down.
"All this time I had convinced myself that you were my friend. That you actually cared about me. I was willing to help you become a fighter, I was thankful beyond words when you decided to stay by my side as my friend when everybody was looking at me like some abomination." Ben cried, his body shaking, "But now I know. Now I know it was all a lie."
"It wasn't all a lie!" I protested.
"It was too!" Ben shouted. "You only cared enough so that you could stay on my dad's good side so he wouldn't make your life hell after you became a fighter and you ended our friendship."
That was the breaking point for me, "Ben, I'm your best friend, the only person in this god forsaken place that actually gives a damn about you and your existence! Nobody else does! To them, you're nothing but a disgusting razor back abomination!"
What came next was slightly expected, though not at the power and rage it came with. Ben let out a loud shout and slammed his fist into my stomach. All the air exited from my body as I groaned and fell down to the ground. Ben then pushed me off of him and I feel to the ground.
"I am not an abomination!" Ben shouted. He raised his foot and slammed it into my leg and I let out a disturbing and slurred scream, stifled by only my lack of breath. Ben kicked me one more time in the stomach and back up from me as I gasped for air.
My vision was blurry and my entire body felt unstable from the lack of air in my head. I saw Ben run his hand through his hair and look at me angrily. He wasn't even breathing heavily or sweating.
I started to say something, trying to raise my voice in volume, but only coughed out blood. Ben came down to my level and grabbed me by the collar. "What are you saying now?" Ben shouted, shaking my body as he repeated the question.
After about ten seconds of this I had enough breath to answer. "You're not –cough, cough- not an abomination." I said, wheezing and coughing as I did so. Ben's eyes softened, and I pulled myself closer to my former friend.
"You're a razor back." I whispered into his ear. Ben's fists tightened around my clothing and he yelled one more time, lifting me up and throwing me across the room. I crashed into a desk and heard an unsettling crack from inside my body as I hit the ground. Ben ran over to me and turned to face him, his fist raised. I wanted to say something, but I didn't have the strength left to say anything.
Ben looked me over and began to cry. I felt the tears fall onto my skin as he let me go, backing up to the front of the room. The crying became louder to the point that Ben actually was moaning and sniffling. He looked at me one last time, my bloodied and nearly broken body, and ran from the room.
As soon as he left, tears began to form in my eyes also. Not from the physically pain that Ben had inflicted on me, but the mental pain.
I had just lost my only friend in the world.
Please review, I only got two reviews for last chapter. It helps motivate me.
