Chapter Twenty-Five

Ariya's P.O.V.



Justin wasn't wrong about his shirt being huge on me. It swamps me and I have to tie the side into a knot in an attempt to stop it from flapping everywhere. I'm sure Todd will have something to say about the fact I'm wearing a Marine t-shirt. He's going to know it's not mine, that's for sure. Although, my jeans are covered in diluted blood, so maybe that'll stop him from opening his big mouth again. If he steps out of line, I swear I am going to make him regret the day he was born. Yes, I am that fed up with him.

Louise and the 2 guys watch me closely as I walk to where they're setting up camp. Justin isn't here, so Todd doesn't have anyone to save his skin if he steps out of line. I can totally take Mike so he doesn't count. Todd eyes my top and smirks. I hear him mutter something under his breath. I don't hear everything he says, but I hear the words 'nailed her' and 'tramp'.

I glare at him and growl, “I suggest you keep your mouth shut. You've got no one to save you...”

“You think everyone should be scared of you, don't you?”

Oh, he's going to be brave now, is he?

“No, I just think you should keep your comments to yourself. Especially when you have no idea what you're talking about.”

“You're a fine one to talk! You say everything that comes to your mind...”

I scoff at that. If he only knew all the stuff that runs through my mind that I don't say.

“You think you're a big man, don't you? You're just a little boy who has to make himself look and feel like the boss...”

“Yeah? Well, not everyone can sleep with the boss and get special treatment, can they...?!”

Oh no! That was a step way too far. I'm on him before I even take my next breath. I focus most of my blows on his upper body, making sure he'll feel the pain later on. He tries to fight back, but I don't give him a chance. There's no break in my blows to allow him to get any hits in and I can tell he hasn't had any training. He tries to shove me away, but my fighting stance has me rooted firmly on the ground and he can't move me. There's a lot to be said for growing up in care and living on the streets. It definitely prepares you for real life and situations that training can't foresee. I have no concept of time when I'm fighting, so I have no idea how long it is before Todd and I are separated. Er, more like I'm extracted from pummeling Todd like a piece of steak.

Someone is standing behind me, holding me in a bear hug. Their grip is firm and restricting. I hate being restricted, especially when the person is standing behind me. I fight against the restraint and thrash around like a wild, caged animal. I take a cheap shot and throw my head back, headbutting the person behind me. I hear a grunt and a groan, but the arms don't loosen. Seriously?! Are they not going to get the message.

I feel and hear a voice say, “Mike, get him out of here. If she gets out of my grip we're going to have a big problem on our hands...”

So, Justin is behind me. While I'm still not comfortable with the current arrangement, I feel slightly better that it's him holding me and not Mike. I don't know why I feel that way and I'm not thrilled with myself for that thought, but whatever. I go in for another headbutt, but the back of my head meets air instead of a face.

“You really think I'd fall for that a second time, Miss Flynn? That's a cheap shot for you...”

“Get your freakin' hands off me!! Just let me at the turd faced piece of perverted scum! I'll teach him to keep his mouth shut!”

I can feel myself literally foaming at the mouth. I'm seething and I want to rip Todd's head from his shoulders and shove it up his backside.

I feel Justin's breath on the back of my neck as he sighs.

“Lou, give us some space. Go make sure the horses are ok.”

I kick my legs and aim for his shins, knees or groin. Whichever I get will work right now. He's so intent on me missing his legs that he forgets about other parts of his anatomy and I manage to land a kick to his groin. He grunts but doesn't let go of me. His grip involuntarily loosens though, so I give an extra shove and succeed in getting free from his hold.

He groans, “That was a low blow, Ariya. Literally and figuratively.”

“I told you to let me go! I warned you! Where is that filthy piece of turd that you all like to call a human?! I'm gonna rip his head off and shove it up his....!”

“Ariya!! Stop! Just stop! Are you even hearing yourself right now?! Get a hold of yourself! Take a walk or something but don't you dare go after him. I don't care what he did or said. Your behavior is totally unacceptable. Go walk it off... Now!”

“Anything to get me away from you bunch of backward freaks!”

I storm off, not even checking to see if Justin is following. I told him I wouldn't run, but right now I'm actually contemplating it. I'd even deal with the cops and jail over this rubbish. I don't even care if that makes me a liar in Justin's eyes. I just want out of this awful place. I'd take the streets over this any day.

I must walk for miles because when the red haze finally lifts and I'm slightly calmer, the sky is completely dark. The only light I have is the full moon and the blanket of stars in the sea of dark blue/black. I hear the sound of hooves hitting the ground and I turn in the direction I came from. There's a horse jogging towards me, with another one in tow. I'm guessing it's Justin, because the silhouette is too tall for Mike and they'd be completely foolish to send Todd to retrieve me. I continue walking away. If he thinks I'm just going to follow him back, then he's very mistaken.

“Get on the horse, Ariya.”

“Rack off.”

He sighs. “You've been walking for hours. You must have calmed down by now.”

“Really?”

“Come on, Ariya. Stop being so difficult. You made your point. You need to come back to camp now.”

“Tell them I ran off, tell them I died, tell them you couldn't find me. I don't care, but don't tell me to be near that retard ever again. I promise you I will rip him to pieces if you do.”

“You're supposed to be learning to control your anger, not giving me conditions to your outbursts.”

“Yeah? Why don't you tell him to control his mouth then?! If you expect me to change my ways, then why don't you expect him to do the same?! I have to do what you say but he doesn't?! That's some pretty messed up logic, but I'm not surprised seeing as you're all men...”

“What? That's got nothing to do with it! I have been telling him to control his mouth. Mike told me what Todd said and I've given him a good ribbing for that. That doesn't excuse your reaction though. I thought we were working on this.”

“No, you were working on it. I didn't agree to anything.”

“You can't just beat on him because of something he said. You can't just do that to everyone who says something you don't like.”

“That's what you think...”

“That's why you get into trouble with the cops. That's why you get into trouble period.”

“That's my problem, not yours.”

“Actually, it is my problem. You're my problem now, so I have to deal with this. We have to deal with this. We can't keep having this same situation over and over again...”

“I'm not having him say stuff like that about me. I'm not going to let him just run his mouth like that. I'm not cheap and I'd never use my body to get anything.”

Yep, I'm that angry and I'm revealing stuff again.

“You know what? Forget it. Just leave me out here on my own. I'll either make my own way or I'll die trying.”

“I'm not doing that. You are coming back with me. Todd is just running his mouth, trying to get a reaction out of you. I'm not sure he quite thought that whole process through properly. I'm certain his body is regretting that decision right now.”

I smirk, “He'll regret it even more in a day or 2...”

You have to love the lasting effect of body blows. It won't look as bad to everyone else, but his upper body is going to be in agony in a day or so. Then a few days later the bruising will be showing properly. Yep, he'll be remembering that for a while. Maybe it'll be a better lesson than the punches to the face. Personally, I think he's too dumb to learn anything.

“Don't think I missed the fact you avoided his face this time. You went for a lasting impression. That wasn't very nice.”

I chuckle. “What about me is very nice? You obviously haven't met me if you think I'm nice.”

“I think you're misunderstood and trying to protect yourself. You might not be nice, but I don't think you're completely horrible either. For the record, no one thinks you're cheap...”

“Yeah, right. I don't believe that. I know what you people are like...”

He growls and almost exclaims, “You know, for someone who is so good at reading people, you really are doing a stellar job of reading me wrong. Have I ever once treated you in a way that would make you think I believe such a thing? No, of course I haven't. Because I don't actually believe that. I know you have your own set of rules. I also know that sleeping with to people to get your way is against those rules. We were getting somewhere, Ariya. Why do you have to mess that up?”

“Just coz you found out about my dad, doesn't mean we're best friends. I don't like talking and I don't want to talk about it. Not with you, not with anyone.”

“You might not want to, but you need to. Just get on the horse and we'll take our time getting back. We need to have a long chat before you get back. You can't do this again. You'll end up killing him...”

“You have no idea about what self control I possess. I won't kill him, but I will mess him up. I'm not going to pretend about that.”

“I'm seriously doubting your self control skills right now. If you were so controlled, then you'd walk away instead of beating on him.”

“Where's the fun in that? He needs to be taught a lesson. I'll give him that lesson for free.”

“No, you won't. This stops tonight. If I have to, I'll get Tom to chuck you in the county jail...”

“Is that a promise?”

“Are you for real?”

“Right now, I'd even step in front of a loaded gun...”

“You really are a piece of work. I don't know if you're actually suicidal or you're just making a point of how much you hate it here.”

“Take your pick.”

I start walking in another direction, but he cuts me off with Star like I'm a stray calf or something. I'm not giving in that easy so I change my direction again. I might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I make up for it in stubbornness.

“We can do this all night, Ariya. You will get tired before she does. Just get on Splash. I'm not leaving until you get on the horse and follow me back to camp.”

I growl at him and hop on Splash. I'm not going to admit that I am starting to get tired, that would be weak. I follow slowly, really not wanting to go back to the freaks. I suppose the plus side is now that we've found the herd, we'll be able to head back to the ranch. Then I can get away from Todd the Turd. That's my new name for him. He shall forever be known as Todd the Turd and I almost chuckle at the thought.

We're silent for a long time, then Justin breaks the silence.

“What made you so angry about what Todd said? Why couldn't you just shrug the comment off and walk away?”

“Seriously? You think it's ok to say you nailed me and call me a tramp? I'd always heard Southern men were perfect gentlemen. I guess I heard wrong.You're just as bad as everyone else.”

“No, I don't think what he said is ok. But I don't think your reaction was ok either. In fact, I think you were more wrong. Just be the bigger person and walk away...”

I mutter, “You've got to be kidding me...”

This guy has obviously never grown up in care or in tricky situations. You don't just let things slide. People will walk all over you if you do that. He isn't for real with that bigger person trash, is he?

“What? You don't think it's better to walk away?”

“Yeah, sure... If you want your backside handed to you, sure thing... You know, for an Army boy you really have no clue about life. Did you walk away from the enemy too? Maybe you tried to get them to talk out their feelings? Did you ask them why they were shooting at you? Really get to the root of their problems? Or, maybe you took hostages and talked them into surrendering. Is that it?”

I hear the growl start at the back of his throat. It's a primal sound and I should be scared, but I'm not. I think I did step over the line with my comments, but that's never stopped me before. In fact, that's always spurred me on. I know, I'm a horrible person. You all will say Justin has been nothing but nice to me and I'm treating him like dirt. My response?

And? What's your point? I think you forget that he's being paid a hefty sum of money to have me here. Money makes people do things they usually wouldn't and things they don't really want to do. So, forgive me if I think he has an ulterior motive.

“You have no idea what you're talking about. You have no idea what it was like out there, so don't you dare make fun of it...”

Wow, he actually sounds angry and if I was any other person, then I'd be apologetic. But I'm not any other person. I'm Ariya Flynn and she's too thick skinned and bull headed to feel sorry.

So, instead, I say, “You have no idea what my life is like, so stop trying to figure me out. Stop acting like you know how to 'fix' me. Stop telling me how to be a bigger person. I don't need any of that rubbish. I've got along just fine so far and I'll continue to manage without you. Stay out of my business and I won't have any reason to comment about your life.”

“You fail to realize that your release is dependent on me helping you. I'm not trying to 'fix' you as you like to put it. I'm trying to help. You want to kill someone else? Because you will, if you carry on the way you're going. I don't think you want to do that. I don't know what your dad was like, but I think you're scared you're turning into him. If you don't want to turn into him, then you need to get some help...”

“Don't. Don't you talk about him. You have no idea what you're talking about.”

“So, here we are at a crossroads. You need to talk about him, Ariya. I know you don't want to, but you need to. You have to release some of this anger and hostility. I know Todd is annoying and he can't keep his mouth shut, but it's not really him you're angry at, is it? He's just a substitute for the person you really want to take your anger out on, isn't he?”

Is this guy for real? I hit Todd because he's a turd, not because I'm imagining he's the poor excuse of a father I once had.

“Trust me, when I'm hurting Todd, I'm not pretending he's someone else. I know exactly who I'm hitting and why. Don't give me all that shrink scrap. I'm sure you believe it about as much as me, which is not at all. You know nothing about my father and I intend to keep it that way. That is none of your business. I regret telling you what happened and I don't intend to make that mistake again...”



I make Splash jog away from Justin and back towards the campsite. I'll just tuck myself out of the way and pretend I'm asleep so Justin doesn't bug me again. I can't believe that guy. He thinks he's so smart and he knows everything about me, just because I revealed a tiny bit of my life. He knows nothing. He thinks I regret killing my father, but I don't. I regret not having the courage to do it sooner. Things would have been a lot different if I had.