A Proscriptive Relationship (65 page)

My mouth went dry and my grasp on the phone tightened. “I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t be,” Mr. Heywood responded. “I’m going to settle this once and for all. Then this won’t ever happen again because Shawn will be dead.”

My eyes widened in surprise, but before I could say anything more I heard the click that signaled he ended the call. Shawn raised an eyebrow as I lowered the phone away from my ear.

“
So?” Shawn asked. “You can keep your phone now, by the way.”

I glared at him. “I hate you.”

He smirked. “I know.”

LESSON forty-five

A shiver wracked my body as I stood in the freezing air, my jacket doing little to stop the cold from permeating throughout my body. Shawn stood a few feet away from me, his hands shoved into his pockets. He rocked on the balls of his feet, whistling quietly to himself. Off a little ways was Mikey, looking incredibly bored and just as cold as I was. Another man stood near Mikey—the driver of the car. He was a large man with a shaved head. He caught me staring at him and he grinned. Immediately I turned my attention to the building we were standing beside. Or rather, what was left of the building.

From what I could tell, it was the skeleton of a two-floor country house. However, the place looked like it had been to hell and back. The wood that was still standing was completely black and had some weird type of moss growing on it. Two sides of the house were still standing, also covered in the weird moss. Vines grew up one side of it, all the way up to the caved-in roof.

Surrounding the decimated house was a dense forest. It reminded me of the hideout we were at only a little more than a week before. A sudden gust of wind whipped my hair around my face, blocking my vision. As I raised my hand to push it away, the sound of an engine roaring came from the distance. I turned to see Mr. Heywood’s car pull into sight.

“
Finally,” Shawn complained loudly. “I was beginning to think he wouldn’t show. Eh, Holly?”

I glared at him for a moment before returning my attention back to Mr. Heywood’s car, which was now coming to a stop near Shawn’s. I started for the car, but Shawn gruffly grabbed my elbow, pulling me efficiently to a stop. Once more I turned my narrowed eyes to him. He held me fast as Mr. Heywood climbed out of the car, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.

“
Good to see you!” Shawn chirped, using his free hand to wave at him. “How was the drive?”

As soon as Mr. Heywood got close enough to reach me, he grabbed my arm, forcing it out of Shawn’s grasp. In a blink of an eye Mr. Heywood’s fist was in Shawn’s face. A startled gasp escaped my lips as Mr. Heywood brought his fist back and punched Shawn again, this time knocking him to the ground. Shawn smirked up at Mr. Heywood, wiping the edge of his mouth, which already had blood on it. Mr. Heywood struck him again, using as much force as he could.

“
Three,” Shawn stated, not even bothering to defend himself. “Keep them coming, Chris.”

“
What the hell are you counting for?” Mr. Heywood demanded, pausing in his assault.

Shawn’s smirk grew wider. “Why don’t you let Mikey show you?”

My eyes flew open when I felt a fist connect with my jaw. I stumbled to the side, turning to gawk at Mikey, who was came at me again. I staggered back, bringing a hand up to rub my sore jaw.

“
Holly!” Mr. Heywood shouted, taking a step towards me. Shawn quickly clamped his hands around Mr. Heywood’s ankles.

“
One,” he commented in a casual tone, keeping a vice-like grip on Mr. Heywood.

Mikey swung towards me again. This time I ducked to avoid his fist, but he brought his other hand up, smashing it into my gut. I doubled over, gasping in pain. Before I had the chance to straighten myself, I once again felt a blow to my face, this time sending me sprawling into the dirt.

“
Three,” Shawn counted off.

“
Holly!” Mr. Heywood shouted again, trying to break free from Shawn’s grasp.

I stayed on the ground, sucking in as much oxygen as I could. Having the wind knocked out of me twice in one day definitely wasn’t good. I waited for Mikey to hit me again, but nothing came.

“
Holly, are you okay?” Mr. Heywood shouted at me.

I turned to him, struggling to push myself off the ground. “I’m fine.”

Mr. Heywood turned his attention back to Shawn. “What the hell are you playing at?”

“
Let’s see how quick of a learner you are. You should catch on quickly—you are a teacher after all,” Shawn commented, finally letting go of Mr. Heywood’s legs. “What will you do?”

Mr. Heywood once again punched Shawn in the face. “Shut up!”

This time I felt Mikey coming at me. I dodged his fist, making sure to keep an eye on his other hand so he couldn’t use a cheap shot like last time. Mikey swung his fist at me again and I managed to stop him from hitting my face by blocking with my arm. Pain spread through my forearm at the contact of his strike. I took his moment of surprise from my block to return one of his punches and I nicked him pretty good on the jaw. However, in my elation, I failed to block his second strike, which landed on my nose.

I cried out in pain, my hands automatically shooting up to my nose. When I pulled one away, I could see blood covering it. Panicking slightly, I leaned forward to let it drip out.

Mr. Heywood started towards me again, but Shawn quickly grabbed him. “Four,” he said in singsong voice.

“
Stop counting! Why are you doing this?” Mr. Heywood demanded, trying to kick his leg free. “Let go, damn it!”

“
You can’t figure it out?” Shawn asked in a mockingly disappointed voice. “Wow. Holly might end up dead before you do.”

“
What shit are you spouting out now?” Mr. Heywood demanded, glaring down at Shawn.

Shawn shrugged. “You figure it out.”

Mr. Heywood stayed quiet for a moment, staring down at Shawn with a hard expression. Shawn stayed on the ground, not even attempting to stand up. There was blood trickling down the edge of his lip.

“
You’re a bastard, you know that, Shawn?” Mr. Heywood suddenly growled, bending down to grab the front of Shawn’s shirt. In one swift movement, Mr. Heywood had him on his feet.

“
Have you figured it out?”

“
What do you want?” Mr. Heywood demanded, ignoring Shawn’s question. “Tell me, Shawn. Before I kill you.”

Shawn laughed loudly. “If you kill me, Holly dies.”

Mr. Heywood scowled. “What do you want?” he repeated.

“
I want to see you get the shit beat out of you,” Shawn responded simply, losing all signs of humor. “To see you get what you deserve.”

“
So you’re going to use dirty tricks so I won’t attack you?”

Shawn cocked his head to the side. “Pretty much.”

“
I thought you said you were going to fight fair!” I shouted at Shawn, feeling the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

“
I lied, Holly. You think you’d be used to being lied to, wouldn’t you?”

Mr. Heywood yanked on Shawn’s shirt, yanking him closer. “If I let you have me, are you going to let Holly go?”

Shawn glanced at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. “You want to bargain with me?” He looked back to Mr. Heywood with a tsk. “I don’t think you have the power to do that, Chris. I have the upper hand.”

To prove Shawn’s point, Mikey grabbed me by the hair, yanking my head back. A cry of pain escaped my lips before I could clamp them shut. Just as I was about to retaliate, he let go. I quickly smoothed down my hair and took a wary step away from him.

“
What are you going to do with her?” Mr. Heywood growled, his shoulders tensed.

“
You really want to know?” Shawn asked. “Well, first I’d punish her for landing me in jail . . . but actually, I was planning to do that while you are still conscious—”

“
Punish me?” I repeated incredulously. “Because you were in jail where you belong?”

Mr. Heywood sent me a warning look. “Holly, quiet.”

“
Holly, jail sucks,” Shawn responded simply. “And it’s your fault I was there. You and your little antics.”

“
You belong there!”

“
Holly!”

“
What?” I demanded, giving a hard look to Mr. Heywood.

He returned my look with the same expression. “Stop talking back to him.”

“
You’re sticking up for me? Aw, thank you.” Shawn said, grinning. “But it’s okay. That’s what I like about this Holly—she’s feisty. It’ll be fun when I . . .” Shawn paused, for a second. “Well, I rather not ruin the surprise.”

“
You’re not touching her, Shawn,” Mr. Heywood stated threateningly. “If I don’t kill you now, you’re going back to jail.”

“
Kill me?” Shawn repeated with a scoff. “What makes you think you can kill me? I have backup.”

Mr. Heywood glanced at Mikey, then the bald man. An amused expression flickered across his face. “I can handle them.”

Shawn narrowed his eyes, but there was also an amused tone to his voice. “You sound confident. Tell you what, Chris. Let’s fight one-on-one. Fairly.”

“
How can I trust you?”

Shawn glanced over to Mikey. “Mikey, go wait with Justin.”

Mikey grunted in response, moving away from me toward the man with the shaved head. They both still looked menacing, but with them at a distance from me, I felt more relieved. The tense atmosphere between Mr. Heywood and Shawn still kept me on edge.

“
Alright,” Shawn started, turning back to Mr. Heywood. “Regular rules?”

Mr. Heywood crossed his arms. “One-on-one rules. That means no help, and
no
involving bystanders.” He sent a pointed look at me. “If you as much as take a five steps in her direction, I’ll resort to dirty tactics too.”

“
Done and done,” Shawn responded, taking a few steps away from me. “See? I’m moving away.”

“
Then let’s get started,” Mr. Heywood said, clenching his hands into fists. “Last time we fought it took two minutes and forty-three seconds for you to go down. Let’s see if I can beat my record.”

Shawn chuckled. “You were always so sure of yourself, Chris.” On the word
Chris
, Shawn sent his fist flying.

A startled gasp left my lips as Mr. Heywood narrowly dodged. Shawn swung out again, his eyes glued on Mr. Heywood, who evaded the attack and countered, but Shawn quickly blocked it. After his block, he quickly brought his fist across, nicking Mr. Heywood’s nose.

“
No!” I cried out, taking a step towards him.

“
Holly, don’t come any closer!” he shouted back, never taking his eyes of Shawn. “Go to the car—”

“
Nope,” Shawn interjected, glancing at me quickly. “Holly, you stay there. If you try to go to the car, Mikey and Justin will stop you.”

Mr. Heywood paused, his fists still at ready. “Why can’t she leave?”

“
You might not win,” Shawn responded simply.

Mr. Heywood cast his fist towards Shawn’s face, but Shawn eluded it by leaning backwards. They continued a small match of swing and dodge for a few minutes. Neither of them landing any hits, nor having one landed on them. My stomach twisted uncomfortably every time Shawn came close to landing one on Mr. Heywood. Shawn suddenly caught Mr. Heywood’s fists, quickly bending his arm behind him. I gasped, wincing at the sharp twist of his limb.

“
I say, Chris, jail really took a lot out of you, huh?” Shawn commented casually, wrenching his arm further back. “First you let me hit you with a shovel, and now you let me catch your arm.”

Mr. Heywood stayed silent, bending over with his arm so it wouldn’t break. My heart was in my mouth as I watched helplessly. I wasn’t expecting Shawn to get the upper hand in the fight. Without warning, Shawn briskly flipped Mr. Heywood over his shoulder. Mr. Heywood landed on the ground with a hard thump, emitting a small groan. Shawn stepped over him, putting a foot on each of his arms.

“
Having trouble?” Shawn asked teasingly.

“
I’m fine, thank you,” Mr. Heywood responded in the same tone.

Shawn smirked. Mr. Heywood let out a huff of air, his arms twitching under Shawn’s feet. It wasn’t that hard to figure out Shawn was trying to crush Mr. Heywood’s fist. My eyes were glued to Shawn as he continued to smile smugly down at Mr. Heywood. It didn’t seem like he was going to stop until he broke his wrists. A sick feeling spread throughout me as I stood by, unable to do anything to help.

“
Does it hurt?” Shawn inquired when Mr. Heywood let out a small groan. “I remember how you always used to be wary of your wrists. You never liked them being touched.”

Shawn lifted one of his feet. Relief washed over me—until Shawn abruptly brought his foot back down, stomping on Mr. Heywood’s wrist. A cry of surprise left my lips as Mr. Heywood cried out in pain. Shawn lifted his foot up to do it again.

“
Stop!” I shouted, watching him in horror. “Shawn! Stop!”

Shawn spared me a single glance before grinding his heel into Mr. Heywood’s wrist. “Sorry, Holly. This is a fight.”

“
Damn it,” Mr. Heywood groaned, trying to pull his arm out from under Shawn.

My feet started moving before I had even told them to run. Just as Shawn went to stomp again, I leapt at him, tackling him to the ground. We landed hard, Shawn somehow ending on top of me, and crushing me into the ground. His eyes were wide in surprise.

“
What are you doing?” he growled, putting his hand on either side of me, and trying to push himself back onto his feet.

I quickly wrapped my arms and legs around him, trying to keep him on the ground. His arms gave out from under him, and once more we fell back to the ground. Shawn scowled at me, trying to pry my arms off.