The Last Breath Of Reggie Warrington

Chapter 7: Nothing's Fair In Love and War

Footsteps left the house. "All by myself, don't wanna be, all by myself anymore." A sinister song echoed behind me.

I turned to see Reggie standing in the doorway. I watched as he closed the door was walked towards me. The heels of his shoes crashed against the cold hard ground with every step he took.

"You going now?" He said, "I mean, it's not as if anyone really wants you there."

I held back tears, but things needed to be said and said then and there. "Why are you doing this? Why are you being like this, Reggie? We used to be friends."

He sauntered towards me, his eyes staring down at me. "Nothing's fair in love and war, Chlo-Chlo. Especially when two gay guys like each other and a jealous bitch tries to stand in their way!"

"Will you stop saying Ethan is gay?! He's just split from his girlfriend!"

Reggie shook his head, "No! Why the hell should I stop saying he's gay if he's obviously gay and soo likes men?"

"You sound completely deluded! I know you've never had a boyfriend before, but surely get one that's gay instead of obsessing over someone who isn't? He's got loads of girls all around him Reg, he gave me his number. One of them was all over him like a rash! Surely he wouldn't like that if he was gay?"

A sound rumbled inside Reggie's throat. In the silence and the darkness of the night, he sounded like a crazed animal, growling and snarling at an enemy.
"Who was she?" He began to shout, "who was she?" With each word he spat, he inched closer towards me, "come on Chloe, tell me! Tell me who the little slut was who threw herself at my boyfriend?! What's the whores' name? What is it? What is it?!"

"I don't know! Whatever her name is, she's not a whore, just a drunk kid!"

"Right! If won't tell me, show me! Come back and point her out to me!"

Not wanting to be there a moment longer, I turned to leave. I heard him snarl and felt the strength of his grip on my hair as he tried to drag me towards the house. I'd never felt pain like it. Chestnut coloured strands fell from my scalp and covered my clothes.
"Stop it! You're hurting me! Stop it!"

The more I screamed, the tighter Reggie's grip became. "Stop it, stop it. You're hiring me!" He mocked.

Tears streamed down my face. My arms and legs lashed out as I struggled to free myself. I flung myself forward and smacked him hard across the face. He let go, clumps of my hair still in his fingers. But he wasn't going to stop without a fight. Reggie's unusually long arms lunged forward, but this time I was ready for him. With a strong shove, Reggie Warrington fell backwards. His head cracked against the rockery.

I thought he would get up and start on at me again, but all he did was just lay there. I inched towards him, "Reg? Reg, you ok?" Blood seeped from his head, like a flowing river of scarlet.

My heart began to slam against the wall of my chest. I had two choices, call an ambulance and take the risk that Reg would more than likely dob me in it with the police, or run. Get the hell out of there and hope to God that someone found Reggie before it was too late. Staring at his lifeless body, I knew what I had to do. I kicked off Indie's silly shoes and began to flee.

In a part of town, I didn't know very well, I was lost and I was alone with no idea how to get home. The cold night air ran through my lungs, but I felt sick to my stomach. He was my friend and I just left him like that. For all, I knew he could have been dead.

I'd never felt my heart beat so fast before, but the fear embedded inside my body forced my legs to continue, to move faster, to get home. My body weak, mind full of fear and confusion. I breathed deeply, in through my nose and out through my mouth, in through my nose and out through my mouth. Perspiration clung to my hair and forehead. My whole body was damp and my clothes stank of sweat, but I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. I needed to get home now and with no form of transport, the only thing I could do was run.

I could feel the blood pounding in my brain, and at full speed, sprinted down a dimly lit alleyway. My footsteps pounded against the pavement. It could have been a dead end for all I knew, but something about it looked familiar. I thought back to earlier in the year and to the annual school run. It was year eleven versus year twelve and I ran in a group with Maddison, Indira and Libby, none of us really cared which team won. I vaguely remembered Indie telling me that the path we were running on was a shortcut to her new house. Madison thought it was funny as it also lead to one of the streets near where we lived.

I was nearly home. So close I could feel it. I knew I was on that alleyway and knew I didn't have much further to go. I reached down into my soul and found the energy to take me home. A few minutes later and I could almost see my house. I saw the metal railings that separated the alleyway from the main road. I weaved my body through and found myself on a road I knew very well. I stopped at the side near the bus stop, looked left, looked right and then crossed. Seeing the sign that read Brookfield Drive, I knew I didn't have to run anymore. I could finally see my house and as I walked towards it, breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Key in the lock, I entered the house. It was quiet and I assumed everyone was in bed asleep, but I was wrong. The door to the living room opened. My mum stood in the doorway, her arms were folded and she wore her nightclothes.
"Chloe Leighton!" She snapped, "what time do you call this? It's almost two in the morning! You swore to me, Chloe, you'd be home by midnight! That's the only reason I let you go to that flaming party. Well no more! No more parties or friends or phone! You're grounded! Do you hear me, Chloe? You got to school. You come home from school, you go to bed!"

I turned to leave, but Mum wasn't having any of it. She clicked her fingers and barked the word "phone" at me. I pulled it out of my bag and handed it to her. I'd had the worst night of my life. I couldn't be bothered to argue with her. Bed was all I wanted. To sleep. To dream and hopefully, with time, to forget.