Love Hate

by Ruth Houston

  "Harry and I accept your apology," Georgia intervened quickly. "Don't we Harry?"

  "What?! I haven't even finished –"

  Georgia elbowed him hard in the ribs and he let out a long sigh before nodding, defeated.

  I gave Harry a weak smile before allowing my gaze to drift over the school grounds, searching for Tristan. I vaguely wondered if he'd taken the day off.

  "Who are you on the lookout for?" Georgia suddenly queried.

  I turned to her to find that she had been studying my tense actions. I shook my head slightly before Harry interrupted with in a slightly frustrated voice.

  "Don't shut us out again, Amber," he warned.

  I sighed, knowing he was right. "Fine," I muttered. "I'm looking out for Tristan."

  "Why? I thought you guys were back on good terms again," Georgia said.

  "Well, we were… until I kissed him and then kicked him out of the house," I blurted, the words slurring in my rush to get them out.

  Georgia and Harry's reactions were identical and simultaneous. First, their eyes widened and jaws dropped. They looked at each other before turning back to me and squealing with excitement.

  "Yes! You and Tristan are finally together! That's great!" Georgia cried happily, clapping her hands together in celebration.

  "I knew it! You guys are so going to get married," Harry grinned.

  I sighed. "Guys, shhh! Didn't you hear the last part of my sentence? I kicked him out of the house."

  "B – But why?" Harry stammered, his hopes of marriage seemingly thrown completely out the window.

  "Don't you guys realise? Ashley and Tristan were still dating when I kissed him," I reminded them in a low whisper.

  "So what?" Harry said, clearly stumped at why this would affect me in the slightest.

  "Ashley's a bitch, remember?" Georgia said. "Don't you remember what she did to you in Eighth Grade?"

  "Yeah, but that's my point! I can't sink to her level!" I cried, massaging my temples and trying to ease the dull throbbing that had developed there.

  Georgia sighed.

  "Wait, am I missing something here? What happened in Eighth Grade?" Harry asked blankly.

  I hesitated, glancing at Georgia, before opening my mouth to explain.

  That was when I caught sight of Ashley storming across the grass towards me. I swallowed hard as I leapt to my feet.

  "Where are you –?" Georgia began.

  "Ashley," was my quick reply before I hurried off into the safety of the school.

  * * *

  That night I could be found curled up on the couch watching TV and eating a packet of chips. Hey, everyone can indulge in a little junk food sometimes, can't they? Especially when their mother and sister are both out with friends and they have the silent house alone to themselves.

  Tucking my legs underneath my body, I picked up the remote and began to flip through the channels. I finally found a re-run of The O.C. and settled back to watch some of my favourite TV characters get into trouble.

  My blissful night alone was ruined however, when the doorbell suddenly rang. Luckily it was in an ad break, so I wouldn't have to murder the visitor for making me miss a very important dramatic development in the show… not that I care about The O.C. or anything.

  I turned the sound down on the TV, set the chips on the coffee table and headed out into the front hall. The doorbell rang again as I ran my tongue along my teeth, digging out any chip fragments that had been lodged there.

  "Coming!" I called, glancing in the hallway mirror quickly before opening the door.

  My eyes widened at the person standing on the front porch and I felt my heart constrict. I immediately slammed the door shut again before the person could say anything.

  "Amber, wait! I need to talk to you!" Lucas exclaimed from the other side of the door.

  I hesitated, one half of me wanting to lock the doors and windows and return to my show and the other half of me wanting to hear Lucas out. But, wait, wasn't this the guy who had cheated on me?

  "Go away!" I shouted, tears burning in my eyes. "I don't want to talk to you so go away!"

  "I'm not going to do that, Amber," Lucas said. "We need to talk. I need to… I need to explain."

  "Well, sorry, but I'm just not in the mood for any dramas at the moment… I'm watching The O.C." I frowned for a moment, knowing how weird that sounded.

  "Look, do I have to break this door down or will you just let me in?" Lucas asked almost pleadingly.

  I remained silent, thinking. Before I knew what I was doing, I realised that I had pulled open the front door once again.

  "What do you want Lucas and you better make it quick. If I miss one bit of my show on you I'll be… uh… really angry," I said in my most threatening voice.

  Wow, that really sounded scary.

  I thought you'd gone forever.

  As if you could get rid of me that easily.

  "Er… Amber, what are you muttering about?" Lucas suddenly asked.

  "Nothing," I said quickly. "Look, just tell me what you want."

  "I'm here to explain what happened on the night of the dance. I need to explain about Haylee…"

  "Well, it just so happens that I don't give a rat's ass who you date anymore, Lucas. So you can go now."

  I made to shut the door in his face again but his foot was in the way. I took a steadying breath, trying to calm myself down.

  "Please remove your foot from the doorway or prepare to make a trip to the hospital," I growled.

  "You need to hear me out," Lucas insisted, now leaning his shoulder against the door to prevent me from slamming it shut on his toes. "Please let me explain."

  I let out a long breath. "Will you leave if I listen to you?" I asked finally.

  Lucas nodded. "Yes."

  "Well, come in then," I gave in, stepping back from the doorway and allowing him to step into the hall.

  I shut the door and led my ex-boyfriend into the kitchen. I settled down on a seat and waited for Lucas to start. He took his time sitting down in the seat opposite me.

  "Look, I know what you saw seemed bad, but it really wasn't," Lucas began in a nervous voice. "You see, Haylee really wanted revenge on you… for some strange reason. Anyway, she saw you coming back from the drinks table and, well, she kind of… jumped me."

  I snorted in disbelief. "Oh, so she just forced you to kiss her back," I said, knowing how emotional I sounded and hating myself for it.

  "Well, actually, I didn't kiss her back. I was trying to push her off me for the total of two seconds we were actually kissing," Lucas said.

  I bit the inside of my cheek. Now that I thought about it, it hadn't actually looked like Lucas was kissing Haylee back. And hadn't he pushed Haylee away that time at the school?

  "Amber, I don't like Haylee… I never have. I like you… I want you," Lucas was saying softly.

  I didn't reply. My eyes were fixed on the patterns in the table we sat at.

  "Please tell me that you believe me," Lucas whispered.

  I hesitated, a lump forming in my throat. I slowly raised my eyes to meet Lucas's deep brown ones.

  Finally, I found my voice.

  "I – I believe you," I murmured.

  Relief spread over Lucas's face as he reached out and placed his hand around mine. His touch made me stiffen and I slowly slid my hand from his grasp. His confusion was apparent.

  "I do believe you, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to take you back," I said slowly. "I think… I think we should just be friends for now."

  Lucas seemed hurt. Then something not unlike realization filled his eyes.

  "You're with Tristan." It was a statement, not a question, and a hurt-filled statement at that.

  "No, I'm not," I said truthfully. "I just don't want to be with anyone at the moment."

  Lucas nodded slowly. "I should leave then," he said softly, slowly rising to his feet.

  I agreed and walked him to the front door. He turned around in the doorway with a h
alf-smile lighting his lips.

  "See you around," he said before leaning in and brushing his lips against my cheek.

  I closed my eyes at the contact but stayed where I was, holding onto the door for support. When I finally opened my eyes, Lucas had gotten into his car and was driving down the road.

  I slowly closed the door and leaned my back against it, focusing on my breathing. I didn't want to cry.

  I reached over and grabbed the phone off the wall. I dialed the familiar number and pressed the phone to my ear, closing my eyes as I waited for Georgia to pick up.

  "Hello?" Georgia answered.

  "Georgia, hi," I said breathlessly.

  "What's wrong?" Georgia said suddenly, obviously hearing the emotion in my voice.

  "Lucas just visited and… Can you come over please?" I asked, overriding my own sentence.

  "Yeah, of course," Georgia said quickly. "I'll pick up Harry on the way. We'll be right over."

  "Thanks." I hung up and returned the phone to its hook.

  For the third time that night the doorbell sounded. It couldn't be Georgia, unless she had suddenly turned into Superman or something.

  As I laid my hand on the doorknob, I hoped it wasn't Lucas. Taking a deep breath, I swung the door open… and stifled a gasp.

  On my front porch stood none other then Ashley Everton… and she looked murderous.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Oh God, I'm going to die, I'm going to die.

  Stop being such a drama queen. I'm sure she's just over here to borrow a cup of sugar or something… She only lives, uh, fifteen minutes away.

  Yep, that's decided it, I'm going to die.

  Oh shut up, will you? No one's going to die!

  Oh, I'm sorry. Are you blind? Can't you see what she looks like!

  Er… OK, well maybe you are going to die after all.

  Gee thanks.

  It was true. Ashley looked like she was ready to rip out my throat. Her normally perfect hair seemed to stick up slightly like a cat with its hackles raised. Her lips were lifted in a snarl and her eyes were burning into mine, flashing dangerously.

  Just play it cool… Don't make any sudden movements…

  I swallowed hard and tried to make my voice sound as normal as possible as I stammered, "A – Ashley. What are you d – doing here?"

  Damn. So much for the calm attitude. I sounded like a stuttering, trembling fool. Oh wait, that's what I was.

  Ashley's hard glare actually seemed to send heat rays at me as she said, "You know what I'm doing here, you stupid slut."

  I was tempted to say, "That's a bit rich, coming from you," but considering I like living, I decided against it. Instead, I settled on: "Actually, I, uh, have no clue why you're here."

  Ashley stepped over the threshold, forcing me to take a few steps back into the hall to avoid collision. I could feel the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up, as though warning me to run from the house and never return.

  That sounded like a pretty good idea, come to think of it.

  Just as I was sizing Ashley up and trying to figure out if I could outrun her, the beast (otherwise known as Ashley) spoke.

  "Don't play dumb with me, dumb ass," she hissed.

  "Don't you think that sentence is a bit contradictory?" I said weakly, my frail attempt at humour failing miserably as her eyes flashed more dangerously than ever.

  "I know what you did," Ashley snarled, shoving a long-nailed finger into my chest so hard I could feel the tip of her nail cutting into my skin.

  "Well, I do a lot of things… Care to be a bit more specific?" I said, my tone changed from frightened to rude in a matter of moments.

  Oh God, I'm practically signing my own death certificate, I thought as Ashley's teeth gritted.

  "You. Kissed. My. Boyfriend." Every word she said sent us into a sort of dance: her coming forward and me backing up down the hallway. "Is that specific enough for you, bitch?"

  My back bumped up against the wall, trapping me, and I gulped audibly. Oh, I'm so screwed.

  "So, what happens now is I kick your ass," Ashley threatened, an evil smirk curling her lips.

  "Er… That's not necessary," I said quickly. "You see, even though I did kiss Tristan, I happen to know that, uh, he loves you very much. So I'm not much of a threat beside true love. Maybe you should just, er, get a pedicure or manicure instead of kicking my ass, as you so intellectually put it."

  There's that smartass tone again. Do you want to end up in hospital by nine-thirty tonight?

  I waited, staring at Ashley and hoping that my last bid for survival worked. She seemed to be thinking it over. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be merciful.

  Oh wait, this is Ashley we're talking about, huh?

  "Hmm… let-me-think-about-it… I don't think so," Ashley snapped, her expression furious once again. "You see, even though Tristan may love me, I know that you'll just try to steal him again and again unless I teach you a lesson tonight."

  "Shit," I muttered out loud, causing Ashley's grin to widen as her fist rose up.

  My eyes were glued to the movement and I had braced myself for a broken nose or jaw when Ashley yelled, "Girls! Backup!"

  "Double shit," I said as I saw two of Ashley's bimbo gang members step into the hallway from outside. I recognized them as Tracy Love and Carla Fredericks.

  Even though the girls – including Ashley – were petite, I knew I didn't stand much of a chance against the three of them, especially when Ashley was livid.

  I recalled a girl from my school last year who had arrived in hospital with numerous scratches and bruises. She had been knocked out cold and when she woke up she refused to tell the doctors who had attacked her. I also remembered that that girl was the same girl who had been caught making out with Ashley's current boyfriend at the time. That girl also was a black belt in karate.

  And here was me. A girl against three of the most vicious blondes imaginable with absolutely no martial arts training under her belt. Let's just say, I was completely and utterly screwed.

  Before I could react, I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head and realised that was Ashley's first punch. Stunned and caught off guard, I yelled out in pain as I stumbled sideways through the open lounge room door.

  I turned as Ashley, Tracy and Carla entered the room after me, snarls set in place.

  Maybe I should just curl up into a little ball and wait until they've gone.

  Or you could fight back.

  Are you crazy?

  Maybe I am, but it could just save your health.

  And my life.

  That too.

  I gulped as Ashley started towards me again. I'd never been in a fight before in my life so what the hell was I supposed to do.

  Reacting out of pure instinct, I raised a fist and drove it into Ashley's toned stomach. She doubled over with a cry and I shook my aching fingers. I didn't know punching someone hurt so goddamn much.

  I didn't have much time to dwell on my fingers, however, because Carla and Tracy had already started toward me. Carla drew back a fist to punch me but I quickly side-stepped her blow and kicked her in the shin. Low, but at least I wasn't on the floor, bleeding.

  Tracy leapt toward me, her fingernails scrabbling over my skin as she tried to grab my throat. I cried out in pain as her nails cut long scratches into my skin. I placed my hands on her shoulders and pushed her hard away from me, causing her to trip and fall over the coffee table.

  "ENOUGH!" shrieked Ashley, finally having straightened from my punch.

  I sighed with relief, thinking that she meant enough fighting. I had no such luck, however.

  Ashley gestured toward Tracy and Carla and together, the three of them advanced on me. I turned and tried to run but two pairs of hands grabbed me and threw me to the ground.

  Suddenly, the fight was in full swing. It was a mess of scratching, hair-pulling, punching, kicking, biting and shrieks of pain. I was pretty much blind to what was going on because it all happene
d so quickly. The only thing I was focused on was hitting them as many times as possible.

  A hard slap to my cheek sent me stumbling into a wall and I knew I had gained three long scratches on my cheek from the blow. In retaliation I turned and threw a wild punch, my fist colliding with something that gave a sickening crack under my hit. Warm liquid that I knew was blood was trailing down my hand.

  "You bitch! You broke my nose!" came Carla's wail.

  I didn't have time to pause to look at her before Tracy and Ashley were upon me again. Tracy held my arms down as Ashley sat on my stomach, her eyes gleaming evilly.

  I struggled as hard as I could against Tracy's grip but to no avail. Ashley began to punch me repeatedly everywhere she could reach. I was soon beaten senseless and was almost peacefully unaware about anything that was happening in the room.

  Suddenly, I felt Ashley's weight being dragged off me and Tracy also released me. Finally, some mercy.

  I closed my eyes and almost lost myself to a blissful slumber, if it was not for an annoying buzzing in my ears. I groaned and turned my head, my arms too heavy to lift so I couldn't beat away whatever was making the noise. Next thing I knew, I was being shaken hard by someone.

  "Leave me alone! I want to sleep!" I exclaimed, pulling away from the person and rolling onto my side.

  I almost immediately regretted doing so, for pain shot up my left side, causing me to gasp for breath. My eyes fluttered open as a cry of pain tore from my lips.

  Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the light and the scene around me came into focus. Ashley, Carla and Tracy were all gone, replaced by Harry and Georgia who were kneeling next to me, looking extremely worried. Georgia seemed to be the one who had been shaking me, for her hands were still on my arms, ready to return to her job of waking me up.

  I tried to speak but was then sickeningly aware of the mouthful of blood I had. Disgusted, I choked on the hot liquid before leaning over and spitting it out on the floor. Harry let out a moan of disgust and sympathy.

  "What… What happened?" I asked once the blood had left my mouth.

  "Well, we were actually hoping you could tell us," Georgia said softly.

  "We came in just in time to pull Ashley and Tracy off you. Ashley looked mad… she seemed like she was ready to kill you," Harry told me.