You Play the Field - I Play the Strings

Chapter 49

"Yes, I'm coming up now. No, it's fine. Conner, I don't need you to walk me back from every class." I laugh, knowing he's pouting on the other side.

"But I worry about you. You're too cute, and you're all bundled up in your coat and hat, and it makes you one hundred times cuter. What if someone kidnaps you?" he explains, his reasoning sounding absolutely stupid, which makes me roll my eyes.

"You needed to study. Cash wasn't in class. Don't worry about it, okay? I'll be there in a few minutes." I try to end the call once again with this man who refuses to leave me alone. I guess I did get it because Cash has been going a bit mental, to the fact that we have a meeting with the headmaster about his behavior next week.

"Okay, that makes me feel better knowing he's not here today. I love you, see you soon," he gives in, and I smile to myself, content with my win.

"I love you too," I answer before hanging up. I happily shove the phone back into my pocket before shivering to myself and trying to warm up in the chilly weather. I didn't come here prepared at all. Thankfully, my boyfriend helped me shop for actual stuff to take on this cold.

The snow coated the ground, inches of it leftover, and it was still coming down. It was actually kind of pretty. I walked the familiar halls, and I, for sure, didn't expect anything to happen as I hurried back to my boyfriend.

So when hard force grabs my arm and starts pulling me in and through the tiny hall to the alcove a very surprised shout escapes my lips, and I quickly try to yank away, regretting it when they just yank me back, hurting my shoulder.

My sight goes black as a cold pale hand covers my eyes. My heart hammers in my chest as I continue to yell. I was terrified; this is not real.

My shouting and cursing turns to screaming when I feel something sharp press into my back.

"Just- just stay still," Cash stutters out, his voice guilty and hurt. Once he has spoken, he can't stay quiet. I listen to him cry, refusing to move as my own tears fill my eyes. I didn't want him to stab me, leave me here. It'd take forever for someone to find me.

"Cash? Please- please don't," I start to beg him. Fuck, I should have stayed on the phone with Conner. I should have waited for him. The one time. I'm such a fuck up.

"Just let me have this- let me have this, and then I'll leave you the fuck alone!" He shouts back as the knife is pressed deeper into my back, popping through my coat and forcing a cry of pain from my lips.

I attempt to kick back, making contact with his shin. His hand lets go of my face so I can see, but he just uses that hand to force me against the brick wall, making my face come in contact with the scratchy surface as the sharp object goes deeper into my back, breaking skin. I gasp as he lets out a string of curse words, complaining about his shin while I cry out, fisting my jacket as I feel something warm trickle down my back, which I can only assume is blood. Am I bleeding? Did he actually do that? It's Cash. Cash with the dirty blonde brownish hair. The one I go to school with. Sure, he's an asshole, but he couldn't have. I continue to sob as he just keeps the, I assume knife there- in me.

"God damn it Callum. Apologize now!" He shouts as I choke on my sob. Confused and hurt and so scared. I don't understand.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry. It hurts, please stop," I give him what he wants, just trying to save myself.

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry. I just want my brain- it won't stop. I'm going crazy; they're all yelling. Everybody is yelling at me. Just want one good thing." His hand starts to travel lower, feeling me up as I continue to choke on air, clutching onto my coat for dear life. I have the opportunity to see now, but I take it away myself, forcing my eyes shut.

"You don't want this- you don't want to be this person... I promise. Cash, I won't say anything about this. Please let me go." A broken sob comes from the man behind me as I try to move away from the blade.

"Cash... let... let me hug you," I manage to get the words out. He quickly pulls the knife from my back, making me cry from the added pain, but I slowly turn around scared if I go too fast, he'll just stab me again. When I see him, I finally notice the messy state he is in. His hair greasy and a mess, his eyes bloodshot and dilated, giving me the feeling he's definitely on some sort of drugs. Not to mention his eye bags. There are red marks on his neck as if he's been scratching himself.

Still, I don't back away and slowly put my arms around his sides. He sighs and relaxes momentarily into my grip before crying into my shoulder.

"They won't stop, the voices. The people. My family. All of them. I can't- I can't stop," he murmurs before removing himself from my grip.

"You're so sweet... so sweet. Perfect. I just want you, at least," he hums leaning forward and taking my lips in his.

"No, Cash, wait. We gotta wait. You need help... you're sad. Let's go get you help... let's go, come on..." I try to calm him down, but his now paler face had turned red with anger. Within seconds, the knife is jabbed forward and into my lower side. I stumble with a cry, grabbing his shoulders to stabilize myself. The blade barely made it an inch in, showing me he's too scared and has too much guilt to fully stab me. At least for now, he just doesn't have the mental strength. I can do this. The adrenaline is the only thing keeping me going at this point.

"Cash, fuck, ow, ow, let's go back... back to my dorm? I can, will take care of you?" I stammer, my words trying to ignore the pain. I watch as he nods, taking the knife out of me as my eyes momentarily flutter shut. Cash leans in again to kiss up my neck.

"Do you know what would really help me? I want you so bad," he cried as I just nod.

"I know... I know - not in public," I manage to get out, turning to stumble my way towards our dorm.

He hurries me as fast as he can, roughly, ignoring the red blood that fell onto the snow. Many people tried to stop and see if we were okay, but Cash waved them off, the knife pressed into my side, so I just nodded in agreement as he threw out some lie that we were heading to the nurse now.

When I finally manage to get up the stairs, I just sobbed as he yelled at me to open the door.

"You - you get it. Pocket, please." It hurt to reach my hand back. He hastily groped me till he found my key. Cash managed to open the door, and I stumbled in, my eyes searching for my boyfriend, momentarily feeling better when I see him sitting on my bed.

He goes to open his mouth, but I shake my head as Cash entered the room, knife obviously in hand. Cash, in his delusion, doesn't even check the room, just turns to press me into the door, making me cry in pain as the wound on my back is pressed against. With his body moving closer, he leans in, smashing his lips and teeth against mine. It hardly lasts a second as I watch Conner stand, first grabbing at Cash, forcing him away from me.

Cash lets out a scream of frustration as he pulls away and tries to jump at Conner, who quickly makes work at Cash's face, punching and yelling at the man. I stand frozen in shock. I made it. Conner protected me, right? An agonizing yell pierces through my thoughts and I zone in on the knife now sticking out of my boyfriend's stomach. He continues to curse while swinging a hard fist into Cash's nose.

I watch as his tired eyes roll back, and he falls to the ground before I look back at a seething Conner, watching his chest rise and fall with heavy breath. He doesn't take the knife out and instead wobbles to his phone, calling the police, I assume.

"Did he hurt you?" His gaze momentarily softens as he limps over to me. With the adrenaline gone, the pain suddenly doubles making me wobble. I try to keep the scream that is bubbling up my throat down.

"I - I am so sorry - I'm sorry," I cry, trying to somehow undo the wound as he takes my jacket off, seeing the blood that had pooled around me. His eyes widen in fear, and tears well in his eyes as I feel my world start to spin.

"Conner- I - I think I'm gonna pass out," I whisper, dropping to the ground. He tries to go with me but cries out in pain, the knife still in his abdomen.

I lie on the floor, my eyes open but lidded, as he finally starts to talk to somebody on the other end, keeping his eyes on me.

"Stay with me."