Page 72 of Please Don't Leave Me

“No, I think I’ll?—”

He’s cut off by a man’s voice that I barely hear over the ringing in my ears. I didn’t comprehend what they said or who it even was. I vaguely hear the sliding door slam shut and footsteps rushing across the kitchen toward the stairs.

The next thing I know, Tony lets me go, and I fall down onto the stairs, gulping down air. My knees sting when they hit the carpet.

I hear commotion on the stairs behind me. I whip around to see what’s happening, but my eyes are full of tears, so it’s all a blur.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Evie. That’s Evie’s voice. “Liam!”

I blink away the tears, and before new ones can replace them, I see what’s going on. Liam has Tony pinned to the ground at the bottom of the stairs, hand around his throat.

Evie rushes over to them and pries Liam off of Tony. “Liam, I said what the fuck is going on!”

Liam turns around to look up at me. His face is filled with rage, and at first, I’m nervous he’s mad at me. Then his face softens. “Are you okay, Lou?”

I nod because I just want this to be over. I can’t believe this is all happening because of me. And it onlygets worse when B and Iris come running out, B with shampoo in her hair and a towel wrapped around her chest. Then, as if this couldn’t get more devastating, Evie’s parents run out of their bedroom to find this shitshow.

Everyone is stunned in silence until Evie's mother speaks. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"

Liam looks around. “Everyone go back to bed. I’ve got this handled.”

I look around to find that a large vase that was once next to the stairs has fallen over and shattered.

Evie gently slaps Liam’s shoulder. “Clearly you don’t if you’re beating up your friends.”

My stomach is twisting in knots. I don’t want him to tell everyone what he more than likely saw through the windows. Liam looks back at me again, and I subtly shake my head.

No, please, no.

Before he can speak, I run up the stairs to my room. I can't sit there any longer. I can't have any of them looking at me with confusion and pity in their eyes.

I can hear footsteps following me up the stairs, and it only spikes my panic.

When I get to my door, I shut it behind me. Shortly after, I hear the locked doorknob rattle, and then I hear B on the other side. "Lou, open up. What happened?"

"Go away."

"Lou, come on, talk to me."

"B, please. I'm begging you, leave me alone. I promise I'll talk to you tomorrow."

There's a long stretch of silence, and I hope that she's left.

"Okay, I love you, and I'm just downstairs or a text away if you need me."

I know I’m going to have to do some explaining tomorrow, and the thought of that makes me want to throw up. But for now, I'm grateful to B for giving me space when I asked for it.

With my back still up against the door, I can hear voices coming up the stairs. Male voices.

“Get the fuck out of this cabin. Right now. You can grab your things, but then you're out.”

“Liam, come on. You don’t even know what was going on.”

“All I know is that she clearly didn’t want you touching her, and you were. That’s all the information I need to stand here and tell you to get the fuck out.”

“I didn’t drive here.”

“Then wake up the other guys, and whoever drove can give you a ride home. They'll be sober by now."

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