Chapter Text
“We’re so screwed!” Stacey choked, the fire following closely behind.
“Technically, we didn’t do anything!”
“Yeah, good luck explaining that to the cops!”
“Let alone my dad. He probably already knows I snuck out..shit!”
“And even if we didn’t do anything,” Stacey explained, “we’re guilty just for being there. So, either they’re going to go with collective punishment, or crank up the heat until one of us spills!”
“At which point we tell the truth: we don’t know who started the fire.”
“Nope, it’s always burning since the world’s been turning.”
“Shut up, Slater,” Stacey shook her head, closer to a smile than she dared admit. Silently, however, she recognized that it was only a matter of time until that smirk was wiped off her face.
Even experienced criminals could only escape for so long. Probably a couple days. Maybe a couple weeks. A few months if they were lucky. As much as they thought of themselves as anything else, they were still kids. Kids whose families would sniff out their regret like blood hounds even if they made it home. And then, one way or another, it really would be their last night together.
“Just keep running! If we can make it through tonight, we’ll be fine!” Cass contributed, trying to convince herself as much as them, fighting with her body and her brain at the same time. Not only did the unholy trinity have a storm of uncertainty to weather, not only did they have to contest with the liver of an alcoholic, Cass had a voice that she couldn’t run from the entire time. Though she knew he didn’t know where she was, she almost felt like her father was running with them, stride-for-stride.
I told you they were bad influences.
I told you not to go out to the woods.
I told you that you were on a destructive path.
The warnings of her father bounced around in her head, turning her thoughts into a game of whack-a-mole. As she pushed one out, another one popped out, echoing the same warning, forcing her to fortify her defenses against an otherwise painful truth.
No, you’re wrong! They’re good people! They’re how I’ll get my freedom! They’re how I’ll become my own person!
Is this what you call that? Even if it was, are you sure this is how you want to do it? You’re a smart girl, Cass. Even if you don’t feel like it, right now. You’re seeing my face and hearing my voice because you need a villain, but the reason you’re thinking about me right now is because you see the truth in what I said. You’re ashamed of the path that you’ve decided on, and you feel you’re too deep to pull out until you have nowhere to turn. That’s because you’re intelligent. And for the first time in you’re life, you’re realizing what a curse that is. That means you’re learning, but you’re going to have to walk through the flames you cased.
Get off my case!
You can ignore me, Lord knows you’ve done a good job of it so far, but you know what you can’t run from? The smell of smoke. The alcohol in your system. The child getting his stomach pumped by his friends, who for all you choked on his own vomit.
“Fuck off!” Cass cursed, her anger bleeding from her thoughts into her words; understandably, this was cause for deep concern among her friends.
“Cassandra?”
Slater was the one who vocalized his concern, but her outburst had caused him and Stacey to stop in their tracks, refusing to take another step until they knew their friend was okay.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just remembering an old face.”
“Old friend?”
“Someone who thought that he was helping, but was only good for making everything worse.”
“Oh, I see,” Slater nodded. “If you see him, let me know if you need me to rough him up a little!”
“Hmph, okay Beer Muscles.”
“Both of you, quiet!” Stacey demanded.
“Why, d—” Slater started, stopping short as he took a second to register his friend’s order. Did you see something? Someone?
Though he didn’t say this out loud, Stacey was able to intuit the rest of his sentence, tapping him on the shoulder and point to the officer in the road.
“Robert Fucking Morino,” Stacey sighed. “There goes our escape route.”
“Hey Beer Muscles, I might need to borrow you after all.”
“Sick.”
“I’m joking, calm down.”
“Aww.”
“Mostly. We still need to figure out a way through. Even if I have to blow a hole through that wall, myself.”
“You sound like you have a plan.”
“Or a suicide mission.”
“It’s…a little bit of both. Something that’s been bubbling for a while. Something I need to say to him while you get out of here. Whatever happens to me is irrelevant.”
“…You can’t be serious!” Slater bit, raising his voice high enough to stoke Mr. Morino’s curiosity.
“Is someone over there?!”
“Shit…shit!” Stacey panicked.
“I guess that settles it. He knows you’re here, even if he doesn’t know it. That’s answer enough for me,” Cass sighed, making peace with what came next.
“But you can’t—”
“Trust me, this is something I have to do. For my friends, my family, and my own sanity.”
Cass cut off Stacey before she could finish. The former was the only one who understood how throwing herself to the wolves would help with all three, but that was all it took to convince her confidantes.
“You guys go ahead and keep moving. If I die here, remember my final stand.”
“We’ll tell stories of your bravery,” Slater waved, giving a moment of contemplation before slipping away.
“Without mentioning you by name, of course,” Stacey half-joked. Naturally, she wasn’t far behind, but instead of celebrating Cass’s courage, she wore her fear on her sleeve, offering her a terrified hug before following in Slater’s footsteps. She refused, however, to leave her friend alone without giving one last word of advice. A well-wishing that she hoped would sustain them until they saw each other again:
“We’ll be waiting. Make it back safe.”