Don’t Cry Baby
Chapter 20

I stare at Darcy in the doorway of my room, her arms are crossed over her chest and her dark bobbed hair is tucked behind her ear. Her eyebrow is raised as she accuses me and suddenly it's like all the air is kicked out of me, I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek trying to get my thoughts in order before I reply to her. Tyler would be so angry with me if another person has found out our secret. What if she tells someone and they take me back, what if Tyler comes back and finishes what he started with Damien. My hand starts to shake, I feel them get clammy and wipe them on my sweater.

"W... what do you mean?" I stutter and silently curse at myself. She shakes her head and leans against the doorway rubbing her forehead with her hand, she laughs humorlessly.

"Do you think I'm stupid Ashley, honestly I'm surprised I'm the only one who's figured it out. It's not like you look all that different from the picture they're showing on the news. You've lost some weight and your hair is a different color."

I can barely hear her speaking to me, the blood pumping in my ears is so loud it's all that I can hear. I struggle to get my breath to slow down so that I can think straight. I wish Tyler was here right now, he'd know what to do with Darcy right now. Maybe I can call him and talk to him while Darcy is still here...

"Darcy listens you don't know what you're doing." I sound desperate but, I am... I need her to realize what she could be doing to me right now. If she tells anyone, if they take me back...someone could get hurt. "You know, I really thought that you were my friend... how could you lie to me like that?" I can hear the hurt in her voice, and it makes my stomach churn.

"I am your friend Darcy..." She exhales a shaky breath, and a single tear falls from her eyes. She steps into the room and gets close enough to me she could touch me if she wanted to.

"If you were truly my friend you were have told me." Her voice comes out as a sneer and I flinch away from her. I step away and try and get closer to the bed so I can grab my phone to call Tyler. Darcy notices and manages to get around me and grabs the phone before I can. She sits down on the edge of the bed with my phone in her hand

. "Were you trying to call "Nate", what could he do to help you right now?"

"I just need to ask him what he'd do in this situation." She looks down on the phone and opens it up, I stare at her while biting the inside of my cheek. I watch her click some buttons and lift the phone to her ear. I wait nervously, knowing exactly who she's calling. I feel like my stomach dropped onto the floor behind me. I hear the person on the other line pick up and my legs start the shake. I hear his voice ask for me, Darcy crosses her legs and

clears her throat.

"Tyler...it's Darcy." My throat tightens and my body is filled with fear, I have no idea how he is going to take this and what he is going to do. The image of Damien lying on the floor right where I'm standing flashes through my mind and I feel sick. I run towards the bathroom and barely make it before the bile rushes up my throat. I feel a cold sweat down my back, I lean back sitting on my legs and listen to what is being said from the bathroom.

"I know everything, I don't plan on telling anyone." Theres a pause as Tyler answers her, I walk towards the doorway and watch her as she listens to what he's saying.

"I am willing to keep quiet for money, we need it right now." She nods again to what his is saying and sits up straight on the bed. She seems to be pleased with what he says over the phone. My heart races as she agrees and hangs up the phone. I step out of the bathroom and walk towards where she's sitting on the bed, she hands me my phone and starts walking out of my room.

"What just happened?" She spins around to face me and smiles as innocently as she can.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about." She pats me on the shoulder and walks towards our front door. Without another word to me she walks out the door and shuts it behind her.

I feel so overwhelmed, everything

just happened so fast I don't know

what to think. The room begins to spin, and I feel sick all over again. I race towards the sink in the kitchen knowing I'll never make it to the bathroom. I throw up more bile into the sick, I grab my hair and hold it up. I don't know how I have anything to throw up when I haven't eaten anything today. I take a shaky breath and wipe my mouth; I pull my hair into a ponytail and wipe the sweat from my forehead. I need to get something in my stomach, I

rummage through the cupboards trying to replace a snack. I decide on a rice cake and a glass of water, I walk towards the living room and sit on the couch.

The rice cake and water stayed down; the lack of sleep is hitting me hard this afternoon. I walk into the bedroom and grab the blanket I had earlier and lay down on the couch with a pillow. I throw on the tv just for background noise and let my eyes close and try to relax into the soft cushions of the couch with the blanket wrapped around me. The tv was switched on to some news channel, I didn't want to put on something I would watch. I'm hoping the news channel helps me fall asleep, I need that release.