Threateningly Threatening

"What was that about," Link asked as we walked to our next class.

I put my hands up. "I don't even know. They asked if we were hooking up, I said no. Then they asked if you were still gay?"

Link laughed. "Some guys are cute, I guess, but I'm straight. As far as I know."

I sighed. "I don't really care if you're gay, straight, or a circle. We'd still be friends. Dating doesn't matter right now."

Link nodded and our conversation ended. As we sat through biology, I looked around for who might be the one texting me. They were obviously in this class, and theater. I started writing down a list of everyone in class.

"What are you doing," Link asked as the bell rang.

"Just an investigation," I said.

I didn't look up. I just slid things into my bag. I half expected my phone to buzz, but then I remembered that Mr Young has my phone today. I looked around and saw that almost everyone was on their phones. I sighed.

"Link, could you help me with something," I asked as we left the room.

He nodded. "Yeah, I can help with a lot of things. What kind of help do you need? Is it with something for school?"

I looked at him. "It's a few phone numbers. Someone keeps texting me."

Link wasn't looking at me. He was looking ahead. "Yeah, I can help you with a few phone numbers. Chuck knows a lot of people's phone numbers around here. What are they texting about?"

"They're threatening me." My statement made Link stop and looked at me. "They want me to drop out of play."

"What the heck?"

The bell rang and I looked at Link. "They told me that they would hurt me really badly. That's why Mr Young came in. That's why I'm actually thinking of doing it."

"But you can't! You'll just be giving them what they want! You have to stay in the play! They can't really do anything to you anyway. You've got too many people watching your back."

I sighed. "I can't risk it. What if I end up hurt really badly, and no one decent is left to take care of Justin? What if…" My voice faded. My head filled with all the horrible reasons that Eric can't look after Justin. "My baby brother needs me. I can't get hurt, or let him down."

Link nodded. "I'm not letting you give up this play. We'll find a way to stop them. Okay?"

I nodded and looked down at my feet. Link grabbed my hand.

"We're gonna be late. Let's go."

I could feel someone watching me all through biology. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. I kept looking around, trying to see if I could spot the person. I couldn't tell.

Just as I was about to give up, I spotted someone at the back of the class. She was to my right. She had long brown hair and had a pencil in her hand. I recognized her from math class.

As I watched, the girl stopped glaring at me and sent a quick text, then went back to glaring at me.

Link nudged me with his arm, making me jump. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"I might have our first suspect," I whispered.

I nodded my head towards the brunette. Link looked too and narrowed his eyes.

"But she's not in our theater class," he pointed out. He scratched his head with a frown. "Why would she care about what role you got? How would she even know you were cast as Viola?"

"Doesn't she sit with the redhead in math class? The redhead is the girl that plays the captain, right?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"And the redhead was super upset that she didn't get the lead role."

"The redhead's name is Brittney Coley. Her dad is always out of town on business. I think that's why she wanted to be Viola, so her dad would come to the play."

I shrugged. A small pang went through my heart. I understood what it was like to try and compete for your parent's attention.

I sighed and rubbed my face. "I'm so tired of this." It was really hard to keep my voice at a whisper. I was close to crying and I was exhausted. "I'm sick of checking over my shoulder, wondering when I'll be attacked."

A wave of exhaustion flooded over me.

"Everything is that draining, huh?"

"You have no idea. A ten year nap couldn't help the exhausting feeling."

"They can't hurt you."

I looked at him as the bell rang. "What if they find a way? These people are always ahead of me. They could do something I won't see coming."

The rest of the day went pretty normally, then I got to theater class. Link and I dropped our bags at the top of the auditorium, then walked down to the stage. Link had his script in hand, but I didn't bother to bring mine.

We sat in seats at the front of the auditorium, while we waited for the teacher. Pretty soon, Brittney walked in. She looked at me and sighed, wrinkling her nose.

"I guess our star doesn't need to know her lines," Brittney said as she sat down and folded her arms.

"Leave her alone," another girl said. "Maybe she already knows her lines."

Brittney huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. If you mess up this play, I'm gonna make sure you pay for it."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, no pressure. Thanks."

Brittney rolled her eyes again and looked at her script. I sighed and looked at Link, who was looking at me wide eyed.

On the way out of school, Link looked at me. "Wanna go to your house? We could do homework together and get you all caught up."

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds cool."

I was barely listening to Link. My mind was on Brittney and thinking about what kind of texts she's sent me today. Was it even Brittney? Maybe it was someone devout to her? Maybe it was her sibling or boyfriend? Maybe it wasn't anyone remotely related to Brittney.

Link poked me and I jumped. I looked at him.

"So, we're gonna hang out at your house?"

I nodded. Link smiled and we walked to our lockers. We got our coats and headed out. As we walked out of the school, I noticed Mr Young parked just beyond the buses. He was standing outside his car, looking at a phone with a light blue case. I sighed and rubbed my face.

"Great, Mr Young is here."

Link grinned. "Mr Young is great. He's really kind and is a great mechanic. My mom's car kept breaking down, and he fixed it everytime. She had a really huge bill, but he's letting her pay it off slowly. He's not even charging interest."

I nodded. "Cool."

We headed to the car. As we got closer, I noticed that the phone Mr Young was holding was mine. Mr Young looked up as we got closer and smiled at us.

"Hey," he said as he waved. "How was school?"

I shrugged. "It was okay, I guess."

Mr Young nodded and put my phone in his pocket. "You got some messages from the bullies. I've been talking it over with the principal and Amelia. We think we'll just get you a new phone, and let the police have this one. Hopefully, they'll be able to track down whoever is cyber bullying you."

I nodded and pointed my thumb at Link.

"Can Link come over and help me catch up? We were thinking of running lines and doing today's homework as well."

"I think that's a great idea."

Link fist pumped the air and got in the car. I got in the front seat. Mr Young looked at us as he got in.

"You guys will have to stay downstairs, just so I know there's no funny business. Doors remain open and such."

I looked at Mr Young with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "What do you think we're going to do? Everything will remain PG at all times. I would say everything will stay G rated, but I might swear at the math homework. I'm barely understanding it."

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page."

Mr Young laughed. Link shrugged and began writing something in a notebook. I just sat back and looked out the window as Mr Young drove us home.

When we got home, Link and I set up at the kitchen table, while Mr Young went to the garage. Link and I had just started working on math, when the phone rang.

"Hello," I asked as I picked up the phone.

"Hey." The voice sent chills of horror down my spine. "How have you been, little sister? Are you ready to come home yet?"

I felt my eyes go wide. My blood ran cold. I tried to think of something to say, but all that was running through my mind was "where is Justin?! RUN!"

"Right now, I'm stuck in the hospital, but in a few months, I should be able to get a house and move you two in. I hope you've been keeping out of trouble. If not, I'm the one in charge now, so I can discipline you however I want. We can be a family again."

I began to shake. My back and head hurt with phantom pains. Last time he was in charge, Justin got a scar on the corner of his eyes. Tears began rolling down my face as I remembered the amount of blood.

"Where did your no-nonsense attitude go? What happened to all those stupid quips and mouthing back you used to do? Have you finally realised that you're just a cowardly little girl? You can't change anything."

"Gabriella, are you okay?" Link's voice made me jump. "Should I go get someone?"

We looked at each other and I shook my head.

"Who's that? Doesn't sound like little baby Justin."

Link began walking away. I was frozen in terror.

"Don't hurt Justin." My voice was small and weak. I hated the sound of it.

"If he hasn't been a stupid idiot, and was good. I'll have no reason to punish him."

Mr Young took the phone out of my hands and put it to his ear. Link pulled me away and sat me down at the table.

"Who is this?" His tone was stern and fierce. Like he was angry. I hoped he wasn't angry at me. I guess he didn't get an answer, because he hung up seconds later. "Who was that," he asked me.

"Eric," I whispered. "He wanted to know if I was ready to go home, and if I'd been causing trouble."

Mr Young sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Go upstairs. I have to make a few calls."

I nodded and began gathering my things. Link gathered his stuff too.

"Wanna play a game on my laptop," Link asked. "Or I can go get my Switch and we can play Smash Brothers?"

All I did was nod. I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want my voice to sound weak again. Link grinned and ran out of the house. I carried our bags upstairs. As I was getting my homework out again, Link ran into my room with a black carrying case. There was a red and white Switch logo on it. He set it down and opened it up. Inside lay a Switch, with the controllers and some games.

Link set up Smash Brothers and I watched as he got everything set up. We played video games for the rest of the day, but my mind was on other things. If he got a hold of me, does that mean he called Justin? How was Justin feeling? I wished more than anything that I could hold him in my arms and beat Eric's butt.