Free A Proscriptive Relationship by Jordan Lynde Page B

gangster picked up the bat the unconscious one had dropped. Was he really going to bring a weapon into the fight again when Mr. Heywood didn’t have one?
    “ A bat won’t help you,” Mr. Heywood stated, rolling his eyes. “Hell, even if you had a gun, it still wouldn’t help you.”
    The gangster swung at Mr. Heywood. I winced as I heard it collide with his arm. When I opened my eyes, I expected to see him holding his arm in pain, but to my surprise he was smirking at the gangster.
    “ What did I tell you?”
    Suddenly the bat was yanked from the other gangster and before I knew it, he was on the ground. Mr. Heywood cracked his knuckles and brushed off his hands before stretching.
    He turned towards me, and his smug face turned to shock.
    Did he forget I was here? He started sprinting towards me, his hands in fists again. I looked curiously at him. Why was he charging at me? He got closer and brought up his fist. I let out a startled yelp, putting up my hands in defense.
    To my surprise, his swinging fist missed. Or that’s what I thought at first. I heard it smashing against something, and looked over my shoulder to see the gangster I had kicked earlier falling to the ground behind me. I turned back to Mr. Heywood, my face white. He glared at me, putting his hand firmly on my shoulder.
    “ Ow!” I cried, pulling his arm away. “That hurts!”
    “ What are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice seething with anger.
    “ I saw you with those two suspicious-looking men so I followed you!” I explained quickly, still pulling at his arm. “Mr. Heywood, that really hurts!”
    He let go of my shoulder, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you.”
    “ What did I do?” I demanded angrily. “If I wasn’t here, you could have been killed!”
    “ I’m fine on my own!” he snapped. “But look at you.” He raised a hand to my face and touched it gently.
    I gave him a confused look and when he pulled his hand away, there was blood on it. Surprised, I raised my own hand to my cheek, and sure enough something warm and sticky was on it. Nausea washed over me, and I staggered forward, suddenly dizzy. Mr. Heywood quickly steadied me, putting his hands on my shoulder again—this time more gently.
    “ Are you okay?” he asked in a worried voice. “Did that bastard do anything else to you?”
    I shook my head. “No, I’m just not good with blood.”
    “ Why did you follow us?” Mr. Heywood asked still supporting me. “Holly, you don’t follow quote, unquote, suspicious-looking men.”
    “ I thought something bad was going to happen to you,” I responded in a small voice, dropping my gaze.
    “ That doesn’t give you reason to follow gangsters into the woods! Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t noticed you when I did?”
    “ You would have been beaten by a baseball bat!”
    “ You could have been kidnapped!” Mr. Heywood cried, irritation dripping in his tone. “Or worse, if you understand what I mean.”
    I knew what he meant immediately and I bit my lip. Yeah, I knew it wasn’t a smart idea. But I didn’t want to let him just go alone. He could have been killed! “I didn’t know you were serious about being an ex-gangster,” I admitted, pushing Mr. Heywood’s arms off me. “I thought you were joking, so I would have never guessed something like this would happen.”
    “ Something like this happens all the time, Holly,” he responded, shaking his head. “It’s because I left so suddenly.”
    “ Left?”
    “ The gang,” he told me.
    I frowned slightly. “Why did you leave?”
    “ I’ll explain it later,” Mr. Heywood responded, looking around warily. “First let’s get out of here before these guys wake up.”
    I nodded in agreement and Mr. Heywood started leading me back through the woods. I stepped over the body of the gangster who was trying to sneak attack me and made sure to tread on his face. Mr. Heywood chuckled slightly.
    “ You’re so