WATTPAD FEATURED NOV 2020 AND OCT 2021 - FROM OUR STARS LIST
WATTPAD MULTICULTURAL FEATURED SEP 2022 - AUSTRALIAN WHISPERERS READING LIST
It's difficult to save someone who doesn't want saving, particularly when they're lying to you.
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Claudia and...
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"Claude, are you alright?"
Lewis's voice drags me from my thoughts and I glance up at him. We'd been dancing for a few songs now, swaying and swinging with the rhythm, and I'd been trying to convince myself I was enjoying it. You were supposed to enjoy dancing at balls, after all.
But instead, my eyes kept drifting to the courtyard door, to the fairy lights beyond.
"Of course, I am. I..."
Lewis raises an eyebrow, his expression unconvinced, and I swallow down the denial.
"No. I'm not. Sorry, I think I need to go check on Jake. I feel bad for leaving him."
Lewis pulls me into a hug.
"Then you should," he says. "Do you want me to come?"
"No, I'll go on my own. It's probably better that way. I'll be back in a second."
I dart off before he can say anything else, determined to find Jake and Aleisha and fix things as quickly as possible, but when I enter the courtyard, it's empty.
I glance around, searching the corners, but Jake or Aleisha aren't anywhere.
"Jake?" I call, moving further into the yard and peering out at the oval, at the darkness beyond the lights. "Aleisha? Are you guys there?"
No one responds, and I'm thinking I should turn back and see if they went back inside when I spot a tall silhouette leaning against the gym wall. A small circle of light hovers in the silhouette's hand, moving up and down as they drag and then breathe out smoke.
"Jake, is that you?" I ask. "Where's Aleisha gone?"
"Sorry, Claude, try again."
The voice pulls me up short, but then a car drives past and the flash of headlights illuminates the silhouette's face.
"Harper. What are you doing out here?"
He peels away from the wall and takes another drag. "What does it look like?"
"Aren't you meant to be with Emmy?"
He's quiet for a moment, and then he lets out a low hum. "I suppose I am. I made her angry, though."
"How?"
"I brought up the fact that our relationship is more masturbatory than I'd been hoping."
I grimace and step back. "Ugh, god. Okay, whatever. Have you seen Jake and Aleisha? They came out here fifteen minutes ago."
"Nah, haven't seen either of them."
"Great," I mutter, pulling my phone out of my bag and trying Jake's number.
It rings through and goes to voicemail.
"They're probably inside," Harper offers.
"Thank you. That's very helpful."
I call Aleisha next, my heart rate picking up when she doesn't answer either.
"I need to find them," I say, starting back towards the hall.
Harper sighs and drops his cigarette, stumping it on the ground.
"Okay, I suppose I can help. I bet they're off somewhere making out, though—"
A yell slices through the night, cutting Harper's sentence in two, and we turn, peering at the oval.
The silence that follows is deafening and I take a step forward.
"Jake, are you there?"
The night is quiet, and then the voice comes again, this time joined by another. Both are rising in volume, growing angry, and Harper and I move towards them, our steps quickening the closer we get.
As we round the corner of the gym, I notice the door propped open, and when I walk inside and see who's standing there, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washes over me.
Because once, just once, when I get a bad feeling, I wish it wouldn't be right.
Matt is in front of Jake, Aleisha hovering behind them, and when he looks up at me, his expression is ugly.
"Hey Claude," he says, his voice raspy. "Long time, no see."
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