The Hurt Game

❧ four

Whatever I had thought when I agreed to the offer, I had no clue. Because now I was a jittery mess. I didn't know what to say, or how to act or what to do. My nerves sent my insides into mush. My heart was beating in my throat and it was so loud in my ears I was ninety-nine percent convinced he could hear it.

My eyes were fixated on the person in front of me, almost in a trance yet I absorbed the multiple tattoos that were visible on his arms. Above his elbow was a rose, beneath was a large crown and underneath the crown up to his hand was another rose drawn in his skin. His hand carried the letters "A.I.C." and I assumed they were initials.

From his mother? Father perhaps? Sibling? Or does he have a girlfriend?

My gaze caught his. My breath halted in my throat as my eyes widened and a blush covered my cheeks. He smirked at me, watching me check him out. He was clearly enjoying this.

I cleared my throat and looked at my coffee as my hands wrapped around the cup. I took a tentative sip yet my tongue was still slightly burned by the hot drink.

"Take a photo. It will last longer," Royden spoke up.

My heartbeat skipped once while the blood rushed to my cheeks. I licked my lips and inhaled through my nose, releasing through my mouth. I lifted my head and met his gaze steadily, but I felt far from confident. Instead I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

"You're looking back, aren't you now? So..." I trailed off. Words were failing me and it didn't help with the lack of confidence I was already feeling. I took a deep breath as his eyebrows rose on his forehead and his gaze didn't falter away from me. "You've been staring too."

The corners of his lips twitched into a larger smirk and a small sound that sounded a lot like a chuckle erupted from his lips, but he swallowed it down. His eyes lingered while he blinked, keeping them shut for a second longer before they locked on mine again. He leaned back in his seat nonchalantly.

"Can't deny I haven't. There is much... to look at," he confessed. His eyes dropped down to my torso, lingering on my boobs for a moment before they trailed towards my hands and back up to my face.

I gasped and covered my boobs with arms while sitting up straighter. The audacity of this boy!

"Excuse me." My eyes were widened and my lips were parted while he continued to look at me with that stupid smirk on his lips. "You have no right to stare at my... private areas. All I did, was study your-your tattoos. I bet many girls have."

The smirk fell from his face. Royden stared at me with a blank stare, an empty yet intense look engulfing his eyes. The gaze intensified.

Chills ran down my spine. Goosebumps rose on my skin. My insides were turned into a puddle. Never in my entire life had I seen someone look so... troubled? Terrified? What even was going on?

"What?" Royden questioned. His voice was monotone, empty of emotion like it had never been there.

What the heck was going on?

I opened my mouth to reply, to say something, but he was quicker than me, already speaking. "What did say you? Are you implying... I sleep with any girl I meet on the street? Use them for my own pleasures?"

My heart fell into my stomach as my throat closed up. My breath hitched in my throat. My hands were clasped together tightly, my nails digging into my palms. I shook my head a little and opened my mouth, but no word came out.

All this time, he was still staring ahead of him. His gaze was empty of any kind of expression and I couldn't imagine what was going on behind them, in his mind. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to know.