How to Survive Your 19th Life [BL]

Chapter 76: Burning Love

"Did I invite you?" Emiel asked, his voice hard. He had a certain mastery of words with Sylvia, but at that moment, it seemed to wane. I, feeling as awkward as ever, was not sure how to act, so I remained silent and still.

"Can you at least pretend to be happy to see us?" Estella snapped. Her septum piercing was different, large enough to almost touch her top lip. She stood between Sylvia and the weasel Stevan with Celestino and Brendon behind them. Seeing them all together like this, rocking in incredibly different but stylish aesthetics, they looked like a rock band version of The Breakfast Club.

"I asked you if I had to worry about this guy and you told me no," Sylvia said. A breeze carried her long blonde hair in front of her face, sticking to her red glossed lips and tearstained cheeks.

Emiel looked at me. His face was different. His eyes leveled heavily on my face, paying close attention to my eyes and lips, but his own mouth was tight, and his jaw tensed. A storm brewed inside him; I could tell.

"That was before I realized how special he was," Emiel said to her.

"And when was that?" I asked. I tried to go for a teasing voice, but my voice cracked.

"When you told me you loved me," Emiel told me, looking at me as if I already knew. I did, mostly. And I cursed myself again for saying those fucking words.

"Look at me!" Sylvia suddenly shouted.

My gaze snapped to her, but Emiel didn't even flinch. He slowly peered at her with the confidence of a king.

Snotting and crying, she continued, "Freshman and sophomore year were so fun, Em. I've loved you since I met you and I've always done everything you said. I fucked the homeless man for your entertainment. You told me not to cry, and I didn't. Not even when you sent the video to my mom. Not even when I had to get that shot to clear up my syphilis."

Shock heaved through me. I looked at Emiel with wide eyes. I couldn't help it. I'd never heard such things before, from anyone. This was the same woman I saw him fucking silly when I briefly lived with him. She clung onto him like a leach, often to my chagrin. This was who I was worried about.

"That's your own fault," Emiel countered. His voice was level, heavy. "You've never told me no. Not once. I never had to convince you to do anything or manipulate you into it. It's not my fault you jump when I tell you to jump."

"Because I love you, Em... please."

"Jump."

Sylvia let out a miserable sound but jumped for him like a well-trained dog. She then fell to her hands and knees and continued to wail. Estella was at her side immediately, rubbing her back.

"You know why she's like this, Emiel," Stevan said.

"Tell me, weasel... Did you not fuck Sylvia because you believed her to be mine?"

Steven's mouth snapped shut.

Emiel laughed. He sounded evil. "If you'd asked me, I would have told her to fuck you. I know you steal her dirty panties to jerk off to."

"Stop it," Brandon snapped, stepping forward. "I'm fine leaving you and him to your own devices, Em. Just say the word and the OC is disbanded. You clearly don't need us anymore."

"I didn't cry, Em." Sylvia was still going on and on through her ravenous tears. "I didn't cry. I was a good girl. You told me no to cry and I didn't."

"You all are ruining my date," Emiel said. He stood. They all backed up, except for Sylvia, as though afraid he would... kill them. It appeared that I wasn't the only person who understood what he was capable of. "All I want is to be here with Solomon. All I want is to go to school with Solomon. You are all ruining that. Were we friends? Yes, but I have Solomon now, so I don't want to share an ounce of my attention with any one of you. Please go."

Brandon grabbed Stevan and Celestino's wrists to pull them away as he began walking back towards the school. Estella helped Sylvia up from her pitiful stance at the ground. Sylvia wretched away from her and rushed to Emiel, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

He sighed through his nose. "I'm tired of playing with you now, Sylvia."

"What am I supposed to do now?" she cried, her big bright eyes meeting his.

Emiel leaned down as though he were going to kiss her, but instead whispered in her ear, "Kill yourself."

Sylvia dropped her arms like that of a puppet with its strings cut. Estella grabbed her shoulders and led her away.

When Emiel sat back down with me, I said, "Aren't you nervous she will actually do it? Since, you know, she does everything you say?"

"Oh, I know she will. As I said, I'm tired of playing with her."

"What about me?"

Emiel gazed at me as though I'd grown a third head.

"Would you get sick of playing with me?"

"You aren't a plaything, Sol. You're the love of my life."

I nodded. I understood he felt that way, even to the point of becoming homicidal. Emiel was not a good person. I guess I should have known that from the beginning. He was good to me, until he wasn't.

"Why did you tell Sylvia to do those things?" I remembered in one of my lives that Emiel even told Sylvia to have sex with the security guard and she did, without question.

Emiel shrugged. "For me, it's like talking to Alexa or Siri."

"And if she dies?"

"Then I'll send her mom flowers."

With how good we were doing, I almost forgot how much Emiel scared me.