I Got Addicted To A Losing Game - Mattheo Riddle

⤑ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 5: ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀɢʟᴏᴡ

Esmeralda had found solitude within the dorm, choosing to lay on her bed for at least the past 20 minutes.

Daphne had left to talk to her sister about something, and Pansy had gone to find Draco, wanting to talk to him.

That left Esme alone, surrounded by a deafening silence. Doing nothing except gaze at the ceiling. Drifting within a sea of nothingness.

Her efforts to avoid both Riddle and Theo had been successful, managing to evade Theodore for a full week and Riddle for three days so far.

Esme was reluctant to engage with either of them, and it seemed to be the only viable solution.

The silence that had once enveloped the dorm was abruptly broken by the sound of the dorm door creaking. Esme's body tensed, wariness overtaking her as she recognized that neither of her roommates should be back so quickly.

Clearly her evasion tactics were short-lived, as Theodore barged into the dormitory unannounced.

Settling himself beside her on the bed, Theo's eyes were fixed upon her, an unreadable expression on his face. Esme felt a feeling of trepidation at his intrusion, knowing exactly why he was here.

It was as if he had a million questions, yet held his tongue. His features giving away his inner struggle as he gazed at Esmeralda silently.

"You've been avoiding me," He stated, his frustration and worry palpable.

Esme was taken aback by the bluntness of his words. Opening her mouth to retaliate, only to snap it shut after a moment.

There was no denying that she'd been actively distancing herself from him. She knew his words were truthful.

Theo's eyes had a mixture of emotions swirling in them, hurt, confusion, and something else that Esme couldn't quite place.

She sighed silently before choosing to go with the truth. "I know." Esme confessed, her voice quieter than she'd expected, betraying her once hidden emotions.

Silently, she'd known that as time went on, this would happen eventually. Avoiding Theo was just a temporary fix.

Nonetheless, Esme had held onto a glimmer of hope that she could somehow outrun the inevitable confrontation for months.

Except fate had decided otherwise, leading her directly to this very moment she'd sought to escape. Leaving her exposed and vulnerable.

Theodore spoke up, his voice wavering as he uttered, "Why Es?"

The slight waver in his words caught Esme off-guard, a painful reminder of the hurt she'd inflicted upon him. Only now realizing the magnitude of her actions.

She'd understood that her tactic would end up hurting Theo to an extent, given their decade long friendship. But as Esme sat here beside him, his features conveying just how deeply her behaviour had affected him. It struck her that her choice to avoid him was the worst idea she'd ever had.

A wave of regret crashed over Esmeralda, as she instinctively sank her teeth into her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry Teddy, I..." She began before trailing off, her voice shaky as she searched for the right words to express the complexity of her emotions.

Mindlessly, she picked at a loose thread on her jeans. A silent struggle waging within her.

Esme's mind was a tumultuous whirlwind of confusion, her thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind.

The pressure to provide Theo with an explanation loomed largely in her mind. She knew that he deserved an explanation, a window into the web of emotions that had driven her actions.