A Life to be Loved

~ Chapter 49 ~

- Lilith - 

I could only respond with silence. My breath felt shallow. My throat felt dry. My heart broke as his face fell, Cedric's expression only worsening as the quiet continued. Somehow, I finally breathed in enough air to speak.

 "No, Cedric, I mean..." I let out a sigh. "Yes! I will be your girlfriend, I'd love to." I attempted to match his smile, but it felt hollow. 

Cedric's arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his chest. "Thank you, Lilith. I swear I won't fuck this up." I grinned half-heartedly, returning his embrace. 

Why wasn't I excited about this? Dating him was the whole reason I had given Cedric a second chance, but now, everything felt forced. It might've been the alcohol in my system. It might've been how overwhelming the Ball was. It might've even been how heavy my dress was.

But, it was more likely that a certain dark-haired man was the cause of my unease. 

"I know you won't." I managed to mumble back. Because I wasn't scared of him destroying this. I was afraid I would. 

Somehow, we had gone from hugging to kissing, and then from kissing to making out against a wall. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

- Mattheo - 

 My arms were wrapped around some girl...Emilia? We were both naked, in my bed. Shit. If I ever wanted to win back Lilith, the first thing I shouldn't do was fuck some stranger. After untangling myself from the girl's arms, I attempted to shower the sex smell off my skin. The girl had ran from my dorm by the time I left the bathroom. 

I was startled from my thoughts by a repetitive banging on my window. One of my father's crows. I threw the window open, taking the letter. He never sent me letters. it had to be an emergency. 

Son -

Merry Christmas.

I reread the message again. And again. What was going on? 'Merry Christmas' wasn't a code for anything. Was the Lord Voldemort actually sending greeting cards? Deciding it was the safest option, I scribbled a note. 

Father -

Merry Christmas. 

- M

The crow flew away with the envelope, its beak full of treats. I collapsed back onto my bed, trying to think of anything that I had done to warrant such a letter. My father had never sent me anything before, not even if there was an emergency. He had just made my Mark glow, which had always worked. 

Tucking the note into my pillow case, I strolled out of my room, but froze when I saw a man leaving Lilith's room. Specifically, a man named Cedric Diggory. He stank of sex, his hair tangled, and shirt unbuttoned. 

"Can I not leave my girlfriend's dorm anymore?" He asked, a smug smirk plastered on his face. The way he said 'girlfriend' made me think he saw it as a prize, not a relationship title.

I, however, ignored his words, and tried to walk down the hall calmly. Cedric's laugh echoed through the corridor, followed by the thud of his shoes as he caught up to me. 

"Can I help you, Diggory?" I asked, attempting to appear nonchalant.

"Nope. I'm just walking next to you." His tone was sharp and condescending.

"Cedric!" A familiar voice called out behind us.

- Lilith - 

What the fuck is Cedric doing with Riddle? 

I had told him explicitly that I didn't want him to speak to Riddle. Knowing the Slytherin, he would be unaffected, and Cedric's attempts to rile him up would just embarrass my boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Since when did I call him that? We were dating, but I hadn't expected to be as comfortable as I was with the term so quickly.  My mind flashed with the image of his hurt face looking down on me, as I stared at him in silence last night. I knew he still remembered that. 

"Hey, Lils." Cedric's easy smile and warm eyes almost made me forget how angry I was. It was a stark contrast to Riddle's glowering scowl. 

"You never woke me up." The words were mumbled, and I looked down as I said them. I didn't truly care about whether I was awake when he left, but I wanted him to be less full of himself. 

Cedric's face falls, and him mouth opened, probably to defend himself. But once I glanced at Riddle, my boyfriend's shoulders drooped, and he spoke. "I'm sorry, Lils. I'll make sure to wake you up next time."

"Thank you." I whispered. My fingers interlocked with his as he led me away, leaving Riddle to speak to Draco. 

As we made our way to the Great Hall, I kept thinking about our conversation in front of Riddle. Why had I wanted to stop Cedric's bragging? I shouldn't have cared, he was simply stating that we were dating. I wanted  him to know I was unavailable, that I had moved on, like he had. Even though I had never seen Riddle with Daphne at Hogwarts, I was sure they were fucking. Even though I had no evidence. Even though Draco had swore Riddle hadn't done anything with her of his own free will. Even though Daphne hadn't been seen at school for weeks.

In short, I wasn't sure of anything.

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Heyyyyyy! 

I don't know if any of you are following me, but if you are, you would've been expecting an update! So, follow me!

I really don't have a good reason for not updating, other than being mentally exhausted, but I don't think that counts. I don't think I updated since June, and I'm really sorry. 

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll try to update more frequently, but don't hold me to it.

Ya'll can get some extra x's because I feel bad.

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heheh...

Love ya!

This chapter had not been proof read.