His Violent Delight (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter XXIII: Stupid Little Deal

Something had happened last night. I didn't know what yet, but something definitely had happened.

I heard Draycie get out of bed, which wasn't unusual. She did it quite often, actually, but I never asked questions. I assumed she was meeting Abraxas in secret.

But last night something happened, and I was sure of it, because when she came back, she cried quietly into her pillow for what seemed like hours. I pretended to be asleep because she seemed to want to go unheard. This morning, she didn't even wake up for breakfast, even after Sabrina and I both called her.

At breakfast, we took a seat next to Francesco, who seemed unusually awkward.

"Good morning," I told Francesco and took a seat next to Orion, who barely acknowledged my presence.

"Hey, you," I said sweetly to Orion, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He didn't say anything back; he just nodded.

That's when I turned to the rest of the table and noticed that Isabella was as quiet as a mouse, much different from her usual catty self. Abraxas was as pale as a ghost, and Kylian and Evren looked shaken up. I then noticed Riddle sitting at a table further down the Great Hall. He was reading a book, unbothered, and drinking his coffee. This was quite odd to me, as Riddle usually sat with his "group"—the people closest to him, though I wouldn't go as far as to say they were his friends.

"Is everything alright?" I asked Orion, rubbing his back gently.

"Everything is fine," he said, removing my hand from his back.

"Did something happen to Draycie?" My heart was pounding out of my chest. Something terrible must have happened, and it must have all been Riddle's doing.

"Don't worry about it. It's none of your concern, Amelia," he replied, his jaw clenched. I had never heard him take on this tone before. It worried me. It reminded me of how people in my time acted when their loved ones were hurt, kidnapped, or dead.

Something really bad must have happened, and I wasn't there to stop it.

What did he do?

I hated Tom Riddle.

"Orion, what happened? Why is everyone acting so strange? I'm worried."

"I said don't worry about it," Orion snapped. Before I could say anything more, he got up from the table and stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving his plate completely untouched.

I wanted to run after him, but the look on everyone's face told me to stay seated.

"Let him be. He'll tell you when he's ready," Sabrina said, rubbing my arm gently.

"We should head to class," Francesco said to the table and proceeded to pull me up from my chair. "Don't want to be late."

As we walked out of the Great Hall, I couldn't help but notice Riddle's sinister smirk.

What had he done?

...

My classes seemed endless today, probably because I kept replaying the scenes from this morning. I kept thinking of Orion and the way he stormed out of the Great Hall. I could barely focus on my classes; the teachers' mouths moved silently, and time felt still.

Finally, I made it to my last class of the day: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

I slumped into my seat, more interested in watching the clock than in the spell we were supposed to be learning. Sabrina tried to keep me focused—nudging me with her elbow whenever she noticed my eyes glazing over—but even her efforts couldn't pull me out of my thoughts. Draycie's absence from all her classes had only worsened the knot in my stomach.