Blood Money (1) | The Inheritance Games

XLIX. begin again

"I watched it begin again"

 I was awoken this morning to the information that I'm attending the game of a football team Avery owns. I'm not entirely sure what team, or what football actually entails — but Maja and Avery'll both be there so hopefully it won't be too unpleasant. 

My hair's slicked back into a high ponytail, my brown hair straightened smoothly and hitting my mid back with the fresh extensions added last night. I'm wearing a denim halter neck paired with matching low waisted jeans. My sunglasses are dark, covering the simple makeup I'm wearing. My mini purse barely even fits my phone and lipgloss inside it, but I carry it anyway because it fits well with the outfit.

Maja's wearing similar, but hers is a strapless denim tube top with a denim skirt to match. We convinced our stylists to sidebar. 

Walking into the stadium with Maja on my left and Xander on my right, I'm half blinded by the cameras instantly snapping pictures of us. 

"What do you have to say to the rumours of yours and Noah's split?" Someone calls over the crowds. 

"Is it true you cheated on him?" Someone else yells. 

"Was the relationship just publicity to begin with?" Someone shouts.

I've spent enough time in the public eye to know that there's a difference between questions from paparazzi who are fans and questions from paparazzi who are your enemies. And the key is to never give either of their answers. 

I remain stone faced as I walk through the crowds being parted manually by my security guard. 

"I dunno about the rest but the sex was definitely real."

That alone makes me falter. I whip around to face him so fast I nearly get whiplash. I scan him up and down, dishevelled and scruffy with stubble on his chin I wasn't aware he could even grow. 

Before Noah can open his mouth again, Xander wraps a brotherly arm around him, half leading - half dragging him inside. 

"Sorry about that." I mumble to the paparazzi who most definitely don't deserve my apology.

The second we're all inside with nobody around to see, all our polite smiles drop and we all march towards the suite, Xander letting go of Noah. 

"The fuck was that?" I hiss, insecurely folding my arms over my chest. "Was that not true?" He asks. "Silence would've done just fine." Xander scolds. 

"Forgive me for being polite." He stumbles up the stairs. 

"Are you drunk?" I ask in disbelief. "No." He answers firmly. "You fucking are." I decipher. "Mind your own fucking business! If I were drunk you'd know about it cause." He snarls, stepping a little too close for Xander's liking. "Chill out." My younger brother mumbles, pushing him to the side just a little, not aggressive or angry but still firm. 

"Fuck off Xander." Noah yells, walking towards the opposite side of the suite reserved by just us. 

"Who invited him?" I hiss. "I did." Xander answers. 

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, turning to Maja. "Fuck knows. He's been like this since you broke up." She tells me. 

"But he ended things." I emphasise. "I dunno if it's about the breakup, Spence." Xander pats my back. "How can I date a guy for months and still not know the last thing about what's going on with him. I mean all those bruises.. is he sick? I searched it up and unexplained bruising can sometimes be linked to illnesses." I ramble.

They just shrug. "Do you guys not care about him?" I furrow my brows at their lack of reaction. I see Maja flinch like I just shot her. Xander sighs, nodding away from me to Maja. The two of them walk away from me.

I sigh, sinking into the seat and watching the walkouts of both of the teams. I can see people further down the stands turning around to get photos of me and pushing up posters.

People either hate me passionately or love me passionately. Between that there's just indifference. But anyone who hates me does it with enthusiasm, they dedicate half their life to hating me. And those who love me are avidly obsessed. So people either hold up signs saying 'I named my cat after you' or they boo whenever I move. 

The game starts and I find myself sitting at a great distance from the others. Whether by chance or choice, everyone has assumed their seats on the opposite side of the box as me. 

That is until a body sinks into the seat beside me. No words are said. We're just consumed by the silence as we watch the game. I see Avery slip away close to half time, followed by Grayson. I see Maja and Jameson sit beside one another by the bar. And then moments later I hear yelling, followed by Maja grabbing her bag and leaving, followed by Xander jogging after her to make sure she got home okay. 

But beside me, Noah stays silent, staring numbly at the game. 

I carefully reach out, placing my hand over his lacerated knuckles. He flinches at the contact initially, but then he moves to intertwine our fingers. He shifts in his seat in an attempt to relax a little more. 

He finally turns his head to look at me. Our eyes meet and for a moment — just a moment I see something in him. Something behind the current cold exterior he's hiding behind, behind the nice-boy I dated. I see something that goes so much deeper. I see what I'm certain I've never seen before. I see a breakage. Not the kind of brokenness when he has panic attacks. It's something different. It's not just a temporary pain. It's like in that moment I look right through him. Right past his facade, right past his flesh, right through to his heart. And I catch just the slightest glimpse at the heart utterly ripped in half. The heart that has given so much, finally being sucked dry. 

But then it's gone. He's gone. 

A bright green flash overtakes his cheeks, the glow of fireworks gleaming on him. And a bang of the dynamite. I don't take my eyes off him when I hear it. But his whole demeanour changes. He flinches hard, his body jumping just a little.

Instinctively he drops my hand and pushes to his feet, methodically marching himself out of the box and leaving. 

The moment's over. But the tingling in my hand remains. The brief touch lingers on my body in the same way every touch of his remains. Every single brush of his finger. Every single caress. Every single beat of his heart coursing through my body straight to my core. I remember knowing his body like it was mine. I remember him knowing mine.

We shared a moment. It was short lived. But it was enough. It was enough to give me hope. It gave me a reason to believe that we still hold chance. 

I watched us jump back to square one. And I didn't even mind. I didn't care that we lost what we built, because I'm ready to rebuild it, brick by brick. I'm ready to watch us begin again, if that's what it takes.