The Starling Saviour

Chapter 8

I just stood there, stunned. On the Island, I could always fight my enemy or run from danger. At least I could of reacted. I could have done that. But instead, I was frozen to the spot.

I thought Tommy loved me. I thought he was my boyfriend. But instead, he had decided to hurt me in a very big way. He couldn't undo what he had done. There was no going back.

I was never going to forgive Tommy Merlyn.

'Aria?' Laurel spoke up, obviously noticing my sudden change in mood. 'Have I... Said something?'

Did she know? Did she know that Tommy and I were together, or so I thought? Or had Tommy simultaneously cheated on us both, leaving us none the wiser until this moment. Laurel knew I loved Tommy, being his girlfriend before I boarded the Queen's Gambit, but now she thought I had also moved on. Boy, she was wrong.

All that last year, I had kept going by thinking about how Tommy would be waiting for me, that he still loved me. I guess I was wrong. He couldn't love me if he could do this to me. He had just used me for his own pleasure, not thinking about my feelings, or Laurel's for that matter.

I didn't know what to say. Did I tell Laurel that Tommy had cheated on her, or did I keep quiet and let them lead a happy life together? I couldn't just shove this matter aside. I couldn't stand for it. If I had any morals left from being on the Island, one of them was that I needed to be truthful for once in my life. I had lied too many times, and this was the chance to redeem myself.

Then when did I tell her? I couldn't burst into anger in front of the whole congregation. I needed to talk to her after everyone left. A little parting gift for Tommy.

But I couldn't control my anger. I was too upset, too out of control, as if someone had pulled a trigger in my heart.

'Tommy said he loved me!' I exclaimed angrily, just so no one else but Laurel could hear me. 'He told me he was my boyfriend!'

I probably should have handled how I spoke to Laurel better, but I was too angry at Tommy. Unfortunately, it seemed like Laurel was the one I was annoyed at.

'Tommy and I have been together for almost a year!' Laurel answered back, slightly louder than me. 'We're a couple!'

'Well, I hate to break it to you, but he cheated on you!' I raised my voice, causing a few people nearest to us start to stare and wonder what on earth was going on. 'We were on a date last night!'

'Don't you dare take him away from me!' Laurel shouted, causing even more commotion. 'He will never love you. He didn't care about you when you went missing! He couldn't care less if you had been found dead.'

Tears streaming down my face, I saw Tommy at the back of the crowd slipping out of the room, realising the mess he was in. That was it. I was going after him. We had unfinished business.

Did Laurel know how badly she had hurt me? Those words she had used, the sentences she had formed, were so poisonous that they made me feel physically sick. It was as if I was a stranger to her. But then again, even a stranger didn't deserve a death wish.

Running out the room in a sense of urgency and a new found hatred to not only Tommy but Laurel, I seeked him out. Like I used to hunt my prey on the Island, I listened out for Tommy's footsteps or a slight sound of movement coming from a certain direction. He didn't know what he had coming for him.