The Night Tournaments

25 - Bree

~ One Day Later ~

When I woke up the morning after Halloween, my muscles were aching like crazy.

Well, yeah, I guess that that's what impromptu running from a creepy house containing a deranged man with a knife does to your body, I thought groggily as I willed myself to sit up in bed.

I had been shocked when I had coincidentally come across Flynn Armani late at night before going home . . . but at the same time, I hadn't really been thinking straight at the time. Did I even remember how he had reacted when he had found me? I was sure that he had sensed that something was off about my behavior, but he had probably refrained from asking too many questions.

What if I acted super weird? What if, after last night, he's decided that I'm a peculiar, ungrateful human being who can't even think coherently? I wondered doubtfully. 

Gosh, I didn't know why I was being so insecure right now. I was supposed to be the kind of person who was true to themself no matter what happened, and no matter what anyone else thought . . . wasn't I?

I sighed before heading to the washroom. I splashed cold water on my face to wake myself up, and that was when yet another unwelcome notion entered my mind.

. . . I wonder where Flynn was the entire time. Was he with the rest of our friends? He just disappeared into thin air when the neighborhood parade split us up . . . and when he did bump into me later on, I was pretty much a complete mess.

I knew that it wasn't his fault that he hadn't, well . . . been there when I had faced the life-threatening incident; of course it wasn't. And I was fully aware that it was beyond selfish to expect that he would always be next to me whenever something important or dangerous happened. But . . . had he really never thought to call? Or text? Not even once?

Ah, whatever, I told myself dismissively as I rubbed my tired eyes. The only thing that I'm sure of is that Flynn doesn't have to learn about the surreal situation that Felix Wainscott and I ended up in. Because what's the point? Besides, knowing him . . . he probably has enough on his plate already.

"Bree! Did you have fun during Halloween?" Arielle Thatcher asked when she joined me in Spanish class in the morning.

"Oh, hey, Arielle!" I greeted, then hesitated. ". . . Uh, yeah, I did. What about you? It's sad that we got separated when that chaotic neighborhood parade thundered down on us."

My friend shook her head, sharply exhaling. "I know, right? That was crazy. But Archer and I had fun: we went to a haunted corn maze, unexpectedly met an adorable little girl to carve pumpkins with, and watched scary movies."

I blinked when I finished processing her words in my head. "Hold on . . . you and Archer? So . . . Flynn and Claude weren't with you guys?"

"Huh? Yeah, no, they weren't," Arielle replied, taken aback as well. "In fact, I assumed that you three were all together. I'm sorry, I should have contacted at least one of you . . ."

"It's fine - we're all alive, aren't we?" I attempted to joke, smiling ruefully.

Well, in my case: barely, a voice in my head whispered.

But all things aside . . . what I had just learned from Arielle was that she and Archer had moved independently from Flynn and Claude. Which meant that those two had either been together, or had split up as well. I guessed that I would ask Claude about it during lunch.