The Hart Game

Chapter Two

LUKE

It was like God was trying to punish me in more than one way. All of my afternoon classes were either with one Hart sibling, or both. And can I just say that it was pure torture. The classes I had with Christian were like two caged animals forced to just sit there and do nothing. When he walked into the classroom, without looking I could feel his glare. But the ones with Cassie, was even more torture. She didn't even glance my way, not even once. That got me even more on edge.

    It was the last class of the day, which was study hall. I mean what is the point of having study hall as a class when it is just like a free period. But it is not a free period since we still have to check in with the librarian, which I still don't get. Anyways, back to the topic. I'm sitting in the library for study hall and thankfully, Frost, Jesse and Cameron are all in the same study hall as me but unfortunately the Hart gang is here. That's what I decided to call them.

    I mean during the course of the afternoon, all I got were glares and wary stares from everyone that I passed in the hallways. From the rumors going around I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be dead right now or halfway across the pacific. It's only my first day and I'm the most known person, first on the Christian Hart Hit list. Great, just damn great!

    "Wanna go to Aces after school?" I was put out of my thoughts with Jesse's question.

    "Whats Aces?"

    "A hangout spot for high schoolers." Frost mumbles from across the table still looking at his book writing down notes.

    "What type of hangout?"

    "Its like a 50's style diner/cafe." Jesse explains. I found myself nodding in agreement, so I text my mom to tell her that she doesn't need to pick me up and that I most likely won't be in for dinner. It wasn't long before there was a reply that just said to have fun and that she loves me and happy that I had made a friend. I had to roll my eyes on that part. When I texted back that I loved her too I decided to explore this library.

    The Library is three stories high and stacked with a ton of books. From fiction to historical, adventure to teen romance. I'm not one to read a lot, but if I come across a good mystery book, then I'm game. As I made my way to the third floor I realized that it is more isolated up here. There are a few tables that are mainly in the back, good for privacy. I was making my way back to the front, something caught the corner of my eyes. Curiosity getting the best of me, I decide to check it out. As I got closer I realized that it was someone sitting alone in the back of the library away from everybody else. What got me surprised was that it was Cassie who was sitting alone reading. But what peaked my interest was the book she was reading. Tears of a Tiger. The story of a star basketball player losing his best friend in a car crash and he blames himself for the crash. The struggles that Andy goes through of losing his best friend, his brother, is much like mine. But Kyle was my actual brother. At that moment a memory comes to me, as clear as day.

    Me and Kyle were sitting in the kitchen doing homework. Well, me doing homework while he was just sitting there reading a book but I was thankful that he was keeping me company. Mom and dad were having a date night that happens every other week. Suddenly Kyle says something out of nowhere that caught me off guard.

    "Promise me something. If for whatever reason I perish in a car crash and you blame yourself for whatever reason, can you promise me that it won't consume you?" Well that didn't sound good.

    "What in the world are you on about? You are kind of scaring me right now." I say putting my pencil down.

    "I'm sorry but this book got me thinking. It's about this kid, he was in a car crash with his best friend and he was driving. His friend died and he blamed himself for it."