The Players' Game

Part 14 || New Demon ||

I have this blatant desire of not doing anything... someone save me

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Nodus Tollens is the realisation that the plot of your life doesn't make sense to you anymore.

Of course I had to end up in the hospital the moment I set my sights on Chase. Of course he had to show when my guard was down and I was actually having fun for the first time in a long time that year.

My day started out better than normal. I had my first decent sleep in a while and my pillows weren't drenched in sweat or tears. Thrilled, I called Nicole to share the good news and Richard yelling in the background for us to celebrate.

The hallways were unusually quiet that day. It seemed as if everything from the glare of the trophies to the constant sexual tension had toned down. Megan and her friends skipped school, Ms Devon did not start complaining at the council meeting, classes were as boring as ever.

I felt happy.

I expected Friday evenings to be a lot more hectic, that is why I often spend it reading a novel in my dorm room. That was why I paid no mind to the unusually overflowing number of red and blue blazers wandering around town and expensive cars rounding every corner I walked.

I gave two of my best friends a hug. Somewhere along the line, Richard ended up with both of us clinging on each of his side like koalas while he marched to the ice cream parlour. The boy who worked there looked at us like we were crazy and in response, Nicole spoke loudly, "The crazy live longer and wilder, honey."

"Does length matter?" the boy asked and I stifled a laugh.

Nicole winked at him, brushing her hand with his as she took her ice cream. "The longer the better."

We exploded in fits of laughter once we were a safe distance away.

That was when I caught whiff of his scent. There was no mistaking it, the smell of musk and power exuding from one's pores. It was a scent exclusive to Chase, a scent I once loved.

So I whipped my head around, the laugh dying inside of me as my eyes poured over the scattered bodies but I didn't need to look long. Chase loved grand entrances, he knew how to make himself known.

There was a loud crash. Where he once stood, broken pieces of porcelain lay alongside the body of a biker and his flat tire. Chase faked that puzzled look on his face as he bent, helping the boy up with a toothless smile. Girls stopped around them practically drooling. Damn, three years did him good.

When he stood, I noted how his hair was still as dark as ever, his olive skin glowing under the night lights. In his hand he held a white rose, his gaze burning into mine. I gulped, my hand frantically opening and closing.

Nicole moved quickly, pushing me behind her and glared at him openly and people looked at us, trying hard to figure out what exactly was going on.

"My rose." He said with a lopsided smile. Even though he was too far away for me to hear him, my stomach still churned. At the same time, Nicole called my name.

My phone rang, displaying Valerio's ID.

Some might say love doesn't actually hurt and I can't help but agree. It doesn't hurt save the minor shocks of your clenching heart when you love someone so much you don't regret it.

Now my heart burned. My heart burned and I didn't know what to do but heave.

My legs fell beneath me and I gasped as my knees met gravel. Soon, the ice cream from before was on the patch of grass. The people around me looked on and did nothing except Nicole who rubbed my back and held my hair back.

"Leave, Chase." Richard growled.

His smile was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.