The Players' Game

Part 15 || Strangers||

i'm late

Y'all scare me. I went to sleep with 1.1K now and woke up to 1.5K plus the 12 people who have added this story to their reading lists last week

I'm scared, I'm scared that I won't be able to control the plot, I'm scared of things getting too boring, I'm scared I'll lose sight of the ending I had in mind

Nevertheless, thank you for staying and for the votes. They make my day, honestly.

Loves, Audrey

==========

The hospital lights seemed to blind me so I turned them off.

I found myself curling into a ball, knees tucked into my chest and my chin touching my knees because I felt something, the premonition of a very self-destructive feeling, therefore I made myself into a ball. My imaginations ran wild, I was made of steel, my walls so tall, cemented by self-confidence, that it was impossible for anyone to break them down.

'The girl is malnourished, Richard.' I heard his mother, the head paediatrician of the hospital, say beyond the drawn curtains because they thought I was asleep. 'It also seems like she hasn't been getting enough sleep lately. We'll need to keep her here for a night or two, until her condition stabilises.'

I sigh, hating the gnawing guilt in my stomach even more because I could visualise the worried expression on Nicole's face.

How wonderful would it be if I had wings. I'd be able to take off at any moment, away from this town and away from the haunting history that holds me down. Soon, in nine months, I'd be able to do just that, to move away from this town and forget that wretched school and everything would end up a memory. Someday, it might be possible to laugh at everything. Someday, it might be possible for me to say 'I survived' and it won't be a lie.

A crack of light appeared amidst the darkness and I pay it no mind until I saw that the shadow resembled the silhouette of a man, making me tense. No, he shouldn't be able to trace me here. There are plenty of other hospitals in the district. Then again, Chase had always been smart and dangerously cunning.

I roll myself up even more, barely breathing. Perhaps if I pretended that I was asleep, he would go away.

The shadow took a step.

I clenched my teeth, trying to steady my breathing. I cannot hyperventilate, I cannot show weakness. Hold your feelings back, April.

Another step

I closed my eyes, praying that he would go away.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and I find myself shaking. Why? Why would he come all the way here? Is seeing me pale and sickly and enjoyment to him? Does he get off the feeling of being superior?

"April..." the man said and I jolted, my eyes forced open as the realisation sets that it is not Chase but instead the deep baritone of Joshua's voice. My body relaxed, a long breath leaving my body as relief flooded through me. "Why are you crying?" he asks the question softly and I find myself tense once more. This feels wrong, this does not feel like the usual Joshua. His coldness and indifference towards women is the reason I tolerate him. The usual Joshua does not console anyone but himself.

"Go away." I find myself saying, unable to move. "I've had enough embarrassment for one day."

He chuckled, the sound making something within me snap and suddenly, I am sitting upright, hands clutching the sheets staring indignantly at his face lit dimly by the crack of light from the corridor.

"Am I a joke to you? Did you turn into an idiot in the few days I haven't seen you? I said it once and I'm not going to repeat myself. Go away."

He smiles and moves to close the door. He does not turn the lights on but instead sits himself at the edge of my bed in the dark.

He stretches his hand out, resting it over mine.

I don't move away.

"I've said this to you once, and I'll say it again. I don't like it when you cry. You're not April unless you're smiling."

"What are you talking about—"

"I'm here, April. I'm here. It's okay for you to cry. Don't you ever think that crying makes you weak, okay?"

We stay in that position for the longest time, hearts pounding, me constantly thinking about how warm the skin of his hands felt touching mine and soon, I find tears falling from my eyes like a silent waterfall. My chest constricted and my heart felt pained, I do not make a noise and Joshua does not move.

When I finally fall asleep, I find myself running in a very foggy dream, almost like a memory. I am clutching the hands of a boy I do not know, a tingling warmth of familiarity of his touch the only thing that makes me think that maybe I've met this boy somewhere far away in a life where I was happy.