Hollows In Time (✔️) | 'Hollows' Book Ⅱ

Chapter Sixty-Eight

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H o l l o w s I n
T I M E
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"When I said I'd see you here, I meant to like converse, not to carry your life's work in parcels." I complained, heaving through the next lot of boxes Toby was forcing me to carry.

"Hey, I can't carry the boxes if I'm adding confetti to the tables, can I?" A girl beside us laughed.

It was a spectacle, actually; the hot player sprinkled decorations like some mystical fairy, whilst I lugged around boxes half my weight.

"Okay, unbox that big one." He instructed.

I peered at the boxes and inwardly groaned. "They're all big," I said, deadpanned. "Which is why I've had a hard time collecting them." I retorted.

Toby sighed, leaning over to open the first box that I had brought over to him. He pulled out some sort of scary gimmick.

I scoffed. "Seriously? So what was weighing the box down so much then?" I asked.

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Here," he said, "hold it." He dropped it into my hands. And I swear they nearly detached from my body.

Toby quickly placed his hands under mine, catching whatever the hell I was holding before it shattered. The girl beside us saw everything. I expected there'd be dating rumours by tomorrow.

The girl wasn't the only person who saw.

"OTP!" Someone yelled. I turned around to see the girls watching us. Cassie shouted it, obviously.

But behind them was another spectator. Jameson.

His eyes were narrowed as he assessed our transaction of a stupid decoration as if he was preparing for battle—planning everything out by the second and inch.

I left Toby and walked over to the girls, making sure that they didn't start rumours about the non-existent relationship that Toby and I had.

But a blur in the corner of the room startled me. I nearly kicked myself when it turned out just to be a stupid fake ghost.

I had blanked out of the girls conversation as a sudden wave of anxiety whelmed me. I didn't know if it was the fake ghosts, or the dark room, or the blinding anticipation that I would be attending an actual event tonight that caused it. For, the last event that I had attended was the ball.

And that led to many bad things that shouldn't have happened.

I turned back to the girls. But it was Jameson's face that I saw. He frowned, sensing that was something was wrong. He moved out from behind the girls, moving towards me.

He was about a metre away when the opposite side of the hall set alight.

"Sam!" A girl shrieked, as the curtain beside her set on fire.

And everyone started screaming.

The chaos drove me away from everyone.

I stared at the fire, tears running down my face.

It was my fault.

They screamed and screamed, but all I could do was watch.

I was weak. And I hated that.

For some reason, it all appeared to me like a horror film; I wasn't there in the moment. Who would want to be?

I couldn't feel the fire on my skin, but their screams bit at me.