Playing With Fire

Chapter Twenty-Four

                                                          Recap

           "I'm serious." He all but growls, bending down to my eye level, "You can run, but there will one of two outcomes. One: I'll catch you and I'll lock you in a tower, or two: they'll catch you and you'll be dead."

          If it weren't for my name and the mention of death in the same sentence, I would have cracked a smile at his Rapunzel reference. Or maybe I would've wondered how he even know about the story-but I don't waste my time on the minor details. Rather, I perk at the mention of 'they.'

            "Who's they?" I demand instantly, pondering aloud what is going through my mind.

            He leans back and runs a hand through his hair, "Are you in or not?"

             I narrow my eyes, "For the game, yes." 

            "Once you agree to the game, you agree to my rules."

            "What type of 20 questions is this?" I mutter, more to myself than him.

       If he heard that, he does a good job ignoring me. Instead, he raises an eyebrow and waits expectantly.

           "Okay!" I exclaim with exasperation, "Deal."

                                       

                                      Chapter Twenty Four

            "This is hardly twenty questions." I scoff.

     "Just answer the question." Travis sighs and pats his calf absentmindedly.

           "Pass." I state defiantly, folding my arms across my chest as another breeze whips past me.

          He lets his hand drop to the side and he leans forward. With a raised eyebrow, he flashes me an amused look.

           "You're out of passes."

          I bite my lip, feeling a tingling sensation at the tips of my fingers. I give him one long, hard look, trying to decide if I should tell him the truth. Afterall, he has bought a few of my answers without noticing.

          "Fine." I mutter, "It was a dare."

           He cocks his head, as if urging me to elaborate.

         "Long story short," I stall, while trying to come up with cause and effect, "Layla is the president and someone dared me to take the keys and break in."

       I pat the floor in conclusion and stare up at him with empty eyes. He scrutinizes me a moment longer, his lips in a firm line, before cracking a small smile and reaching for his back pocket.

          "You're lying." He states bluntly.

        I freeze momentarily and clear my throat, ears ringing.

        "Pardon?" I ask, arching a brow.

       As if he expected me to ask that, he grins and throws a piece of paper in front of me. He watches as I slowly move my gaze towards the paper. At first I don't recognize it, but an instant later, I realize what it is.

           His records that I stole.

         I trail my hand up to my jacket pocket slowly, trying to keep my face void of any emotion as I do so. My heart pounds erratically as my fingers fish around for the paper that I jammed in while making my grand exit earlier.