FOUR
1178 Words
KILLIAN'S POV:
I hate people.
Especially people who sneak back into society like nothing happened.
The disdain I have for people was reawakened by that girl who thought she still had a hold on the foolish younger me.
I crushed the snake with the sole of my shoe, my eyes fixed on the flickering streetlight ahead. The faint hiss of the crushed snake echoed against the calm predatory night that is eerily quiet.
I dangle the knife between my fingers, metal glinting as it turns, a soft smirk playing on my lips.
She really thought she could come back and remain unscathed, huh?
Emery Vale, oh Emery Vale, you must have forgotten who I am.
Or maybe she needs a reminder.
I hate the strike system.
I don't believe in it. People don't get two or three chances with It's useless.
You mess up the first time and you're out. For life.
Anyone who messes up the first time, given a chance again will mess up the second time.
I flipped the blade once, catching it with ease, and leaned back against my car. The sleek Porsche 911 GT3 blends into the dark night.
She wasn't supposed to return. Not here, especially, not to me.
The look on her face when I offered her her pen in class today was ridiculously Oscar-worthy. Her fears…… oh God…. I could taste it.
The way her throat bobbed as she tried to swallow her fears made my junior twitch in the most sadistic way possible.
Being defiant is not her thing….. It was not her thing.
She was supposed to be gone.
Out of sight. But here she is. Challenging my decisions.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I pushed my hand inside my pocket and brought out a cigarette. Lighting the stick, I tucked it between my lips, the smoke wrapping around me in a thick fog, my eyes raised to the sky.
The roar of Cole's car at the far end of the street drew me back. The screeching of his car tires was so annoyingly loud, I had to turn around.
“Cross, what the hell are you doing here instead of going home to a warm woman,” Cole screams from his car.
He climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind him, a grin stretching across his face. “What's up, Man,”
I exhaled slowly, puffing out the smoke of my cigarette and watching it drift past Cole. He doesn't know when to stop.
“You saw her too, right?” His tone shifted teasing, lighter. “I didn't think Princess Emery would have the guts to show her face again in Empire College,”
My jaw tightened briefly, just briefly, putting back the cigarette between my lips, I took a long drag.
Cole's body shook as he laughed, his eyes on me. “Come on, don't tell me she still gets under your skin. One glare from you earlier and she was ready to run for her life.”
I flicked the ashes of my cigarette on the pavement, my silent loud through the night.
Cole leaned against his car, his attention focused on me, this time, he looked dead serious. “You're planning to give her a……. welcome back gift, right?”
My knife spun once under the glowing moonlight, my upper lip lifting up in a smirk. “She will remember,”
Cole raised a brow, his attention piqued. ”Remember what?”
“Everything she tried to forget,” I said, my face turned to him.
He whistled and pushed his hands into his pants pocket, “Damn, you're serious,”
“I'm always serious,”
“No, s**t Sherlock,”
He sighed, his head twisted to the side, watching me. “You know, most guys would just let it go. And forget that she ever exists. She ran…. Fine, she's back? f**k it, big deal. But you…..” he gestured at me, throwing his hands up, and signalling at the knife play, the smoke, the eerie calmness of our surroundings. “You make it seem like there might be some blood split,”
“Maybe it will,” I said calmly. Maybe too flatly that it sounded robotic to my own ears.
For once Cole didn't laugh. He shook his head, muttering something under his breath, and pushed off his car, “What's your plan?”
I didn't answer. Some things aren't meant to be shared carelessly.
Not when it's about her.
He studied me for a moment, silently, then forced a smile that barely reached his eyes. “Well…. The welcome committee is all yours, man. I'm not touching that.”
The smartest choice he has made in a while.
He climbed back into his black Mustang. The engine roared back to life, tires squealing again as he drove down the street and sped off into the night. The noise faded until the only thing left was the faint hum of my Porsche.
I squashed the light of my cigarette against the door, flicking the butt into the gutter.
I sighed. The night is settled.
Emery Vale thought she could walk back into my territory and act like nothing happened.
Well, she's wrong because the game has just begun.
****
The silence of my apartment was broken the moment I walked in.
The first thing I noticed was the shoes. Black heels lined neatly by the door.
My jaw tightened. How the f**k did she get my key?
I moved further in and there she was, lounging on the couch, the remote control in her left hand while a glass of wine settled elegantly in her right hand, between her fingers.
She smiled, the color of her lipstick matches the wine. Blood red, ominous. “Took you long enough,”
I dropped my keys on the side table with a dull clink and settled on the couch across from her. The knife was still in my hand swirling lazily.
“How did you get in here?” I asked, voice low and my gaze fixed on the knife playing between my fingers.
She swirled the wine in her glass, her lips lifting up in a smirk. “Aunty Ava gave it to me, " she said I can spend the night.” She glanced at me underneath her lashes, her lips thinned. “How does it feel meeting her?”
“Shut your mouth, Savannah.”
She's trying to rile me up but I'm not ready to play her games.
Her smile only got wider. She settled the glass on the side table and leaned forward, her breasts almost spilling from the barely covered nightdress she wore. Her perfume wafted across the space seductively. “I sent out the initiation invitation already. She got one too,”
She, as in, Emery Vale.
The knife stilled in my hand, my eyes flying up to hers.
Savannah's smirk widened, she shook her head, and stood up. “What, did you think you'd get to play these little games alone?”
- Writer
