The Endgame

Senior year should be celebrated. One last mischievous adventure with friends. A happy time to make lasting memories.

In reality, I was miserable.

It’d only been a week since classes started, and my heart had already been broken into small pieces.

Even though I wanted to fall asleep for the entire year and wake up recovered, my friend, Melissa, had other plans. She’s been glued to my side all week since Jacob broke up with me, crashing in my bedroom to watch romantic movies and eat our weight in white chocolate.

It had been nice, yet not very productive in soothing my pain, helplessness, and confusion.

After five days, she declared we should try something different to lift my spirits.

She took a cute skirt and black shirt from my closet and proposed we should go to a house party. Something about getting out of my head for one night to loosen up.

“It’ll be fun, I promise.” She gave me a bright smile. “We can dance and sing. We can join a beer pong match. I mean, they are amazing, Hazel. So amusing. We can get drunk if you want and forget everything for one night. What do you say?”

Though parties had never been my thing, I couldn’t refuse Melissa. Not when she looked so expectant that this would be the powerful remedy to my heartache.

I exhaled, made a quick trip to the bathroom to change, and within an hour, we were ready to leave.

On the ride there, Melissa and I sang at the top of our lungs. For the first time that week, I managed to smile and relax. Maybe she was right, and I needed a night out. One night without wallowing. A change of scenery.

Once we arrived, the house was packed. It was ridiculous, the number of people already drinking and dancing silly. The atmosphere was overwhelming, yet contagious. During the first hour, Melissa made sure that our cups were filled, and my head was present.

However, as the night progressed, I kept finding Melissa stealing glances at one particular guy.

I’d seen them at school, exchanging secret smiles and glances. But whenever I questioned her, she had denied time and time again that something was going on between them.

The alcohol had loosened her up enough tonight, since it was clear she was very interested in this guy and wasn’t doing much to conceal it.

When I caught her eyeing him for the fifth time, I grabbed her arm and raised my eyebrows. “You should go,” I said.

“What?” She creased her forehead, startled.

My eyes flickered to the guy by the entrance.

She didn’t need to glance to know what I was talking about. Instead, she shook her head. “No. We are here together.”

“I’ll be fine. Go,” I urged her.

“Hazel.”

“Melissa.”

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

I rolled my eyes. I resumed insisting that I would be fine, that she deserved to have fun tonight too. She was persistent about keeping me company; she was protective to a fault. It was hard to convince her, but eventually, she reluctantly agreed after I promised her that I would tell her when I was ready to leave.

“I mean it, Hazel.” She sent me a warning look. “If you feel uncomfortable or tired. Or if you want to jump back to eating chocolate and watching movies, you tell me, and we leave. Okay?”

I nodded.

With that, I watched my best friend walking away while I searched for a spot to sit. A place to be left alone. To be honest, with no one to distract me, my thoughts took a darker route.

I found a sofa pushed into the back of a room, separate from the main party. I could still watch everyone, but the distance gave me space to breathe. As my body sank into the cushions, I sighed and blinked hard.

The memory of the breakup invaded my brain. I was left reeling and betrayed. Jacob and I had been dating since freshman year, and I’d thought everything was great between us. Apparently, I was blind. I didn’t see the signs. I didn’t notice the changes between us.

I still couldn’t see the reasons behind his desire to split.

I was angry and hurt that he didn’t want to fix things. It was unjust that the time he decided to speak out about his discomfort, it had taken a toll on him, and he wanted to break up. I didn’t have much of a say. He didn’t give me a chance to fix things.

“Fuck, yeah! Now the party is officially on!”

I was pulled out of my spiraling thoughts when a few guys yelled and whistled from the main entrance, hooting like savages. I turned my attention to them, frowning at the commotion.

They were huddling around the door and cheering. Cheering someone on to do something stupid, my guess. Then someone hollered through the incredibly loud music and the crowd clapped.

I shot glares at the overexcited partygoers.

Seriously?

Was it perhaps someone with more alcohol? No one should be received this way.

Finally, the person was revealed. He was extremely tall. I didn’t know why I hadn’t noticed him before. His wavy dark hair shimmered against the only light in the place. And his muscles were chiseled and defined, contoured under the shirt. His eyes sparkled even from here.

Graham St. Claire.

Of course, it was him.

The high school QB.

I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous greeting. It baffled me why people idolized him. Sure, he was a great football player, but that was the extent of it.

It didn’t matter how large and charming his smiles were, or how swoon-worthy his sparkling eyes were—none of it fooled me.

I’d seen the less stellar side of him. The ruthless, aggressive, and quite disgusting human being.

Even though I had never been the target of his cruel actions, I couldn’t stand the guy. I couldn’t stand how he treated others. How he laughed at the expense of others’ dignity. How he destroyed others’ books and backpacks. How he pushed others against walls and lockers because he was strong enough to do so. How he distracted them in class, throwing little things and getting them detention at the end.

Including Jacob. Graham had tormented and taunted him and made him suffer.

I didn’t turn a blind eye to Graham’s actions, unlike everyone else. None of it was funny or entertaining. None of it made him cooler or stronger. It was pathetic and loathsome.

The realization that I had to share this space with him made my teeth grit. For a split second, I thought about going to search for Melissa, but halted myself. She deserved a reprieve too after watching me the entire week. She should have a change of scenery too.

From the looks of it, her night appeared promising. The guy kept staring at her face, hypnotized by her.

Instead, I took a sip of my cup to quench the bitter taste in my throat and scowled.

I decided to wait for another hour before getting Melissa and ditching this place. Besides, no one would bother me. I was hidden in this corner. And if that didn’t work, I was oozing dark energy that should scare most people away.

I closed my eyes and gulped.

God, I felt so lonely and out of place. I wished I could go to the car and cry in privacy and dignity. But Melissa had the keys.

The gap in my chest deepened while my eyes prickled. I was about to stand up and hole myself in a bathroom when I someone sat on the couch next to me. The cushion shifted with the heavy weight.

I swiped at the tears sliding down my cheek and turned to the person with a furrowed brow. One sight of me and the person no doubt would run.

Bad juju here.

My mouth opened, but no words escaped when my gaze flickered to the person. I scowled instead.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a concerned look on his face, as though he actually cared. His voice was low and soothing, and something coiled inside my stomach. It was a mixture of resentment and fear.

Graham St. Claire.