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Chapter 8: Hurtful Words

She was without words, because all of the words in her vocabulary couldn't describe how she was feeling at the moment: miserable, furious, and remorseful as the recollections of her "previous life" overwhelmed her mind. Her whole body was wailing with longing, screaming at her to run over and embrace her love in a bone-shattering hug...

Her memory was still fresh and sharp.

Flashback

Tea ran, tears whipping across her face, until she came across the empty art room. She ran to the door, put her hand on the doorknob, wrenched it open, stumbled blindly into the darkest, smallest corner she could find, curled up into the smallest little ball possible...

Footsteps echoed off of the art room's paint-stained tiles. She knew who it was, she didn't have to raise her head. Staring into his face would hurt too much.

"Tea, I..."

"No Yami, don't say anything else."

"Tea, please! Just hear me..."

She jumped up at this.

"Just leave me alone, dammit! Go back to that slut and leave me be!"

He looked stunned, but quickly regained his composure. "You don't understand, Tea!"

"Tch. Like hell I don't. Go ahead and explain yourself, just try."

"We were practicing for the school play!"

"...Yami...do you think that I can actually swallow that pile of bull shit? I wasn't born yesterday, I know that you're in the play! But..."

"What?"

"That kiss wasn't in the script!" she screamed. By now, she was on her feet, hitting Yami, who was cowering under his arms. "You have feelings for her, it's not that hard to tell! I noticed how you acted around her, how your expression and everything about you was different from how you treated me! Why? Why did you my hopes up by telling me that you liked me? You knew all that you didn't have feelings for me! You just wanted to have a good laugh at me, didn't you? I trusted you! How could you do this to me, Yami?"

She fell down to her knees, crying weakly into her hands.

He was silent for a few seconds, though they felt like a lifetime. Yami finally gave a sad sigh, kneeling down in front of her and tilting up her face towards his.

"You're right, Tea..." Yami mumbled guiltily. "I didn't want to hurt you, so I said that I felt the same way about you."

"Why didn't you just tell me, then?" Tea choked through her tears.

"Because you seemed so fragile already, I didn't want to break your..."

"It's too late, Yami. You already have..." She jumped up, still sobbing, and ran. Yami grabbed her by the arm.

Slowly, she faced him, her anger shining through her tears. "Let me go."

"Tea, please..."

Her slap left a deafening silence and a bright red mark on Yami's face.

Soon all of her friends would drift away slowly because of her actions. That's when she broke down and left Domino city. With shattered friendships and a poorly mended broken heart.

End flashback

Tea shook out of her stupor and stared savagely, jaw set, into the eyes of the person that ruined her life.

"What are you doing here, Yami?" she asked sharply.

Once again, Yami was taken aback at her tone. What ever happened to the happy-go-lucky cheerleader that was once one of his dearest friends?

"I came to see you, Anzu."

"Stop it!" she yelled. "Stop calling me by my name! I hate you and I hate what you did to me! Why don't you just go back to that girl that you seemed to be infatuated with? Do you enjoy toying with me? Do you get off on messing up people's lives or something? Answer me!"

"Tea..." he sighed before continuing. The self-appointed King of Games wasn't used to apologizing, but he would just have to put his pride on the shelf...for her. "I'm truly sorry for what I did, ok? Yugi and the others are sorry as well for dumping you."

"Well," she thundered. Her voice matched well with the background. Stone grey thunder clouds were starting to collect in the sky, and a chilly wind picked up. "You know what? Tell all of those bastards to go and rot in hell. They believed you over me, without letting me speak up for myself!"

"Yes, but-"

"They listened to your lies and believed them! What kind of friends are those, huh?" with every stormy word she said, she stepped menacingly towards Yami, who was now stumbling backwards away from her.

"They're-"

"Definitely not the ones I want to have! None of them even cared when I moved away. Don't you have any idea what a slap in the face that was for me? I hate you! You're a monster!"

"Tea! Please! Why is it so hard to forgive and forget?" Yami pleaded.

If she had been angry before, then now she had gone completely insane. She felt her blood go past boiling point a hundred-no, a thousand times over. How could he have possibly dared to say that to her face? "The day that I forgive you, is the day that hell freezes over with you and your stupid friends! You've done enough. So take your phony apology and shove it up your-"

Her cell phone's ringing cut her off. She picked it up and checked to see who was calling.

It was Seto.

She pressed the TALK button.

"Hi, Kaiba," she emphasized his name just for Yami's reaction; he looked shocked and furious at the mention of his archrival.

"Get home." Seto's voice commanded imperiously through the phone.

"But..."

"No." Kaiba never wasted words on the phone. He was always direct and to the point. "A limo is waiting for you."

Knowing that she really had no choice in the matter, she closed her phone with a sigh.

"So much for that." Tea turned to Yami. "So sorry, old friend, but I'll have to be leaving now," she said sardonicaly.

"What are you doing associating with someone like Kaiba?" Yami said angrily. "Don't you remember what he has done to all of us?"

"Oh, you're so right!" she said nastily, shoving her cell phone in her purse with unnessesary force. "And what am I doing associating myself with someone like you? Don't I remember what you did to me?" And with that, she turned around and stomped away, scaring many pigeons out of the path.

Yami stared at her retreating form.

I will make amends with you, Tea, or else I won't be able to live with myself! he thought. You were the reason that I found out who I really am. You didn't deserve the treatment that I inflicted on you.

As she neared the limosine, a chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for her with a white-gloved hand. She muttered a quick thanks to him before sitting down.

"And what have I told you about informing me before you go anywhere?" Kaiba's voice barked. "Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

She jumped slightly at this.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba. I just wanted to get out of the house. Sometimes I want to be alone."

His eyes narrowed into arrow slits.

"Well, it seems as though you can't really follow rules, can you?" he said coldly, glaring at her ferociously. "And if you break my rules, there is always a consequence."

She ignored this, too used to his rants to care. "I met up with an old acquaintance," she said, being careful not to speak his name.

"Uh-huh. And does this acquaintance happen to go by the name of Yami?"

He knew.

"So what if he does?" she asked sharply. "How in the world does that concern you?"

"Like I have to explain myself to you," Seto sneered.

"I have a life too, you know! You don't always have to know where I am twenty-four seven, I'm not some kind of slave you know..." Tea's voice cracked.

"Yes. You are. Don't raise your voice to me, Gardner, and don't you dare forget that you might as well belong to me. I can fire you at any time and always find another employee to replace you in a nanosecond. You are nothing to me," he said it very quietly, but Tea heard every word quite clearly.

Nothing.

She felt her eyes burn and her face grow hot with anger-but she wouldn't take his bait.

"...And here I thought you were different," Tea whispered. "Here I thought you understood me. I'm no one's possession, Kaiba. I don't belong to anyone and I won't allow you to treat me like dirt any longer! So STOP THE GODDAMN CAR!"

The chaffeur slammed on the brakes. The force of the limo screeching to a halt nearly made Tea fall out of her seat, but she managed to keep her balance, stumbling out of the car and into a muddy puddle. It had started raining.

"Tell Mokuba that I said goodbye," she said shortly to Seto before slamming the car door in his face.

o o o

A lot of things had happened in the past month that I had spent living in the Kaiba mansion. I know that beneath that cold-hearted exterior that Seto Kaiba wasn't really the person that everyone thought he was. I knew that there was a bit of kindness in his seemingly cold heart. So I tried to unearth the good in him, but he never relented, and never gave me the key to his heart But when he had said that to me...for that one moment...I had felt like ripping his heart out, just for him to feel something somewhat close to what I thought I felt.

But as much I thought I knew him, I came to the conclusion that I really didn't know who the hell he was. But I didn't give a damn about him anymore. I just wanted to scream- at Kaiba, at myself, and at the rain that drenched me and made my clothes stick uncomfortably to my skin.

God, I'm so stupid, I thought miserably, my back hunched up against the stinging cold of the wind and rain. Why did I even try to understand him and be a little friendlier to him, when all he ever does is disregard my efforts.

All I've ever done...everything I've tried to accomplish...was all so goddamn pointless. The freezing rain diluted and cooled the hot tears racing towards my chin.

Pointless. That's my life's summary right there. I gave a hollow laugh.

Yep.

It's all so fucking pointless.

I had no idea where I was walking to, but now the beach dock loomed in front of me, distorted and watery-looking from unfallen tears. The wind now smelled like the ocean, stung my cheeks like ocean water, and even left a salty ocean taste in my mouth.

My steps on the pier sounded as hollow as my laughter. As soon as I had reached the edge, I stopped and looked down into murky and violent tossing water.

Suicide is a coward's way out of life...

Tossing my leg over the railing...

Yet here I am, staring down the barrel.

Sitting on the rough wooden banister.

Dejected, dispondant, and dismal...It seems like I'm just out of luck.

Balancing precariously between safety and danger, water and rotting wood, life and death.

I wish I weren't a coward.

But I am.

Dropping my purse and watching it fall through the wind and the rain and getting practically sucked into the sea like a vacuum...

I'm just so tired of life...I'm so tired...I need a nice, long rest...

I wonder if this is how Superman felt while flying, feeling like air is trying to push you upwards in a desperate attempt to save you...

So tired...so sleeeeeeepy...

The water's so close now...I could reach out with my hand and just barely touch it...

I'm taking the coward's way.

o o o

End.