Devil Takes the Hindmost, chapter 10
A/N: EH, what a day! I update, and the American Government shuts down! Whattaya know? Anyways, so sorry for no updates. I got sick last week and couldn't, and I only have two chapters in store. I'll try my best to write more, I promise! Huge thanks to all your reviews which motivate me! So, here we go.
TOBIAS' POV
"You've drank ten cans, man. Aren't you going to stop?"
There he is, my main man still watching out for me. It's been a week since I've gone to school. I really didn't give a shit if Allison was missing me or if Marlene and Shauna tried to sneak onto our grounds. Raoul, our head guard, got rid of them before their Jimmy Choos could make a dent. Uriah and Eric visit me after school every day, giving me updates. But honestly, drowning my sorrows with beer worked better. I didn't care about much anymore.
"I don't plan on it," I slur, tipping the can slightly in my hand. Some amber liquid drips out of the can, and falls onto the imported Persian rug. Another 1000$ wasted. "Man, you've totally flipped," Uriah comments, as he spins in my computer chair. He hasn't gotten off it since. That was always wear he sat, cause there were a bunch of levers on the bottom. You could lean back, achieve back support, lower or heighten the chair if you were too tall. Cost over half a million dollars.
The room is dark, lit only by a small stream of sunlight peaking out of the barely drawn curtains. Wrappers of chocolate bars and bottles of Pellegrino lie everywhere. I've already stepped on the glass twice. All that didn't matter though. It never really did. My head aches, pounding and echoing. My limbs have never felt more exhausted then before. I have to blink out the black spots in my eyes. And the pain…the pain in my chest is as bad as ever. I used all my will power to fight the urge to place my hand over my heart…it hurt too much.
"Not flipped," Eric says, and grabs the back of the computer chair. He grabbed the back and pushed it down, and down went Uriah, very confused. He simply lay there, totally dazed. At one point, Uriah mutters "son of a bitch…"
"What's your problem?"
"My problem?" Eric asks standing and glaring down at me, "Is that your ego is way out of control."
"What ego?"
"Tobias, you asshole. You have the world's biggest ego; it's even bigger then Uriah's head."
I sit up and face him, though he's a few feet taller than me. He glares daggers into my eyes and I press my palms against his chest, pushing him back. As he stumbled back, I grab his collar and force him to look at me, breathing angrily into his face. "Explain you ass."
He shoves me away, but manages to retain his temper as he casually crosses his arms. "If you haven't noticed, you totally made a fool out of yourself with Allison, promising to fuck her at the party, now the party is tomorrow and you've barely stopped crying since! You have the world's biggest head, but it's stuck so far up your ass you can barely tell when it's time to GIVE UP!"
I stare at him, his words like knives; getting me in the place it hurts the most. I grab his collar, but he pushes me back, hissing angrily at me. I use my weight against him, and manage to topple him, both of us going down. But instead, as my head hits the soft rug, I see him knocked to the ground. I hear a sickening crack as Eric's head collides with the glass Pellegrino bottle. My eyes meet a terrible sight, as the skin of his skull is cut by the bottle green glass. The glass is stained with dark red. Blood. His blood. Blood I drew.
Uriah is dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open. Eric's hand goes to his head, and his fingers brush over the cut, and he brings his hand to eye level.
"Eric…" I murmur, staring at his expression. Wearily, he manages to stand, glaring at me with such hatred; like hellfire and the plague. I actually wince. Bringing himself to standing position, his eyes gaze into my own for a few shock stilled minutes. Stilled silence. "Fine." He murmured, "I guess you have flipped."
Walking over top my bedroom door, he flings it open, the rumble of it sending some of my basketball trophies falling off the mahogany shelf. He walks out into the light hallway, leaving me and Uriah to condone and realize who we've just set war against.
BEATRICE'S POV
My hand brushes Al's as people begin to stare again. A week since I last saw the eyes of Tobias Eaton, and I think people were beginning to worry. His would be girlfriend, Allison, was constantly crying, her mascara running down her face in black clumps. Marlene and Shauna were sending me stink eyes every chance they got. And Lynn? Lynn was actually being friendly, smiling at times and she even sat with me, Christina, Will and Al during lunch.
The hypnotizing smell of fresh baked salmon caught my nose, almost drooling at the smell. I poke at my soggy tuna sandwich, as I began to daydream, blocking out Will and Christina's conversation…
I'm at a house, standing right in front of it. A simple white cottage, just like the one we used to live in in Maryland. The sky is a clear crisp blue and dotted with white puffy clouds. A flock of birds begin to fly over head, and I watch as they fly south for the winter. The crunch of dying leaves catch my attention and I look down to see a pair of Adidas. I think for a moment it's Al, as he chose to wear those today. But then I realize, they aren't blue.
They're red.
The same color that a certain senior's was…I look up to see my lover, but the hands have pulled me so close I can't see who it is. All I can feel is a gently hand brushing a lock of hair behind my ear, and a deep strong voice whispers "Beatrice."
It begins to echo.
"Beatrice…Beatrice…Beatrice…BEATRICE!"
I am jolted back to reality, to realize I've actually dozed off. Three incredulous faces look at me. "Beatrice, are you okay?" It's Al. He's holding me by my forearms, his face shining with concern.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine…"
"She is not," Christina pipes up, a cheeky smile on her face. Stealing Will's pack of cards, she doles them out. "Too busy thinking about her knight in shining armor."
"Christina!"
"You know who her knight is." Al adds, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"I don't think you really do." Another voice joins us, and I turn to see Lynn, smirking in all her glory, She sets down her purple backpack next to mine and take a seat across from me.
"Al, you're a great guy. But Trissy here is dreaming of devils and angels.' I elbow her, my cheeks glowing red.
"Shut up! I am not!" I protest, crossing my arms. Al pulls me closer, his lips brushing against my temple gently. Will laughs, as Christina punches him lightly.
"Shut it, Will."
"I thought you called me nerd?" Will asks, his mouth open wide,
"Yeah, but it's lost its pizzazz," Christina snaps, as she organizes the cards for pseudos. We all take our cards, but something's telling me about Christina's expression, making me think I'm not the only one alone about who my heart belongs to.