The Player

Brielle

2:58 PM

My blood ran cold. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled at me. "I knew that you would be here."

"There was no reason you could have known." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why are you really here?"

He dodged the question, placing his hand on my arm. "How have you been?" I quickly recoiled away from him.

"Don't touch me." I seethed. He ignored my gesture, leaning into my ear. "We might as well get down to why you're here. We can go to my place; my parents aren't home."

My jaw dropped. How dare he think that I would ever go anywhere with him after what he did? What he threatened to do?

I pushed him away from me. "I would never go anywhere with you." His face dropped, the warmth leaving his eyes.

His fake kind exterior was replaced with his usual cold demeanor. This was the Derrick I knew.

"Cut the crap Brielle, I know that you want me back. You wouldn't have come here if you didn't." The smile on his face made my skin crawl.

"No, I don't."

"Then why did you come here?" He said, as if it was obvious.

I paused. Why did I come here? I knew that Sam, Scott, and Christopher would never come here to look for me but, maybe subconsciously I did want to see him.

I shook the thought out of my mind. This is why I avoided him like the plague. He was always able to screw with my head without even trying.

I gathered up my courage. "It doesn't matter why I came here, what matters is that we are over. You don't deserve me." I was always unable to stand up to him, but with everything that I've been through, Derrick was the least of my worries. His lip curled into a snarl.

"You start dating this Christopher guy and suddenly you think that you're too good for me?" He gripped his hand around my arm, tighter this time.

"Let go of me!" I demanded, fruitlessly attempting to yank my hand from his grasp. He held me in place.

"Just remember what might happen if you don't do what I say."

The color drained from my face. "You- You wouldn't..." I stammered.

flashed me a smile. "I would. I'll

could protest, the bathroom door behind us opened, revealing a tall blonde walking towards

talking to?" She asked, only focusing on him.

don't worry about." They turned around and sat down in the

Our booth.

sent me

never wanted to get back together with him, it hurt me to realize that our special booth wasn't that special to him. I was disposable to him, just like I was disposable to Christopher. I pushed my

than a booth. My mind wandered to his earlier demand. I didn't want to meet

I couldn't afford not to. But the thought of going anywhere after what just happened to me

drove home. When I arrived, Scott was on the couch waiting for me. I breezed past him. Now was not the

my room, I threw myself onto the bed. All the pain and hurt from

happening but me, and that

my door. I jumped up confused, looking around the room, unaware that

pang in my heart returned. The door opened and Nicole, Christopher's

she said apologetically, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. "I

shaking off sleep.

something, but I realize how confused

than

and after a few minutes of

that to you,

know, I didn't expect it from him either, but I know that deep down he's a good guy." She stared

out. I didn't

she pleaded, recapturing my attention. "Just listen

I shouldn't want to hear his side of the story. But the part of me that still saw him as the guy wooing me with desserts wanted to hear him

I grew depressed and I was

broke up because there was something wrong with me. Because

So, he took all his pent-up anger and grief about my parents' deaths and me and focused it on Scott. He became convinced that he was

At the time, I thought he was too, but looking back, he wasn't. We were just two kids who lost our parents and didn't know what to

couldn't imagine having to experience all of that at

I could see the tears building up in her

better now. It was really hard, and it still is, but I'm okay. But Christopher still holds onto his pain and anger, and It's hard for him to let it go. He may seem like a carefree guy, but he's not. He's hurting. And

in silence, trying to process the information. "Did

He was a wreck." She laughed softly to herself. "He felt so guilty,

told me that he wasn't going

why would he say that to Scott