Playing Heart Games

Level 19: Spend A Saturday With A Bad Boy

VIOLET

Axel came to pick me up on Saturday morning.

"Good morning," I said as I slipped into the passenger's seat.

He grinned. "Mornin' curls."

He fiddled with the radio as we pulled away from the curb.

Like always, he was dressed like he'd just come off a runway. He seemed like his normal self—limbs relaxed, his expression amused. But his demeanour was off, his eyes slightly too tight, his fingers tapping the steering wheel.

Like he was...nervous.

My brows furrowed. "Where are we going?"

His eyes flickered to me, then back to the road. "Can't tell you curls, it'll ruin the surprise."

He adjusted the radio again, and pop music filled the car. He turned it up, humming along as we drove.

We stopped almost an hour later. I stared out, my eyes wide. "The beach?"

He'd parked on a stretch of asphalt. Beyond it was miles of sand. Beyond that, the waves shimmered in the sunlight. I heard seagulls screech overhead.

"Nope."

Axel slipped out of the car. Frowning, I followed.

He strode away from the car, walking parallel to the sand. I glanced again at the sea before I followed him.

Mom's wedding had been near a beach. But before that...the last time was when I was little, before mom and dad broke up. I'd seen pictures, but I didn't remember much—just the sun. It had been blinding.

Axel hummed as we walked, twirling his keys in his hand. Everything about his demeanour screamed languid, but his shoulders were too tense.

He really was nervous. What was he showing me that made him so nervous?

Fifteen minutes later, a two-story white house came into view. It was the only building I'd seen for miles.

Axel slowed as we approached, hopping the stairs to the front doors—massive, carved out of mahogany.

He glanced back at me. "Ready?"

Nerves rippled down my spine. I nodded.

"Shoes off first."

I frowned. "Okay." I slipped off my sneakers.

He unlocked the doors, pulling one open and gesturing me inside.

Tentatively, I entered the building, scanning the dark room. The lights flickered on. I froze.

My eyes widened. After a moment, I regained enough breath to speak. "D-did you do this?"

Axel's voice was quieter, lacking his usual amusement. "Yeah."

My eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Stretched across it was a painting of an orange-red sun, glowing against a flawless sky. Painted on the ground was a boy, with black hair, staring up at the sun with a look of longing.

And the walls...

"Is this the story of Icarus?" I murmured.

One wall with a boy building wings. Another with him flying above the sea, the sun still glowing brightly, the water glimmering beneath him, excitement on his features. The third when his fingers finally grazed the sun, joy on his face. The last when his wings caught fire. In that painting, the sunshine disappeared. A blood-red sun against a stormy sky devoured the wall. The boy's face was full of horror just before his body plunged down towards the sea, his wings turning to ash.