Playing Heart Games

Level 22: Hate The Party

AXEL

Five minutes earlier

Violet let go of the counter, her eyes still wide. She reminded me of a deer, just before it got hit by a car.

What am I doing?

It felt wrong, standing here. Watching her look like that—watching her look so uncomfortable. And not doing anything. I should be by her side, saying something, doing something—

"So, Axel," Lea purred, "what are you up to tonight?"

My eyes shifted from Violet to the girl flirting with me. Lea's eyes were fixed on my mouth, her lips pulled up into a seductive smile.

Axel Ryder would flirt back.

But, apparently, Axel Ryder was screwed because I was breaking all his rules.

I showed Violet my painting house. I attended classes. I spoke to her about England, for f*ck's sake.

What was wrong with me?

I was changing around her. And it was scaring me.

I wasn't permanent for her. I knew that. I was just the guy helping her get revenge on her ex.

The guy who was nowhere near good enough for her.

The guy whose heart she was going to break when she finally left.

This was supposed to be my game. But at some point, I'd been pulled in. The gamemaster doesn't get hurt. The players? They were screwed.

And from the fact that I was finding it pretty damn difficult to summon fake smiles lately, I was pretty sure I was screwed.

I knew all of that, and yet I couldn't stop wishing—

Lea trailed a finger down my chest. "Axel?"

Usually, flirting was a game to me. It was supposed to be amusing. Today, I didn't even want to bother.

My eyes flickered to a group of girls a few metres away. They watched, giggling and whispering.

Lea's friends.

Entertainment.

I was entertainment to all of them.

And now her voice was stuck in my head. Fantastic.

I glanced up, my eyes returning to Violet. I tensed.

She was gone.

Abruptly, I straightened, my gaze searching the crowd for a familiar head of curls.

Where the hell did she go?

"Axel?"

I detached from Lea, pushing through the crowd until I was standing by the drinks counter.

No Violet.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I canvassed the room. Twice. When I didn't find her, I slipped out into a hallway, ignoring the stares from the group at the end of it. Again, I scanned the crowd in the front room.

Where was she?

"Crap."

I'd told her I'd watch out for her. I'd told her to trust me.

I'm such a bloody screw-up.

I yanked out my phone, dialling Violet's number. A ringtone trilled through the hallway.

I pulled my phone from my ear, my eyes locking on a door a metre away from me.

It was coming from in there.

I pushed open the door.

She was fine, she was fine, she was—

I turned to stone.

Eyes flickered up to me.

It took a split second for my brain to process what I was seeing: Kyle Reyes pinning Violet to the floor.

The world went red.

"Get the f*ck off her."

He scrambled up. "I—"

My fist slammed into his face.

He staggered back, blood streaming down his face.

Violet screamed, but I could barely hear it. Because I had already lunged towards him.

"Axel!" Violet was yanking on my arms. "Axel! Stop it!"

I could barely breathe, barely think. Kyle's frame slammed into the wall. I reeled my fist back.

Violet caught my arm. "Axel stop! Listen to me!"

My eyes flashed to hers, anger sending tremors through my body.

"He tripped! He wasn't hurting me."

I stilled. "What?"

"He tripped," she repeated. "He wasn't hurting me, Axel. I'm fine."

I blinked slowly. My arm fell. My eyes returned to Kyle on the ground, staring up at me in horror. His face was covered in blood.

"He wasn't...hurting you?"

"No, he wasn't."

My eyes widened. "Crap, sorry I—"

The sound of voices made me glance back.

I stiffened.

People were crowded at the door, watching. Several of them had their phones up.

Recording us.

Me. And Violet with the clean social media accounts.

Sh*t.

I caught her hand, pulling her out of the room. The crowd split around us, eyes following us as we pushed into the front room.

Crap. Crap. Crap. What the hell did I just do?

I didn't drop my pace till we were at my car and the music had faded behind us. Till the people and their whispering were gone.

I released her hand. Then I dragged both hands through my hair. "Shit." My eyes flashed to Violet. "I'm sorry Violet—I didn't—I thought he was..." The thought drove nausea up my throat. "I thought he was hurting you," I rasped.

Violet was staring at me with wide eyes.

She'd watched me hitting him.

He'd been bleeding.

What the hell did she think of me now?

"Damn it, I'm such a f*cking screw up," I rasped.

Violet blinked, then stepped towards me. "You're not," she murmured.

I shook my head. She was wrong, she didn't get what—

Violet caught my face in her hands. I stilled.

"Stop," she murmured. "Listen to me, it was just a misunderstanding." Her eyes bored into mine. "And you are not a screw-up."

I was frozen, staring back at her.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"It's okay," she said, her voice soft. Then she lifted her lips into a smile. "Why don't we get ice cream?"

*

Thank you for reading! :D