The Gilded Game

THREE

Three days passed, no calls, no texts, nothing.

It wasn't a bad thing though. I had time to get schoolwork done, and I assumed it was peaceful for a while on his side.

Or so I thought.

Pulling all-nighters at 1 AM wasn't new to me. I had a hyperactive mind, plus school and a job.

I was halfway through a book, Crazy Rich Asians when my phone rang.

Who the hell had the idea to call me at 1 AM? No one and I mean no one, messes with the 1 AM version of Aria.

I checked the caller ID.

Peter Lee?

Oh. My. God.

"What was so urgent that you had to call me at 1 AM and break my reading mood."

He was crying? And it sounded like he was breathing too fast too.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been too late." He said between sobs.

"5 things you can see."

"Walls, door, my bed, pillow, blanket."

His breathing calmed by a bit.

"4 things you can touch."

"My phone, the bed, blanket, pillow."

"3 things you can hear."

"You, me, the wind."

"2 things you can smell."

"The grass outside, room fragrance."

"1 thing you can taste."

"Tears."

"Better now? You don't have to tell me what happened, but I'm all ears."

"I... dreamt about the day my dad died. I was too late. I was at school, his heart failed, and then he was gone."

This was definitely a flashback type of dream, considering his trauma.

"Do you want to go back to sleep now? If not, we can read together. How does Crazy Rich Asians sound? That's what I'm reading now."

"Yeah, I have that book."

We read together, in a comfortable silence.

I was amused at how Rachel, the main character of the book, had such a loving boyfriend, in a social class where marriage was for power and money.

"Seriously, Rachel and Nick are so couple goals. Especially Nick, he loves Rachel so much." I suggested.

Deep down, I imagined me as Rachel, and Peter as Nick.

I was probably falling for him. Scratch that, definitely falling for him.

A guy in a social class where everything was for power, honour, and money.

"Yeah. If I had a girlfriend, I'd treat her, love her that way too."

I stared at my phone, eyes wide. Maybe I was reading into it too much, but he might have feelings for someone. As for who? I had no idea. Sometimes I just don't know.

We finished the book at around 3 AM and started talking.

"You know, it's uncommon for a teenager to be cyber-schooled here. I am too." I thought that he might have started online school since his trauma, but I wasn't completely sure.

"Some stuff is better off not being mentioned." His voice lowered to a whisper.

Yeah, it was his trauma.

But he was right. I shouldn't be mentioning it too often.

"And some people, are better off not pulling all-nighters." I joked.

"The same can be said for you. Go to bed." He retorted.

"Okay..." With that, we ended the call.