Revelio- Sebastian Sallow

twisted games and newfound pain

TW: blood, violence

note: my story only gets darker from here. i promise the end of the book will tie everything together, but you guys will just have to bear with me. just know you've been warned 😭

Poppy sets down the empty cup with a large exhale, calling Sirona for another before I even finish my first.

"Are you trying to drown your sorrows in that or something?" I ask, laughing while I stare down into my cup.

"Actually, yes." She admits, embarrassed. "Except Garreth doesn't seem affected at all. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it." She starts playing with the handle of her empty cup, transferring it back and forth between her hands

I was a little surprised they broke up. They seemed perfect for each other. But I was more surprised I hadn't heard about it yet. Even when Ominis pranked Duncan with a Puffskein, everyone heard about it within hours. Even though we get lots of gossip here, everyone acts like they're parched and dying for more.

The silence between us seemed loud and uncomfortable, but the environment around us was friendly, the conversation flowing easily for others as I darted my eyes around to see others drinking, playing games, or just catching up with an old friend.

"How long ago was this?" I asked, looking back up at her, but she was still staring at her cup.

"The day after that party."

It made me wonder if Poppy had seen Garreth kiss me. He was being pretty open about the PDA and she seemed a bit on edge around me, but I was also drunk and I don't even remember the walk back to the common room at all. If she hadn't of taken me back to my room, I think I would've been stuck at that party all night.

But then I realized I kissed Sebastian today. And he's still dating Violet. I think. I never got to hear the story from Sebastian, which now I slightly regretted.

But maybe it would just be best to stick to Garreth. He seemed like a much safer option. And if he and Poppy had broken up, he was coming for me next.

"I saw him with his hands all over you at that party and I knew he would never like me as much as he loved you."

"Wait, what? He loved me?" I blurted out.

That's news to me. I always felt like I was second best to someone for our entire relationship, and it made me feel insecure. Like I always wasn't good enough, and I needed to just "be better" for him to notice me.

"Did he tell you that or something?" I offered, wanting to know why.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. He would always talk about you, Aurelia. Always. The way his eyes would shine when he would talk about you, or how his face would brighten when he saw you. It became a pattern that was easy to remember," she replied quietly.

But before I could respond or even process her answer, a crowd of people walked in, including Leander, Garreth, Everett, and Andrew, plus a couple of Slytherins I didn't recognize. They greeted Sirona with a pat on the back before walking closer to our table. The noise in the room suddenly became a deafening volume, and Poppy and I shielded our ears.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" I scream, and she nods. We grabbed our stuff and ran up the stairs as quickly as we could before the boys could follow.

"I'll be right back," Garreth whispers to his Slytherin friend, not yet audible to my ears.

Except for when Poppy rushed upstairs and entered the restroom, I was left alone, oblivious to Garreth right behind me until he pinned me to the dusty wall, our faces inches apart, while he breathed raggedly and unsteadily.