In total darkness, there sat a drunken man with blood on his hands. As he gripped on the steering wheel, he stared in horror at the blood splattered on his windshield. He had just run over a person- no, it could possibly be because of his intoxicated mind but it didn't look like just one person, it was multiple people. He didn't know the exact number and he didn't care, he just knew he had to get out of there. No one would know it was him, right? Even if he got caught, he knew they'd take care of it, no matter how much they'd wish him dead.
Afterall, protecting the family name was more valuable than wanting him dead.
Christopher
I jolted awake, sweat dripped down my forehead as I recalled the horrid dream still fresh in my mind. It was a scene from the beginning of 'Forever Mine', and with that realization, the events of when I was drunk came flooding in.
With an alcohol filled mind, I almost proceeded with the idea of driving drunk.
That was where it began, after the incident, Chris got beaten up by Archer the very first time they met. As expected from a shitty book, it wasn't explained whatsoever so I had to put two and two together. I predicted the people Chris ran over were important to Archer, but people like that were never mentioned or shown. But whatever it was,
That's where Archer's unrelenting grudge began.
With the bits and pieces of my memories, everything that had happened last night all lined up in the book's plot.
The beginning of my demise.
With the odds stacked against me, I had to accept that this was now my reality. There was nothing I could do. I've almost ruined my life by continuing to be in denial, it'll only dig my own grave.
The only thing I could do to save myself was divert from the original plot as much as possible, but considering that voice was involved in triggering that event, I would be nothing but a defenseless ant being controlled against its will by a parasite, leading to its eventual death.
But wait... The voices are gone and I'm not being controlled, it would've only stopped if the plot point had happened... So why-
Before being able to dive deeper, I heard a sudden harsh swing of the door. I immediately sat up straight as I silently stared at Allan who was staring back with hostile eyes. As much as I was glad to see my best friend who I haven't seen in so long, I wasn't so glad with the fact he's glaring as if I've personally offended him.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat, breaking the silence first. I sat up straight, listening attentively to what he's about to say.
"What're you doing in my room?"
"Oh, so this is your room? Well I don't have an answer to that since I was drunk."
"Archer brought you here and I wouldn't have agreed if I knew it was you!"
"Archer...?" I questioned, my mind went to a sudden halt.
Could he possibly be referring to Archer Clint, the annoying over the top male lead?
He scoffed, glaring intensely. "You remember that guy?! The one you stole from!!" He yelled, veins popping out of the corner of his temples. "You're even wearing his hoodie! God that naive idiot!"
No, there's no way that's the case! Archer and Chris never met at a party...
And he wears leather jackets...! Not hoodies!
"Calm down, your blood pressure will rise." I said with genuine concern. He tends to get high blood pressure considering how much alcohol he consumes, but my words instead added more fuel to the fire.
Fuming, he yelled, "Shut up! I don't want some thief in my room! You just waltz around whenever you feel like playing when you barely come to practice!"
I stared confused before my expression quickly turned to pity as I recalled the memories. Chris had replaced players whenever he felt the need to please his parents knowing he was good at hockey, and that was his only shot at pleasing them. Whenever a tournament would come around, he would practice alone till he was on the verge of death. But even with all of those awards, all that effort, and all the trouble he caused,
It was all for nothing.
Even though it was all Chris' doings, I still felt the need to apologize. Especially when Allan's upset over it.
Besides, I myself have some things to apologize for.
I attempted to keep my composure but evidently failed as I spoke with a shaky voice, "Well I- I'm sorry... I'm really sorry.. I know it may be long overdue but still I-"
"Shut the fuck up!" He cut me off. "I know as hell you don't mean it!"
Shaking my head, I clenched my fists and kept myself from raising my voice. "I do mean it, I understand now that what I did was wrong and how it must've affected people."
A sudden voice started speaking. "You don't seem like you regret it though." Allan and I turned to see the voice coming from Daniel. He had that same long shoulder length hair, simple sense of style, and calm but harsh tone. Daniel leaned in the doorway as he stared at me, eyes full of hostility.
It most certainly wasn't pleasant to be seen as some kind of criminal to my friends.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Allan snapped but Daniel ignored him, keeping his attention on me.
He stepped closer little by little. "You're just apologizing cause you don't want to deal with the consequences. By the amount of times you've repeated it, you don't regret it at all. I'm sure you'd do it again when you have the chance."
My breath hitched, eyes shaking as my mind went into chaos. I shook my head, denying his words. I know what I did was wrong, I knew I should've been there for them, I knew I should've been a better friend, but...
Do I regret it?
My mind went blank. I resent myself for not answering. I knew it may just sound like an excuse but I worked day and night in building my career. It was all I could ever think of, it was all I've dreamed of my entire life, and ever since she'd left it burned stronger than ever.
It was all I had left.
But the question is, was my career more important than my best friends? If I were to go back to that life, would I continue living the life I had lived without them, just to live the life I wanted?
I couldn't answer, I resent myself for that.
"I'm sorry." I said, almost as quiet as a murmur, It was all I could say.
Daniel scoffed, turning his gaze away from me and walked towards Allan. He whispered something to his ear. Allan shoved him out and slammed the door in his face. "Shut the fuck up, asshole!"
He spun around and rushed towards me. "If you really are sorry then make an effort to come to practice today. "
I felt a vein twitch as my mind drifted off to a scene in the book.
Hockey... hockey practice?
During hockey practice at the locker rooms, that's where Chris had committed his second murder. The guy who attends practice once in a blue moon only went so he could beat a man to death with a hockey stick the very moment they were alone.
Chris' insanity and obsession was prominent in the book. But his intellect, wit and cunningness were hidden. After his first, he was precise and cautious with his murders. Knowing full well when to strike, where he was blind to be seen, and how he'll make it seem like nothing ever happened. Even with his high intelligence, he had kept it hidden, it was as if he was waiting for a reason, as if everything was a flick of a switch.
The trigger to his downfall.
My body shivered as if the room dropped to 10 degrees. Allan noticed my silence and scoffed. "I figured, I shouldn't have asked." He spun his heel around as he turned to leave, I quickly grabbed his wrist. "Fine, I- I'll do it..." I said, voice evidently shaking. Although there was currently no trigger like last time, I couldn't take any chances of it happening any time soon. Even with that dangerously high risk, and overall illogical decision,
I thought it would be the right thing to choose my friends for once.
I just had to be extra cautious, I would just have to make sure I don't kill anyone,
That wouldn't be hard.
☄• ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊° .☆•°. *࿐
As I walked through the hallways on my way to the ice rink, I now had a clearer memory of last night. However it unfortunately didn't change the fact my head was throbbing and felt like I was back in law school again, pulling countless all-nighters. It was hard to believe I used to drink a lot back in college when right now it felt like my entire world was crumbling down with a single hangover.
I've been told that I had an embarrassing drunk habit of where I would ramble on about random facts I've found whenever I was distracted from doing work.
I only hoped nothing like that had ever happened.
Recalling from the memories of last night, my face scrunched in displeasure at my careless behavior...
Why did I think my broken car would magically teleport in this nonsensical book world! Due to my negligence, I had to get it repaired, sadly leaving it all alone in the repair shop.
Finally arriving at the ice rink, I walked through the locker room. In an instant, the once lively atmosphere full of chatter suddenly turned dead silent. Their expressions were everything but friendly, all looked angry, confused, and a mix of both.
But among the waves of hostility, I found myself staring back at a familiar face. He didn't have the same hateful look like the others, he wore a foreign expression that I wasn't used to seeing.
"Alright team it's time-" A woman, presumably the coach shouted as she walked in but halted when she saw me. Her face fell, she looked over to her team as if to find someone before turning to me. "So Chris, you're early this time. How'd you know a tournament was coming up? I was just about to announce it." She commented calmly, but I could tell it was full of contempt.
Allan abruptly stood up, jaw hanging open in shock. "Wha- What do you mean there's a game coming?!"
"Don't butt in when I didn't ask you to, Hayes!" The coach yelled assertively, making Allan sit back down with a frown.
When her attention moved to Allan, I spoke softly, "I had no idea there was going to be a game, I just thought to make amends from slacking off from practice."
She turned her head to scoff before turning back with a forced smile. "If you really wanted to make amends, then you shouldn't have come."
A sudden swing of the door was heard. Daniel stepped in, eyes not leaving mine. He looked away before laughing bitterly. "So I was right."