Page 56 of Needing More
"Oh, it has everything to do with him and that slut."
All three of them turned at the new voice. Standing at the top of the stairs was a skeletal figure dressed in a pair of overly loose light blue scrubs. The light almost soothing color was a mockery in comparison to the twisted expression that contorted the man’s face. Half a smile and half a sneer, the old man's wild eyes looked at them with ill-conceived satisfaction as his damning words settled over the three of them like falling ashes.
"Tell them, boy," he croaked from above as he pointed weakly at Hayden. His sunken eyes were like blazing daggers as he stared at Vic. "Tell them how you fucked their girl in that living room. How you'vebeenfucking that whore. Show them what a real friend you are."
Chapter 17
Theworldbrokeintochaos around her.
Vic's dark eyes glittered up at the old man with pure hatred. "You're fucking dead."
Running past her, he took the stairs two at a time, grabbing his father and shoving him back into the room.
She looked to Hayden and shakily reached for him. "I didn't…I mean I…we.." Her stumbling words died on her tongue as Hayden jerked away from her hand.
Anger and horror danced in his beautiful grey eyes, turning them to winter storms directed at her. "You lied to me," he whispered. The words, cold and brittle, were like the snowy winds off a mountain peak.
Freezing on the spot, Sapphire watched helplessly as he turned and left out the door slamming it behind him.
"Fucking hell," Joel cursed and ran after him, not sparing her a glance.
Sapphire swallowed, the sound louder than normal. She felt suddenly so hollow, like her bones and insides had been scraped out, leaving nothing. Everything around her was all of a sudden covered in an odd unreal blandness like a vintage photograph. The pain in her head thrummed harder and harder as she took an unsteady step back and turned down the hall.
This was it, her nightmare come to life. She replayed the look on Hayden's face over and over again and saw the fine traces of disgust as he looked at her. Maybe Joel did look at her as he ran after Hayden. Didn't she see a sneer of revulsion in his expression?
Somehow through each painful step that made her head feel as if it were going to explode, she made it to Vic's bathroom and closed and locked the door behind her.
Would it be so bad if it did explode?
Sapphire leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. She lost them. Everything she had ever wanted, she lost in a span of minutes. Would it be so bad if the pain thumping in her head and spreading over her face killed her?
Everything around her grew blurrier and she made a noise in the back of her throat as the pain increased. Sapphire thought of Joel and Hayden riding away on their bikes. She thought of Vic's blaming eyes when he realized the loss of his friends. She was alone again. She swayed on her feet as a brittle smile spread across her face. It was just about right, wasn't it?
Everyone always left her in the end.
The blurriness turned to darkness and she felt the impact just before the nothingness.
By the time Vic got back downstairs the foyer was empty. Looking around, he caught movement outside in the front. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Pacing just beneath the stairs, Hayden was in the middle of arguing with Joel, who was standing off to the side.
"I told you this would happen. I told you we should've never let him near her," he roared.
Vic ignored the stab of pain caused by his words and moved forward on the porch, causing it to creak beneath his boots.
Hayden whipped his head in his direction and Vic could see the glimmer of unhinged fury in the man's eyes. Vic didn't react or try to do anything to stop it. He just watched as his best friend took the steps in two strides and watched the fist come toward him. It landed like a slab of concrete to the face.
Hayden wasn't done. Grabbing Vic by the collar, Hayden pulled him in for another punch followed by another.
Stumbling back, Vic tasted blood and winced at the burning pain in his nose.
"You asshole!" Hayden bellowed. "I trusted you!"
Wiping at his bloody face with the back of his hand, Vic took another unsteady step backward. The raw pain in his friend's voice felt like a knife to the gut. He'd rather Hayden just punch him again than this.
Not meeting either of their gazes, Vic stared at the wooden boards of the porch. He knew he should apologize but couldn't bring himself to do it. He wasn’t sorry for what he did, hell, he would do it again and again. He had no choice. But he was sorry for Sapphire. The pale look he had seen on her face before he dragged that old bastard back to his room and locked the door had haunted him.
Licking the blood from his mouth, he looked past Hayden and Joel, scanning the yard.
"So you're not going to say anything," Hayden growled, coming closer to him. "You have nothing to say after-"
