Gambler

Sigh of flame

Susan. I slowly weave along the wet road, carelessly jumping over small puddles. The velvety air wreaked havoc on the rustle of leaves and caught in my hair. There's no one around. Silence... Taylor never returned. I take my phone out of my pocket and check the message. Still not read. There is no answer. "I heard HE's back in town," a voice comes around the corner, and I stop. "What nonsense are you talking about, Trina?" It's been more than a year and a half since he disappeared from the city. "He did everything right," says a third voice. "I'd do the same if I were him." "I'm telling you, it's definitely him, I've seen him!" You remember his name, don't you? You don't have to forget! His name was... "Shut up, Trina, shut up!" A woman's voice shouted almost in a whisper. "Forget about him!" He'll never come back to this city, do you understand? You're not a sheriff! This is a matter for the police, so don't meddle in your own business and... I've been noticed. Without noticing it, I got out of my blind spot. The girls looked at me, and the shortest of them hid anxiously behind the backs of her friends. I quickly adjust the bag on my shoulder and leave. What is going on? Who is he?? I return to the normal world, and the silence is lost among the annoying voices and extraneous sounds. A faint thud on the asphalt lowers my eyes. My pendant. I pick up the thing, lift my feet off the ground again, and see a bright red light in front of me. The red-haired girl ran around the corner and stopped, trying to catch her breath. There was something about this girl that no one else had. Somehow it beckoned me... And I didn't understand what exactly. The screech of tires in the back, I turn around sharply. A red car, with burning caustic discs, flew at breakneck speed onto the sidewalk. And it didn't matter that there were people there right now. It didn't matter that we were there. The driver of the car did not care at all, but only added an incentive to increase speed. A few more seconds... I look at the girl and meet her frightened eyes. But the fear was not from approaching death. From me. Second. "NO! I push my frail body to the side and fly in the same direction, onto the lawn. The car rushes past and, strangely, flattens out onto the road and carries off into the distance." The ringing in my head stops. Flames erupted inside. "Fucking crazy!" He tries to catch up with the car after taking a couple of steps. A sick grunt came from below. "Does it hurt a lot?" Are you okay? I help the girl to her feet and begin to shake off the soiled delicate dress and the same pampered jacket. "What a jerk... I hope that he will be caught and raked into the monkey house for a few days. I don't get a response. You have to slow down your friendliness and look at the redhead's dumbfounded face again. Her hands trembled. Her blue eyes froze on me and began to water. My legs buckled in panic. "S... Sparkle..." Breathing out a word with the rest of the air, the girl clung to me and sobbed. How long was I in a coma? Enough to mistake it for another dream and for my shoulder to be completely wet with other people's tears. But it's not a dream. I can still smell the outside warmth, the smell of cookies and milk, and the wet stain on my sweatshirt. "You're so cold... Here, take this," the girl takes off her jeans jacket and tries to put it on me. I dodge and force her to close her bare shoulders again, which are instantly covered in goosebumps. As if trying to calm down, the redhead takes my hands and exhales. "I was so scared!" I saw everything on the news, Taylor didn't want to tell me anything, I had to try hard to... "How do you know Taylor?" "W-what?..." the girl was taken aback. Her fingers relaxed and almost let go of my palms. "No, I don't." I don't know what to say, so I keep silent. Immediately I feel my palms slipping out of her hands. I step back. "Please, don't say you've forgotten me. Don't leave me again, I just found you! You don't owe me..." "I've heard a lot of such tales," I interrupt her, and I think my tone only frightens her more. "However, the ending of each of them was not as happy as it should have been. "But I'm not a fictional character from a fairy tale. I know you!" I'm confused. Sometimes, it's incredibly difficult when something colossal falls on your shoulders and you just don't know what to do next. I hate myself for continuing to believe without thinking about my safety. "No, you... You've probably come to your senses. You're wrong, I'm not the one in your head right now. I'm sorry," I'm about to run away when she grabs my hand. "Susan Addamson!" Suddenly, the crystal eyes flashed like a spark, and the neat little lips, painted with gloss, stretched hopefully into a smile. "I'd better show you..." With a quick movement, she pulls the phone out of her small backpack and puts the smartphone in my hands without risk. "Don't run away from me. I won't let you go until you believe me! Just believe me..." My eyes run to the photo on the screen, my mind refuses to take it in. Her hand is on the top of the red-haired girl's head, she laughs. I'm laughing... Sincerely, without a drop of falsehood, as I sometimes had to do with others, taking care of the integrity of their souls. I've long studied that smile, those happy eyes and their lively color... I wasn't lying in the photo, and I wasn't trying to lie. I am happy. I was happy. "Were we close?" "I know you've forgotten me, and I know how hard it is for you. And I'm truly sorry that no one has ever found a way to bring you to your senses." "Photos aren't enough. Make me believe you. To make me believe in you," I pause. "Why did you call me Twilight?" Silence falls. The girl looks me in the eye without even trying to hide. I find calm in the two blue lights.  "Because one night you screamed that you would never dare to give up." A herd of goosebumps ran through my body. "We've seen it all. I saw your tears then, how you screamed. Taylor then ran to you, but I stopped him because I knew that no one could save you but yourself." "And what happened then?" The picture gradually surfaced in my mind and it was the questions that I was able to hold onto. So strange... "You came out to us again, smiling. That's when we made you a spark... A never-fading eternal hope." Flash... A scream in my head. A broken easel on the floor, scattered brushes... Paints. The lights went out. I see a girl. Naïve, with a faint smile and child-like. I see a curly-haired guy throwing socks at her, laughing and running away, and she runs after him... I can smell the biscuits with milk. "Jekyline?.." "Oh shit," I turn to the other voice and see a shocked Taylor. The girl's eyes lit up with happiness. Have you ever felt like your life isn't real? That memories are not alive at all, but illusions invented by the mind. Have you ever thought you just didn't exist? When it happened, I couldn't remember what had happened before. Or rather, what happened after I came here. A year of living here, in this city, just disappeared from my memory. I remember my room, my father. His desperation... I have a big gym bag at my feet, and there are things sticking out of it that I probably couldn't get inside. And then the darkness... Light again. My wrists are bandaged, and there is blood in some places. One eye is closed, or rather, there is some kind of gauze on it, which prevents it from opening completely. Pain pierced my right ear, but I couldn't even wince, as if my face had been replaced by someone else's, uncontrollable by me. "I've got to see her!" Let me see her, please! Let! Suddenly, a dark-haired woman bursts into the room and freezes. Her eyes are frightened. I'm scared. The machine on the side of me started beeping. "Miss... Post-traumatic amnesia... You'd better leave," the subconscious tore out in pieces, unable to understand what was happening. I can't get up or scream, my body won't obey. "Don't touch me! I got to... Susan, say something!" "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" A voice shouted in my head, but I never woke up. The pain became stronger, as did the screaming of a sobbing woman. "SUSAN!" Golden flakes fall directly into the water, giving off cold in the back. A sharp lead pulls a thin line, then another, and another. Stay. I peer at the drawing, my breathing slows down as my eyes slowly glide over the outline of the swan. I drew it again. It's like it's some kind of lifelong mark of mine that I can't hide from - a white swan that can turn bloody in an instant. "It's time to take off your pants, Hensel!" We need your stash that you hid from us last week! A loud, irritating laugh confused my train of thought. The secret world is gone. I see these people again, I hear unnecessary sounds, I observe other people's problems. Today, I was sure without a doubt that the rain and overcast weather would force the masked strangers to stay within the walls of the school. I was wrong. Lunch outside, sitting on the wet grass and soaking wet in the cold rain, tastes much better than in a stuffy, sweaty canteen. I felt uneasy. I feel someone's eyes on me. I start to look around and notice her... A girl with snow-white skin, the same blonde hair and a blank expression on her face. Her barely visible lips are closed, and her eyes, dark as night, are wide open. We were separated by a small distance of a few meters, and it would not have been so terrible if she had not taken small steps in my direction, but stood still. "Hello!" I frantically slam my notebook shut, the pencil breaks out of my hands and flies into the fountain. I look ahead, the pale-haired one is gone. I lift my head and rest on the smiling blue eyes. "How long have you been standing behind me?" "That wasn't enough to see your drawings of the madman in the notebook. Don't worry," Jekyline sprawled out on the cool stone, smiling broadly. "That's what Taylor calls him." And I'm not crazy. "It's..." Eyes crept under me. "Journal of Night Butterflies!?" Come on, get off! With a swift movement, the magazine flew out from under my open briefcase, on which I was sitting. The girl clutched the thing to her chest and looked at me disapprovingly. "Aren't you ashamed to treat art like that?" This is the best rock band in the whole world! You've just defiled my soul... Desecrated Robin Touzent! "I completely forgot I took it to school," I grin. "I apologize, Miss Jekylyne Wood. I confess, Robin Touzeni. The condemnation was slowly washed away by dissipation. The edges of her pinkish lips stretched faintly upwards. I still didn't understand what made Jack confused. "I'm out of the habit of being gloomy" Jack rolls over on his back languidly. "It was so good at Event... It's always sunny, it's so warm. And here it's gloomy and so.. "Creepy?" The girl thought for a moment. "I speak as if I were an opponent of the rain." "You prefer the sun, and someone else likes the rain. There's nothing wrong with that." "Yes, I guess you're right. And it would be great if it made even the slightest sense. Take a look! I'm as pale as a toadstool! The universe is clearly against my Hollywood tan. Even that half-witted Taylor, looks livelier than I am!" We laughed. I stop when I realize I've been laughing for too long. But Jack didn't stop... She kept laughing and laughing... So sincerely, sonorously, and clearly without thinking about what others will think. "How beautiful you are," I thought, but I didn't dare to say. "I wasn't the one who put the school up for sale, not me!" I swear by a lucky sock! Why don't you believe me? The school deputy turns to the curly-haired boy. "Last year, at chemistry, you poured all the test tubes on the floor and set up a skating rink in the classroom." "Only one!" And it was fun... Everyone appreciates it! Don't you? "The day before last, I released bees at an international exhibition, and I had to catch them all over the school." "Well, actually, wasps." "And two weeks ago, he hacked into the school system. No one can still connect the Internet and set the geolocation of the institution, it is no longer listed on the maps." "It's all Sam, with his mania for getting all the information from the Pentagon! Do you think I'm capable of that?" A deep sigh was heard. "You're capable of more." After these words, the man leaves for school, leaving the guy alone. "Harrison's not in the mood today," I reply, spitting on the sunken pencil in the fountain. Jack swings on his toes next to him. "That weirdo said it was all my fault!" Am I the main thing at school? Why me? "It's him." "What?" "Harrison is a man. It's not a woman." "Wow," Taylor said, surprised. "And I wanted to ask that hot thing out on a date, just so she wouldn't send me to the remedial class." Jekyline rubbed her shoulders, trembling with fear. "It's so cold out there... The worst place on this planet." "I'd rather spend another month serving our parents' sentence and brushing my socks than they'll lock me up in this booth again!" "Of course! By the way, last time, it was your fault that I was sent there!" "Is it my fault?!" And who put gaskets on his wheelbarrow with me, huh? "Otherwise, you'd have been caught even earlier and put in a monkey house!" "Well, you got there with me!" Words get lost in space, my eyes drift to the side and my breath stops. I notice how the school yard gradually calms down, but not to the point where it becomes completely quiet. The doors of the dark red car open and two pairs of shoes descend to the asphalt. Quiet and so stunning to the eyes... Caustic red discs... Flames flared up in his chest. "One of them almost hit us." At these words, my heart instantly shrinks to the size of a cherry. Now the eyes of strangers stop in our direction, as if I said it too loudly and too closely. Time slows down and drags on for an eternity. The two sides of the coin: cold and flame, indifference and distrust. The guys are still watching, or rather, now only one of them. Blue-Eyes tries to revive the blond-haired man by silently saying a few words to him. But he doesn't hear. Because now his main target is me. I see that look. Like the bright eyes are still trying to burn me, trample me into ashes, and no, it's clearly not like "love at first sight", definitely not. He looks at me so blank and murderous at the same time. It's like I've ruined his life. "Careful!" Time is defrosting. A strong, knocking blow passes over the face and the ball flies to the side. The notebook breaks out of my hands and falls to the ground. I clutch at my burnt face. "Oh my God! Jekyline rushed to me and held me close to her, as if to protect me from further consequences, "Hush, hush, hush!" Who did it?! Come on, show yourself!" His eyes twinkled. Swimming faces, Taylor and Jack finally calm down. "From one to ten, rate this pain!" "Judging by her face, it's eleven," Tei replies. "... No no. I... normally. Tolerable. It doesn't hurt me at all." I freeze. Realizing my situation, I close my eyes in shame and sigh quietly. What was the probability that the ball would fly right here, at me, and right in the face? "Your mother... Girlfriend, are you okay? A stranger runs up. "I didn't want to, ... "I saw you kick him!" Jekyline cries out for me. Rescuing the guy from his enraged sister, Taylor comes to make himself a "human shield" by standing in front. "Do you think you're a 'Mr. Cool' who can smack volleyballs anywhere?" "Whoa, whoa, easy, new!" I apologized, I didn't do it on purpose." "If it hadn't been her, you could have blown someone's face off like that." For a small child! And now, put your feet in your hands, because you've got three seconds before I shove it into your hands! "Jack, calm down," I have to stop her, dropping my hand from my burning cheek to her shoulder. "I'm alive and well, see? Think... "Good shot, Tate," a calm, hoarse voice behind him. "Keep it up. Two dark-haired friends walk past us. As soon as you catch the stranger's caustic eyes, they immediately run at Taylor. His friend's face changed, only it didn't look like fear or rivalry. It was a feeling that no one could understand. Not even me. The stranger who had apologized to me backed away in disbelief. Disgust and absent-mindedness mingled inside me, I couldn't say a word. The distance is getting bigger, the guys are already walking with their backs to us, and I just don't understand what I'm trying to achieve, burning the back of the blond haired man with my eyes. As if sensing this, he stops and turns his head, but the screech of a dark-haired girl flying up to him does not allow him to finish the action. He's not too happy to see her. He's not happy at all. "I've been waiting for you to come back!" We've missed you so much! She hung on his neck and screamed in his ear again. Her voice was ingrained in her eardrums and the headache intensified. I wince. In my mind, people like her, usually in horror movies or horror stories, are the first to die. The girl does not untie herself, the guy's attempts to take his face away from her are in vain. The pink problem is too insistent. The last straw. Restraining himself from dislike, the green-eyed guy calmly unhooks the girl's juicy body from him and says something to her. She laughed. He says something again. The girl's smile slowly fades. There was a long pause between them. This was enough to take advantage of the dark-haired woman's shocked state and finish what she had started – to get inside the school. Everything is also loud and stunning to the eyes and quiet to the ears. Was it not a funny joke or did he decide to play a survival game by crossing the wrong path? Jackyline said audibly, her eyes fixed on the frozen ghosts of the two fair-haired boys at the entrance to the school. "He doesn't look like someone who can laugh."