My worst nightmare

Emery's point of view 

The horrifying thing about betrayal is that sometimes the people ruining your life are still smiling at you while they do it.

“Good morning, bestie!” Jenna’s voice sliced through the noisy school hallway as she rushed toward me holding out a steaming cup of coffee with the same bright smile she’d worn since we were six years old.

The sight of her made my stomach turn violently, I stared at the cup; Vanilla latte, extra foam, exactly how I liked it.

My fingers twitched at my sides because for years, this girl knew everything about me, my favorite songs, my worst fears, the way I cried silently whenever life hurt too much.

I hadn’t even formed the best reply when another familiar body suddenly wrapped around me from behind. “Hey, love.”

Allen pulled me straight into his chest like nothing had changed, his warm hands slid around my waist naturally while students passed around us laughing and talking, completely unaware my entire world was rotting from the inside out.

“Sorry about yesterday,” he murmured against my hair. “I had a terrible headache.”

My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt and I slowly pulled away from him and looked between both of them standing there side by side pretending innocence so perfectly they deserved Oscar awards.

Jenna sipped her coffee casually, Allen smiled softly at me.A dry laugh escaped me. “Really? I’m sure Jenna had something to do with that headache.”

Something flickered across Allen’s face, Jenna blinked innocently. “Me?” She pointed at herself dramatically. “What do I have to do with your boyfriend’s headache?”

The urge to rip that fake expression off her face nearly overwhelmed me. My nails dug into my palms.

“You really want to play dumb right now?”l Aen’s expression hardened slightly. “Emery.”

“Don’t you dare call my name with those lying, cheating lips of yours,” I snapped.

Students nearby had started slowing down, watching and whispering, but I didn’t care anymore. My heart had been bleeding since last night anyway.

I yanked my phone out with shaking fingers and pressed play on the audio recording.At first, only soft static came through the speaker, then Jenna’s moan echoed loudly through the hallway.

The entire corridor fell silent, a girl nearby gasped, “holy shit.”

Allen’s jaw tightened, Jenna’s face lost color for exactly one second before she recovered frighteningly fast.

I stared at them both, waiting for denial, for shame, for apology, but all I got was the shock of my life. 

Allen sighed heavily like I was embarrassing him.“Finally,” Jenna muttered under her breath.

My chest tightened painfully. Allen rubbed his temple impatiently before looking me dead in the eye. “You were going to find out eventually.” The calmness in his voice shattered something inside me completely.

“You’re not even sorry?” My voice cracked.

“For what?” Jenna shot back immediately. “Falling in love?”

I physically flinched, Allen didn’t deny it, he shoved his hands into his pockets casually while students stared openly now.

“I stopped loving you months ago, Emery.”His eyes were cold, like I meant absolutely nothing to him.

“I tried ending things in my head a hundred times,” he continued bluntly. “But you were always so emotionally fragile that it became exhausting.”

Every word landed like a blade sliding deeper into my chest. Jenna stepped beside him confidently now, no longer pretending innocence.

She crossed her arms. “Actuall, I turned the phone on last night on purpose, sneaking around was getting annoying.”

A sharp ringing filled my ears, “ What?”

“Well,” she shrugged lightly, “you weren’t getting the hint.”

Something broke loose inside me then and I shoved her hard.

“You bitch!”

Gasps erupted around us as Jenna pushed me back, I stumbled backward, Allen immediately grabbed my wrist aggressively. “Lay a finger on her and I'll make you regret ever crossing paths with me.”

I looked down at his hand gripping me and felt my heart split open all over again.“I chose Jenna because she makes me happy,” he continued coldly. “She’s fun to be around, she understands me.”

“And I didn’t?”

“You were becoming miserable.”

My throat burned violently. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall in front of them.

Jenna smiled faintly. “Honestly, Emery, you should thank me. At least now you can stop embarrassing yourself thinking he still loved you.”

The cruelty in her voice stunned me speechless. Allen looked bored already, like ending me was taking too long.

“I think we’re done here,” he muttered, “let's go hon,” he said, wrapping his arm around Jenna's waist.

I stood frozen in the middle of the corridor while humiliation crawled all over my skin like insects.Then my phone rang, unknown number.

I answered blindly, barely breathing properly. “Hello?”

“You have 60 seconds to get to the rink, or else…..” Every muscle in my body tensed instantly when Xavier's arrogant voice came through the phone.

“I’ll personally erase your name from two skating lists,” he added.

I swallowed hard. “I’m not skipping, I just…”

“I don’t care,” his tone sliced clean through mine.

“You scholarship girls always think rules bend for your personal drama.”

Anger flared instantly through my humiliation. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I could practically hear his smirk through the phone. “And trust me, Emery, getting you kicked off this team would make my morning significantly better.”

The line disconnected.My heartbeat slammed violently against my ribs, because Xavier never made empty threats.

Eighty seconds later, I shoved open the rink doors breathlessly.Cold air hit my face instantly, then laughter followed.

I froze as my eyes swept through the rink. It wasn’t just Xavier waiting, his entire squad lounged around the rink like predators waiting for entertainment.

Even the witch, Ophelia Hart sat elegantly across the bench in white skates worth more than three months of my salary. Her glossy blonde hair spilled perfectly over her shoulders while amusement glittered in her eyes.

“Well,” she drawled lazily. “The charity case survived.”

Heat crawled up my neck instantly. Xavier stood near the rink boards dressed entirely in black training gear, hockey stick resting against his shoulder.

God….he looked cruelly beautiful, like every bad decision wrapped into one person. Dark messy hair, sharp jawline, cold gray eyes that looked at me with absolute disgust.

“You’re late,” he said flatly.

“I came as fast as I could.”

“Of course you did, always acting so pitiful and pathetic.”

My fists clenched immediately, Ophelia snorted softly. Xavier skated toward me slowly, towering over me even on ice.

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough. Scholarship student, part-time waitress, broke- ass mother.” His lip curled faintly. “You people survive by feeding off richer lives.”

Rage exploded through my chest.“I earned my place here!”

“On paper maybe.”Then his expression turned cruel again.

“Now skate.”

The next three hours became torture. Xavier pushed me harder than everyone else deliberately.

Jump drills, balance repetitions, sprint laps.Every time I slowed down, his voice cracked through the rink sharply.“Again.”

My muscles screamed, cold seeped into my bones until I could barely feel my fingers.Pain exploded through my knee when I missed a landing and crashed hard onto the ice. Ophelia laughed softly from the sidelines. Xavier skated toward me slowly before crouching beside me.For one stupid second, I thought he might help, instead he grabbed my chin roughly.

“You know what happens to weak people at Blackridge?”

I jerked away from him angrily. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

His eyes turned glacial, the cruelty in his face sent chills down my spine.Before he could continue, Coach Reynolds stormed into the rink furiously.

“What is going on here?” Coach looked at my trembling body and instantly exploded.“She’s burning up!”

Only then did I realize how violently I was shivering. Xavier stood calmly. “Then maybe she isn’t strong enough for regionals.”Coach looked ready to murder him. “Training is over.”

Relief nearly made me collapse, by evening, my fever had become unbearable. I stumbled into the apartment shaking uncontrollably, barely able to breathe properly.

Mom’s fiancé was inside speaking on the phone when he noticed me swaying near the doorway. His expression changed immediately.

“Jesus Christ,” he came running to me.

“I’m fine,” I lied weakly.

“You can barely stand.”

“I still have work tonight.”

“You’re not going to work.”

I tried arguing, but dizziness slammed into me so violently my knees buckled. Strong arms caught me before I hit the floor.

The shock of being cared for almost hurt more than the fever.“You need treatment immediately,” he said firmly.

“I can’t afford hospitals.”

“You won’t be paying.”

After nearly twenty minutes of persuasion, I finally gave in. His mansion looked unreal, massive chandeliers, marble floors, walls bigger than our entire apartment, everything blurred after that.

When I woke up later that evening, my fever had reduced and the house was silent. My throat felt painfully dry, so I pushed myself out of bed and wandered downstairs searching for water, then I stopped dead in the living room.

At first, I thought the fever had returned…that was the only explanation for why Xavier Vaughn was staring at me from a framed memorial photograph.

The resemblance wasn’t normal, it was terrifying, same eyes, same scar near the brow, same cold expression that haunted my nightmares.

“That’s my son…... passed away a few years ago,” the voice behind me nearly made me jump. I turned slowly to find Mom’s fiancé standing there with sadness carved deep into his face.

My mouth went dry,  I stared back at the photograph, horror creeping slowly through my chest.That's impossible, I had spoken to Xavier Vaughn this morning....and dead boys weren’t supposed to bully people.