All Chapters of What the Game Revealed: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The moment those words left the speaker, the lively atmosphere around us died instantly. The room fell into a suffocating silence.Brady Campbell snatched the phone back and hung up immediately. His face had gone deathly pale, the look of a man who had no idea how to explain himself.Then his phone rang again.Whoever was calling seemed terrified that something had happened to him and kept dialing without pause.A chill spread through my entire body as I slowly lifted my head."Are you going to answer it yourself, or should I do it for you?"Sensing the tension, the others hurried to smooth things over."This has to be some kind of misunderstanding.""Come on, everybody knows Brady would do anything for you. Hell, he once took a knife for you."We had grown up together. Somewhere along the way, we'd become two of the most important people in each other's lives.When a gang of street thugs was extorting me, he was the one who came to save me. He was stabbed eleven times and ca

I kept my expression calm, preserving the last shred of dignity I had left.It wasn't until I climbed into the taxi that the mask finally cracked. Tears fell onto my knees one after another.Curled up in the corner of the backseat, I wrapped my arms around myself.The condition I had thought I finally had under control came roaring back, pushing me toward the edge once again.The moment I got home, I started smashing everything in sight.Even as shards of glass sliced open my hands and blood stained the ground beneath me, I couldn't stop. It felt as though only pain could keep the terror inside me at bay.Then I found the knife Brady had hidden away from me and raised it toward my arm.The front door suddenly burst open.Josephine rushed inside, breathing hard as she snatched the knife from my hand. Her eyes were frighteningly red, her face twisted with anger."Have you lost your mind? Gideon, when did you become like this?"When did I become like this?Maybe it was when eig

Neither Brady nor Josephine spoke during the drive home.Owen sat by the window, his eyes still red."Mom, I won't let anyone bully you. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll do what I did today and chase the bad guys away."Something in his words immediately caught Josephine's attention. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened."Today? Owen, did you hit Uncle Gideon today?"He nodded proudly, like a hero who had just defeated a monster. "Not only did I hit him, I threw a cup at him and bit his hand too!"The car screeched to a stop. Brady lurched forward and smacked his head against the seat in front of him."Josephine, what are you doing?"Owen, who taught you this? Who taught you that it's okay to hit people?"The sudden outburst stunned both Owen and Josephine.Owen's shoulders trembled. Tears immediately spilled down his cheeks."I... I just didn't want Mom to cry anymore. I didn't want you and Mom fighting every day."Brady finally snapped back to himself and pulled Owen

Josephine started having trouble sleeping.Every night, she'd sit alone in the living room, staring at the lamp she'd left on.She tried turning it off once, but when the darkness closed in around her, the memories only became clearer.The image of me curled up in the corner, the cuts running down my arm, the way my face snapped to the side when she slapped me.She unlocked her phone and opened her photo gallery.There were pictures of Brady, Owen, and the three of them together as a family.But after scrolling through her entire phone, she found only three photos of me.One was a candid shot. I was standing in the kitchen making pasta, my hair a mess as I yawned.Another was from when we'd first started dating. I was smiling so hard my eyes had curved into crescents while she held my hand.The last one was from the worst period of my depression.Brady couldn't bear to watch anymore, so he had secretly taken the photo and sent it to her.In the picture, I looked frighteningl

We stood outside the cafe for a long time, long enough for the sun to disappear below the horizon and for the streetlights to flicker on.Josephine finished her coffee but continued holding the empty cup, unsure where to put it.I pointed toward the trash can nearby.She walked over, threw it away, then came back, like a child who didn't know what she was supposed to do next."You should go home." My voice was quiet.She shook her head. The movement was small, but firm."Not yet."I didn't ask her to leave again. Instead, I took her to a restaurant I visited often. It was a small place that served local comfort food.The owner knew me well. When he saw me walk in with a woman, his eyes immediately lit up. "Gideon, is this your girlfriend?"I shook my head and explained that she was just a friend.Josephine sat across from me, watching me chat happily with the owner. I ordered without hesitation, and my eyes curved into crescents when I smiled. She hadn't seen those expressi