Chapter 15 :

"I complement you on your taste. And that is the slavering, shivering thing you preferred to me!" — Heathcliff Earnshaw.

Last night went with Niall participating in my pity parties, consoling me, and explaining to me how the words were false and how I shouldn't be caring about what anyone had to say. And I hadn't seen Alexander for a week, because I barely came out of my condo, drowning in self pity and self loathing. Jeremy had called twice to know if I was okay, to which I said that I was. Roulette clearly hadn't let him know about the occurrences on the day of the party, so I chose not to tell him either.

And today, after many days, there was swimming practise which I had to attend because of me dropping two practices on the previous consecutive days. As much as I didn't want to see his face, I also had to keep my position in the team. The thought of seeing him at practise today, dried my throat and froze my brain. Could I handle it? After all what he said to me?

Grabbing my swimming cap and goggles from the cupboard, I exited my condo. Within few minutes, I was there at the swimming hall all alone. There was this thing of mine which struck to me as quite admirable a trait, that was punctuality. On some days, I was even ahead of time. Peeling the shirt off my back, I threw it in the metal locker, after which I stripped down to by boxers, doing the same before slamming it shut with a sharp clang.

On normal days, I would've admired my lean, yet muscular figure myself, because I knew I looked hot. But I wasn't in the mood. I leant against one of the lockers, intently gazing at the pool water when a group of three people entered. Cole, Adrian and the devil himself. No sooner had he seen me, his grey eyes flickered to me at an instant, scanning me from head to toe. The coach was trailing behind them, and asked us to get down to work.

His locker was two lockers after mine, and I couldn't bring myself to watch him strip. The words he spewed that day, had been branded in my memory and couldn't be banished. Not that I didn't try. Strapping my cap, I took in a deep breath, steadying myself. Depression could wait. It would be given a chance too, to show itself and speak. Footsteps came from behind me, and became more prominent as they came closer to me, halting about an inch away from me. I scoffed, not even making an effort to look back. I could feel him standing right behind me, his eyes grazing my back.

"Tobias." And there it was. Formal acknowledgement. Running my tongue over my lips, I titled my head back, snorting. I was in no mood for his games. Not now. Not ever. His voice sounded strange to me because the anger and the contempt didn't surface above.

"Harris." Now it was the time for the surname. The thing I hated about myself was, I despised him to death but I still knew that I wanted him, and was terribly attracted to him. It was just the physical attribute, and still it pissed me off to no end. I hated him and I knew he hated me too. The coach's impatient whistle blew through the air, breaking the moment.

Putting my goggles on, I jumped in the water with a splash, going deep inside after which I kicked at my hands and legs, allowing me to come to the surface again. The cool water calmed down my nerves, as I swam to the starting point, waiting for the others to join in. Soon, everyone was in the pool and waiting apprehensively for the game to begin. It was a practice trail, and I had to win this one though I knew that he was a better swimmer than I.

"Go!" Was the word that put us at fight against our nerves, and the next thing I knew was us swimming to the farthest, our potential would allow. The next few minutes were a blur of water, hands and legs, when I found myself to be nasty close to the finishing line. At the corner of my eye, I found Alexander satisfyingly behind me, and the others behind him. Reluctantly, I reduced my speed a bit, eyes set on the finishing line when I took in a deep breath to give it one last stroke.

But before I realized what was happening, Roulette had crossed the line. What the fuck? My eyes widened at the realization as I increased my pace, taking in another deep breath, kicking at the water with all my might, and I came second. Fuck this shit.