Crush 3

Alti

A world beyond this world.

I was raised believing in all truths. Of which I yearned for one thing, the bloody Phoenix. The glorious protector of Suwan because of which this group came to existence.

" To the bloody Phoenix!"

We raised our cups into the air and chugged down the wine. From then the crowd became busy with idle chats, some going to the room for the night with someone by their sides, while some lingering in the hall for longer.

Sitting alone on the table, I stared at my father, who seemed to be busy talking to some other members of the group.

I dared not disturb him, yearning for just one look of his in my direction but it never happened. I looked down at my plate and played with the spoon, then after some time I clicked my tongue and stood up.

"Father"

The room fell into silence after that. All eyes on me. My father lifted his gaze and my heartbeat raced.

"What?"

I pressed my lips thin at the tone of his voice.

"I need to talk to you, Father"

He stared at me for a moment then nodded his head. He got up from the chair and I followed him outside. Once we reached the balcony he looked at me.

"Now what is it?"

The air swished around us, a little aggressive, enough to mess my hair and make my dress stick to my skin by a bit.

"I wanted to talk"

"Talk then"

I clenched my fist behind my back and gazed over the city lights twinkling bright like stars, trying to calm myself down.

"I got drafted for student council last week"

He stared at me for a long time and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't tell me you called me just for this, Alti"

Anger rose within me, I glared at him, trying my best to keep the tears in.

"Just for this!? Is that all I am to you? You are my father for god's sake!!!"

He gritted his teeth and pulled my hair tight, making me look up to him.

"Don't you ever use your voice at me like that. Do you understand!? And don't ever waste my precious time like this"

He released my hair after that. I sniffled and brought my hand over the area he pulled, the lingering ache, still on my scalp.

"One day, father, one day. I will conjure the bloody Phoenix even before you or anyone else does. Then you'll know your mistake"

I stormed out of the balcony with a deep sting in my heart, blinking the tears away that stained my cheeks and everything around blurry.

I shut the door to my room closed and screamed into the pillow, the pain in my head reminding me of everything that happened just moments ago. That night, I let myself drown in the bitter water to never drink it ever again.

With red and swollen eyes, did I woke up in the morning. I kept on washing my face in the sink, iced my eyes then used concealer to hide the hints. Only then, did I got out of the car with a sandwich in hand to the first class of the day.

Zoology.

"Morning"

Rix greeted me with a smile on his face. I smiled back.

"Morning"

I sat next to him, discussing further on the project. He was an excellent partner, I must admit. He was good at his job. He had blue eyes and black hair, curled at the end.

Embarrassingly so, my stomach rumbled loudly, in the thick silence. Snickers and laughter soon filled the atmosphere with my cheeks burning. Rix looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey, we can have lunch together after this"

I tried to reject his offer but he persisted and I couldn't deny it anymore.

"Fine. Thank you"

We continued on after that till the bell rang and finally I could go to the food court that was calling my name from afar. He led me to a table where a guy was already waiting with two plates of food.

"Ez!"

He threw his arms around the guy's shoulder and beamed brightly.

"Meet Alti, my partner in zoology and Alti, meet my bro, my best friend, my back bone, Ez"

I smiled at them, feeling the glitter of joy around them and shook his hand.

Ez had silver hair with honey brown eyes. It was beautiful.

"Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you as well"

We ended up getting lost in a spiral of conversation that flowed so smoothly over our food. Then I thought back on how long it had been since I chatted with someone that went by the title, friend. And when the bell rang, marking the end of the lunch and our conversation, disappointment surged through my chest, yet I picked up my bag to go.

"Bye-"

Rix's hand slipped and his bag fell on the floor. I froze. He quickly tried to assemble all things and left the cafeteria with Ez, leaving me stunned to the ground.

The book.

The book of ten saints, it was with him.

I chewed on my bottom lip and clenched my fist.

I needed to get my hands on it. But how? What was I supposed to do now?

Breaking trust was the last thing I wanted to do. And neither could I go upfront and tell them everything. I chewed on my nails and moved on to the next class in dilemma.

After thinking the whole day, when I saw them come out of the college and go the opposite direction, my feet became jittery and my palms twitched to follow them.

Like a rat, I morphed among the shadows when they looked back, and slipped into the crowd when they stopped at a cafe. I waited the entire time for them to move sitting at the very corner table with a cup of Latte. I watched as I sipped, Rix and Ez arguing about something.

Words like 'library', and 'tonight' were heard but the rest were muffled. I couldn't hear properly.