| Ian Morgan |

"Your eyes look haunted."

It made me laugh out loud in the most pathetic way possible. Why did I ever think I could fool her? After all the both of us knew what hell was like.

I didn't answer and she still heard me.

"If. .if it's about Jeffrey—,"

My eyes shot up at her in warning and her shoulders slackened.

"Let go of it , Ian. You didn't do it. Brad did it." Chelissa said gently.

"I was a part of it. No one can tell me otherwise." I didn't have it in me to talk about it further.

She had opened her mouth to probably argue when her eyes widened.

Not at me.

At the incoming group of people I used to know and hang out with.

Brad , Chuck and his minions.

Brad had a smug look on his punched in face while Chuck looked betrayed as his eyes dart between us in a mad manner.

"Well well, look what we have here, guys. The murderer and the. .," his brown eyes slipped to Chelissa , skimming down the length of her legs , " why am i not surprised."

"What the fuck are you doing with him?" Chuck hissed, jabbing his thumb at me.

Chelissa got up and I too had to.

"The same thing I was doing with you." She popped her hip, her eternal careless expressions pissing him off further.

He took a threatening step at her and I stepped in front of her, blocking her from his view while Brad watched with amusement.

"Get the fuck out , Morgue! This doesn't concern you!" He spat, the fat vein on his forehead pulsing.

"She's my friend so technically it does concern me , Chucky."

Brad guffawed, thumping his back.

"I told ya , mate. She doesn't stick around much once she gets what she wants." Brad snickered.

Chuck looked ready to blow up.

I craned my neck at my former best friend , to think he had been a part of my life. . . disgust rolled off of me.

"I let you destroy me , Brad. I won't let you do it to another person." My calm voice pulled off the facade he had for the world.

Chuck vanished in background as Brad stepped forward, no longer laughing.

My gaze was unflinching and it made him uncomfortable.

When he gets uncomfortable, he lashes out.

Just like now. .

His hand shot out and grabbed me from the front of my hoodie. I let him beat me up because I wanted to. Because I knew his guilt was eating him up too like it was eating me away.

"Don't start what you can't finish." His voice was low , eyes ruthless but I knew him well than that. He was hiding.

"Did no one tell you? You can't smoke away your guilt. You can't beat it up or fuck it , Brad." My voice hit the right nerves because fear trickled in his eyes.

"May it consume you like it did me." I smiled , a hollow smile.

Brad pulled back, as if my shirt burned his hand. He looked harassed.

"You did it , Ian. You were the one who—," Chuck tried to defend him.

"I didn't tie him to the pole. He did it." I said in an ice cold voice and he shook his head wildly.

"Fuck you." Brad got breathless and everyone glanced at him like they were seeing him for the very first time.

The collected Brad wasn't so collected after all .

And he left.

His stance angry , his hands clenched into fists.

I pitied him.

××××××××××××××

| Hailey Pickett |

Stella gasped when Brad pulled him by the shirt , his face murderous. Everyone had their hands ready on their cellphone to catch the showdown.

But what bothered me the most was. . Ian's face. His fearless eyes. He didn't even seem angry.

The whole scenario reeked of violence which could erupt anytime. .my heart went wild when Ian said something and Brad instantly backed off.

Just as that happened, my heart breathed in relief and . .

What the hell was I doing? My heart was responding to a stranger?!!

A stranger who was cozy with the whore.

My temples started to throb , i touched my forehead . Cursing my heart for making me go through shit.

"No wonder girls came at him. He's hot and brave. Chelissa too dumped Chuck for him." Stella said in a dreamy way.

I did not like any of that. Seeing Chelissa place her hand on his shoulder—seeing him react to her touch—

I was the one who needed a psychiatrist!

That night , he dropped me off without saying another word . I needed closure.

Sometimes strangers too needed closure.

×××××××××××××

It had to be the most boring ride ever.

Stella and I, we always took the bus when we felt lazy. And to keep the extra inches off our body, we walked home.

Today, it was the lazy way.

Stella had her earphones stuck in her ears , her face blank . She was lost in her own world while i stared in gloom.

Your eyes remind me of hell. .

This one damn sentence kept resonating in my heart over and over again. Ian had a way about him. He wasn't a person one could forget easily. His mystery and aura.  .  .maybe that's why I ran at him yesterday night.

Yeah, maybe—

The bus halted and the doors opened up.

I looked back, over my shoulder and watched him stepped in.

What happened to his Porsche?!

Surprised, I glanced at Stella and nope, she was still lost in her universe.

As if he had suddenly pulled my strings, I looked back at him. He was making his way towards the back. We didn't have much people on board. He kept going until he occupied the back seat.

He had his hood up.

Was he trying to hide?

Hands deep in his pockets , he leaned back against the seat, stretching out his long legs.

The whole scene was still fresh in my head. Him and Chelissa. . .

I held no answer to the burning sensation of my heart.

And then I did something I would never do normally. I had made up my mind and standing up, I walked towards him.

He didn't see me.

Taking the support of the pole, I made it to him.

As my sneakers came into his line of vision, he looked up. In the most uninterested way possible. Like he didn't know me.

It did bug me.

And I blurted out.

"I saved you!" I hissed , being hostile for no reason. Realization dawned on his face.

"Not you again." He said softly, pulling his hood down. His black hair tumbled over his forehead. .

He's hot and loaded, Stella's voice filtered in my head.

I didn't care about his reaction.  Instead I plopped down beside him. Why was I acting like a mad wife who caught her husband cheating?

Oh my God!

I really needed to pull the brakes!

"So. . .you never said thanks." I said quite haughty.

"Didn't feel the need to." He kept looking straight while I kept looking at his jawline.

Right.

"I saw you today. . ," I trailed off, trying to decipher his emotions.

"Everyone did."

"You shouldn't be seen around with Chelissa." I warned him and that made him look at me. The sudden contact of eyes flipped at my heart.

"And why is that?" He asked calmly.

"She's bad news. I heard she slept with every boy on the campus."

Ian smiled , shaking his head slightly.

"You know," he said while standing up because the bus had stopped , " you need to fix your tone. The judgment in your eyes speaks about the kind of person you're. Also, she has seen more of life than you ever will."

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