Skin and Bones (boyxboy) ✓

Chapter Seventeen

I expected someone to walk in. Maybe a stranger, maybe Christian, maybe Cody or even Death.

Instead the door was opened by a stranger and when I turned I came to look in through the doorway where a pretty dense group of people had formed. Standing like statues, unmoving and in shock, listening in on us.

We weren't quiet, I realised.

The door wasn't soundproof and the house wasn't that large. This entire time we'd been pretty much screaming directly into the living room.

While we had been yelling at each other they had approached the door, likely out of good-natured curiosity, and... and they had heard everything. Or a good portion of it. Even the tail end of our argument was enough to... They heard it.

Every word of it.

I couldn't describe the feeling, and seeing Anna in the crowd made it jump up tenfold. Less like euphoria, more like... powerful. A big strong man with more muscles than I ever had before. I could do a backflip out of here I was pretty sure.

Suddenly I was in charge, not this helpless small person wandering amongst a crowd of people that hated me and would never believe a word I had to say.

No, they had to believe me now no matter what.

When I looked at Zack, he was a white sheet, he almost camouflaged with the white kitchen tiles behind him, and was in the process of turning green.

I set my cup on the counter in the awkward, thick silence.

The crowd said nothing and did nothing but stood, staring at Zack and also off into the distance like they had been possessed.

When I approached to go through them they parted like the Red sea shuffled to the side leaving a clear path for me to exit.

I marched out, feeling like every other step was too fast or too slow, knowing that all, or at least mostly everyone was watching me.

Anna trailed after me as I pushed towards Death, who was waiting with his hands on his crossed legs calmly.

"I'm sorry-" She tried to say.

I looked back briefly. "You don't need to be. You did everything right." I reassured her, and I saw a shade of relief in her eyes as she disappeared behind someone else who also tried to approach me.

But I didn't want to know what they wanted. I didn't want the questions or the apologies or even the possible accusations. I just wanted to leave.

This was Christian's birthday and I was making a big mess of it... I'd gotten what I wanted, he'd made a fool of himself.

Even if only a few of the people he'd told realised he wasn't telling the truth and no one else it was still a huge relief and I didn't need anything more.

I reached out a hand to Death as I stepped out in front of him.

"I'm glad you made me do that." I said in a low voice with a smile.

He took my hand into his warm strong hand and stood up effortlessly. "Looks good on you." He said, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he turned towards the door.

I glared at him. "Yeah, about that..."

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