PLAY WITH FIRE

CHAPTER 8

SCARLETT VALENTINE

PRESENT TIME

I hated that I kept finding my eyes drifting back over to Holden. I know I'd said we were nothing but co-workers the other day, but it didn't stop my interest as to who he was now compared to who he was 5 years ago. He was taller than before which didn't make sense cause back then he was already 6'2-6'3. He must be 6'4 now. His features were sharper, strong jawline, high cheekbones, long pointy nose, pink lips, his bottom lip still slightly bigger than his top. His eyebrows were darker and thicker, always creased making him look angry as he did something as simple as drink from his water bottle he always kept beside him. His adams apple was always sticking out, and when he rolled his sleeves up his the veins hidden behind his skin pocked out, asking to be traced... or cut. 

Holden let out a sigh, leaning forward and rubbing his temple before pulling something from his pocket. He popped two pills out of a packet, glancing at the watch on his wrist before them, his adams apple bobbing as he drank some water from his bottle. His eyes glanced out the window before landing on mine, his movements freezing as he watched me watch him from over his bottle. He stopped drinking, taking his bottle away from his mouth and placing it back down on the table beside him. 

"Ibuprofen?" I asked, wondering if he had a headache. I'd noticed his heavy breathing earlier and wondered if maybe he felt sick, hence why he was taking ibuprofen now. Holden cleared his throat, shaking his head. 

"No uh-" He seemed hesitant to tell me but eventually just shrugged, offering me a harmless smile. 

"Helps with anxiety" He looked down, glancing up at me before looking down again when my interested expression was replaced with a frown. 

"You have anxiety?" He hummed, nodding his head but keeping his eyes on the pages in front of him as he flipped through them. 

"What from?"

"My parents" I scoffed. 

"How could your parents possibly have caused you to be anxiety ridden?" I asked, noticing the way his adams apple bobbed again, his jaw clenching as his hand tightened around his pen. 

"You didn't grow up with them, Scarlett" My name coming from his mouth had a little bit of bite behind it. 'I don't have parents full stop' I wanted to say but didn't, getting the feeling it'd only worsen his anxiety he was clearly facing right now. There was something hidden, something dark about his answer but I didn't further question him, watching the way he was clearly getting angry talking and thinking about them. 

"How are they?" I asked, masking my disgust as I thought of his parents and the way they treated my family. Truth be told the silence was killing me and knowing he wasn't going to talk unless I did convinced me to speak up. 

"My Dad? Couldn't tell you cause I haven't spoken to him since my mother died a year ago" There was no emotion on his face except for...relief? I frowned. 

"I'm sorry" I grit out, really not feeling sorry in the slightest, but not knowing how effected he was by her death. So I stuck to the most common reply to hearing something like that. 

"Don't be. They were fucking monsters" The clear hatred he had towards his Mum and Dad surprised me. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared down at the page, his eyes not moving, his hands not moving, his whole entire body not moving. He was just sitting there, staring through the page, his mind elsewhere. Here I was under the impression they were a united front, the one thing they wanted people to see when they looked at them. 

"How'd she die?" I asked, curiously watching as Holden flipped a page, squinting his eyes as he stared down at the words. 

"Car crash snapped her neck" He replied bluntly, again seeming to care not one bit. I nodded not that he was looking at me to see it. He let out an annoyed groan, grabbing glasses from his pocket and putting them on his face. I hid my smile with my hand over my mouth as he started reading again.