Manipulation High

Chapter 52: Last night

Ezra wrote something spicy at the bottom of the chapter. 😏
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Clay POV.

“Is something wrong sweetie? You seem upset?” My mother asked, kneeling in front of me and examining my face in the darkness of my bedroom as I laid down on my bed. “Are you feeling sick? Do you want to stay home from school today?”
“I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Just had a rough night is all. I don’t need to stay home today.”

She gave me a happy smile, before standing back up and walking over to the curtains. I hissed overdramatically as she ripped back the curtains, revealing the bright sun of the early morning, possibly one of the last days I’d see it at this time due to the oncoming Winter. When the sun was in my eyes I flopped back, covering them as the rest of me woke up.

“Come on Clay,” my mother said as she walked towards the door. “You just said that you would go to school so you need to get ready. You have gone almost ten years without being late to school or absent and today isn’t going to be the day that changes.”

I allowed myself to chuckle at her words as she walked out of the room while promising to make me breakfast. Then a couple of minutes afterwards I managed to convince myself to climb out of bed to take a shower. I rummaged through drawers to grab some clothes to wear, before heading over to the ensuite bathroom.

As I was about to step into the bathroom I noticed something sitting on top of my desk, which caught my attention. I set down my pile of clothes before walking over to check it out. I picked up my phone, which had been sitting there showing me the background, a smile gracing my face as I looked over it. The picture on screen was of myself and George, the day we had won the cooking contest at school.

The photo was of the two of us sitting in my car. The windows were down, and the sunlight was streaming in, hitting our faces. His smile was bright and happy as he held his ice cream, and I had a similar expression, with one hand holding my ice cream and the other holding my phone which was taking the photo.

If you looked behind the two of us, you could see the beach; clear blue waters, golden sand, it looked warm and inviting, but the shores were empty. George had been excited when he saw the beach, wanting nothing more than to run down there and play in the sand like a five year old.

Of what he told me about his life as a kid, he had to travel around for most of his life for his parents work. Told me that because of this he never had much time for making friends, so he never had time to do anything with other people his own age.

The thought made me pity him, and I felt even worse about what had happened last night. I had tried to talk with George, to ask him about what had happened and why he was avoiding me, and it turns out he had found out. I am not sure if Sapnap had told him what was going on, or if George had put the pieces together on his own, but he had found out either way.

Because even though I had told him, it was clear that he was sceptical of me for as long as he had known me. Even though he seemed shocked when he found out, he seemed to have known a little to some degree.

As I set the phone down and headed into the bathroom I couldn’t help but feel guilty. George called me a psychopath. He said that I couldn’t feel empathy or remorse. It made me want to rip apart the book, but I knew I couldn’t, it was the last thing that I was given by my grandfather, and who knew what would happen if I got rid of the powers.

My mind was overflowing without thoughts as I stripped down until I was naked before stepping into the shower. For a few moments I shivered under the cold water until it heated up, and the warm water helped my brain and the rest of my body wake up.

Last night was all I could think about. Remembering myself going to George’s house, just wanting to talk to him, just to get answers as to why he was ignoring me. He stormed out and I followed after him a couple moments later, but he was already gone, gone from my sight. I figured that he had gone to Sapnap’s, and I am still certain that he was there.

Obviously Sapnap had told me he wasn’t there, but he also said that if George was there he would not tell me, even if his life depended on it. I ended up giving up and just getting in my car and going home, although I wanted to keep talking to George, it was clear he didn’t want that to happen.

✨Last night✨

“I thought that I could trust you Clay.” George said with a sob. “You made me think I was insane! I was going to ask for therapy and-”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, but George pushed me against the wall, his eyes full of fury.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it.” He said firmly.

Without another word to me he walked out of his bedroom and I heard the front door of his house open before slamming shut, leaving me standing confused in his bedroom. Also feeling worried about what was happening.

Even though it seemed that George didn’t want to talk to me I couldn’t help but follow after him. I had grown to care for him. I wanted to ask him what I could do to make it better. I was going to promise to stop using the book, to hide in a safe in my bedroom and never think of it again, but it seemed that that wouldn’t work.

When I heard the front door of his house open before slamming shut I immediately felt a sense of worry, directed towards him. I followed the sound of the noise, seeing that George was no longer in the house, since he had run out. Both of George’s parents were standing there, confused that George had left.

Neither of them noticed me, just standing completely still while watching the door. George’s mother was standing, holding a wooden spoon as she had been stirring something in a pot on the stove. Her husband was sitting at the table, having been typing something on a laptop, his hands still poised above the keyboard, ready to type in a moment.

I walked past them both, opening the door and stepping out into the cold night, looking around to see which way George had run, but he was nowhere to be seen. The sky was cloudy and almost dark as I looked down both ways but couldn’t see George heading towards either end of the street, although I’m not sure why I bothered, I already knew where he was going.

Reluctantly, since I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, I walked over to the driveway of Sapnap’s house before knocking on the door. After a couple of seconds Sapnap answered it, and even though I was planning on just asking him if I could speak to George I couldn’t help but glare at my former friend.  “Where is George?” I asked him instantly, in an overly accusatory tone.

“Probably at his house,” The ravenette responded, barely missing a beat as he did. “Why are you coming here looking for him?”
“Because he wasn’t at his house,” I informed him, and the look on his face turned into a clear smile. “Now is he here?”

I craned my neck as I spoke, using my height to my advantage as I looked past Sapnap to see if he was in sight, but Karl was the only person inside. He was sitting curled up, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he watched a movie that was playing.

“He is not here, and I wouldn’t tell you if he was here even if my life depended on it.” Sapnap blatantly informed me. “Now do you mind? I have Karl over and the two of us are in the middle of watching a movie.”

Sapnap raised an eyebrow at me, and I opened my mouth to respond, but before I got the chance he slammed the door in my face, leaving me standing out in the cold. With a disappointed sigh, I turned and walked back to my car, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to talk to George, or not tonight at least.
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1493 words

Something spicy -Ezra <3