Romancing the Demon Lady

Chapter 022: The Quickening Climax

Chapter 022: The Quickening Climax

            Fourteen days, twenty-one hours, fifteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds had passed since I left Byron in England without even saying goodbye.

            Almost as much time had passed since I decided that Byron and I should no longer be friends. I told him that we should go back to being strangers, pretending we never knew each other.

            Four days ago, he arrived from England. Since then, we hadn't spoken a single word to each other. We didn't even dare to steal glances at each other. We didn't even try to avoid each other. As I told him, I pretended he didn't exist. He did the same.

            Although we were quite convincing in proving to each other and to other people that we can act obliviously of each other's existence, there were some who saw through our act. One of them was Trina and she wasted no time to ask about it during the first day of classes.

            "What happened with you and Byron?" She asked out of the blue while we were walking towards the cafeteria.

            "Who?" I said, feigning ignorance.

            "Byron Oliver Heath?" she reminded me with sarcasm. "You know, the English guy you spent your Christmas break with and now you're acting as if he didn't exist."

            "Oh," I said, unsure of what I should say. I dodged and replied, "Why would you think that there was something wrong with us?"

            "He just walked by us moments ago. Neither of you even noticed each other," she explained although I already partly guessed her answer. "Or at least, you're pretending not to."

            Knowing that no one can escape from the inquisitiveness of a best friend like Trina, there was no point in denying her observations. However, it did not mean that I had an obligation to explain myself.

            "I told you I don't want to talk about it, Trinity," I told her with finality. "Not now."

            "Okay." She didn't push the issue. "If you're ready to talk about it, you know where to find me."

            For three days, I was nowhere close to being ready to talk about what happened with us. Trina was the most trustworthy person in the world but I neither had the courage nor the energy to talk to her about Byron. Just thinking about his name felt like a punch in the gut, what more if I tried to say it out loud?

            Instead of sulking in my own misery, I refused to be swayed by confusing feelings and just focused all my efforts in academics and football. There was no way my personal issues with Byron could get in the way of my dreams of enrolling at Oxford University. I would not allow my problems to destroy my focus during football training and end up disappointing my teammates. I was in control. I was not going to lose it. 

            However, during third period before break, I lost it.

            I heard the most distressing news by chance while I was inside one of the cubicles in the ladies. I was just about done to step out of the cubicle when I heard the creaking sound of the lavatory's door opening, followed by the loud giggling laughter of a group of girls.

            "Oh, poor Jessie Winters, she's never going to be good enough for Sebastian." I immediately recognized Vivian's voice echoing all over the room. "She's always just going to be another good lay."

            "She must be so desperate to allow herself to be a stand-in for that demon lady," Layla spoke in between laughter. "Everyone knows Sebastian just used her to get back at Mage for what happened between her and Byron."