Hidden Play: The Return 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A sharp knock at my door jolts me out of a restless sleep. My eyes snap open, and I gasp, frantic to orient myself with my surroundings. Back in my room. My own bed. Everything's alright. But as the last 24 hours replays in my head, I realize, it isn't. The thought instantly sours my mood as my racing heart slows down to a normal pulse. I take a deep breath and groan into my pillow, rolling onto my side just in time to see Gigi's head pop inside my doorframe.

"Whaaaaat?" I elongate the word and roll my eyes towards the ceiling.

It's all the invitation she needs to sneak inside. I squint at the clock and wince. 8:29 p.m. Since Casper dropped me off a few hours ago (after giving up on sleep at his place), I'm struggling. The hangover thankfully packed its bag and has pissed off, but unfortunately, I can't say the same for the angst still crawling through my intestines and all over my skin.

It's damn near eating me alive.

Zion hasn't texted me since early this morning. To his credit, I haven't texted him back, either. The possibilities of what he's thinking, what he's feeling, and what will happen tonight are endless. It's a spinning revolver of outcomes, and I've never been one for a good ol' fashion game of emotional roulette.

Gigi climbs onto my bed, delicately tucking her feet beneath her. She's dolled up for days. False lashes have been carefully arranged on her top eyelids and her makeup is flawless. Her normally frizzy hair has been smoothed out to a silky shine, and her outfit is something out of a fashion magazine. Not that she needs any of it, of course. I hate to admit that my sister has enough natural beauty to land any guy she wants, but she does. No quoting me, though. I'll deny it until the day my balls dry up and sag to the floor.

"Where the hell are you going?" I quip.

Gigi flips her hair off her bare shoulders. I squint. Did she actually powder herself with glitter?

"Same place as you," she says with a grin. "You're not the only person who gets invited to parties."

"What? It's a high school party, Gig. You'll be bored as hell."

Gigi smirks and inspects her cuticles. "Maybe. If it's lame, I'll leave. But Emma will be there."

"Is that how you got invited?" I ask, suddenly irritated at yet another reminder of Zion. "Emma invited you?"

Gigi puts a hand on her hip. "For your information, little brother, your sister is one hot piece of ass. And it just so happens that someone in your oh-so-popular little friend group has their eye on me and found me worthy of an invite."

My blood boils. Gigi is a lot of things (mostly annoying), but she's sure as hell way too good for anyone on my team. I think through all the guys on the team, then work through the other seniors who have tried to get a place at our table over the past few months. Who could it be? Mike? Radik? Kurt?

"You're not coming," I mutter.

Gigi shrugs. "Tough shit."

I groan again and roll back onto my stomach. Could this nightmare get any worse? Already I have to deal with Zion and whatever special realm of hell he has in store for me. Now I have to play protective brother and babysitter on top of it?

After a few minutes of silence, the bed dips and Gigi pats my back. She lowers her voice, and it's a tone she uses for her 'serious' talks.

"Jokes aside," she whispers, "I'm sorry for whatever happened with Zion. Emma said he's been a beast and asked what's going on, but I told her to let it be. I won't press – well, at least not for tonight. We'll go to the party together and leave whenever you want. Sound good?"