The Slut's Guide to Chess

chapter 13

Thomas reluctantly pulled himself from the tangles of my bed. I was seeing red and completely ready to yell at some arsehole eleven-year-olds regardless of how traumatising that would be for the both of us. I forgot about the cameras, about Xander and about Eliott.

The harsh breeze outside harmonised with my mood well and I shivered against the cold that froze the water that had already dampened my clothes.

I had tunnel vision and didn't notice as Arwyn walked towards us with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, Zora," he greeted shyly. "I-uhh...I actually came by to talk to you. We didn't really get the chance on Saturday to look at a chessboard and you know, that's the second time our lesson has been interrupted. I just thought..."

Arwyn followed close behind like a lost puppy while his sentence trailed off.

"Hi, Arwyn," Thomas welcomed in a small voice. "You won't be able to talk to her right now, she's focused."

I threw myself into the boys building, I knew Thomas's dorm was on the ground floor.

As I marched down the corridor, my wrist was encircled by Arwyn as he pulled me back. I gave him a pointed look but for once he didn't back down.

Our eyes clashed in a beautiful explosion of deep and swirling brown and his hand on my wrist tightened. For a second, he looked almost intimidating. With the sharp scar that ran through his left eyebrow and the looming height that barricaded me, I was reminded of why people were afraid of Arwyn Truong.

"Deal with this maturely, Zora," he warned.

"Maturely?" I repeated with a bitter laugh. "You want me to deal with this maturely?"

He nodded hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, Arwyn. I can't do that," I began quietly before my feelings took over and my voice carried loudly. "I'm so, so sick and tired of this goddamn school screwing us over! My sister's dead, my roommate's missing, my brother's being bullied and I'm the slut! I'm tired of it."

"You know that the cameras will just make this worse," he spoke quietly with every word clear as though I were a child. "Go outside and cool off, okay? I'll handle this."

"Stop trying to control me. Get off me! I'm trying to get a point across, okay? People are so stupid. They act nice to your face and then go around calling you sluts in the school bathrooms, it's driving me crazy! Why does everyone care so much? And now it's my brother's turn. I can't have these shitface kids making fun of him just because he has autism! Do you know how screwed that is, Arwyn?"

"Yes, of course, I do. But you're acting on instinct and it won't help either you or your brother. Please let me handle it, I promise it'll be okay."

I looked up at him with flaming eyes, the urge to throw it all back in his face and scream the building down was strong but slowly his words resonated with me. Soon, my anger fizzled and the fact that the cameras could've been watching us right now and listening closely made my eyes soften. He was right.

Reluctantly, I withdrew my wrists from his grasp and pulled Thomas outside as several pairs of eyes glued to us.

"Shit," my brother breathed under the grey clouds.

"Yeah," I agreed, throwing my face into my palms while sitting on the edge of a brick wall. I attempted to wash away the stress but it was as though it all came barrelling towards me with the wind. I would have carried on screaming if not for Arwyn. My head hurt and water built behind my eyes.

The sound of feet kicking gravel brought my gaze back to the present and I froze. As if today couldn't have gotten any worse, there he was in front of me. Alexander Devon. He looked down with sympathy while on his way to the boy's building.