The Player novel Chapter 23

Brielle

2:09 PM

Mrs. Hansen's class always seemed to drag on, and today was no exception. I tapped my pencil impatiently on my desk, counting down the minutes until school would finally be over. Christopher and I had plans to go see The Nutcracker ballet right after, and I couldn't wait.

When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, I nearly leapt out of my seat, wanting to make my way out of class as quickly as possible. However, a hand wrapped around my forearm, holding me in place.

I turned around to see Melanie standing above me. "What do you want," I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

"I just wanted to say sorry." Her face turned into an expression of fake sincerity, which seemed foreign on her usual devious face.

"For what?"

"For what happened between you and Christopher. I know it must be difficult to deal with."

I rolled my eyes, as I picked up my bookbag, getting ready to leave. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Wait, Sam didn't tell you?" she said, her face faking surprise. "She and I overheard him and your brother in the hallway the other day, and I just assumed that she told you."

My head whipped towards her, unable to hide the curiosity. I always knew that they had some sort of feud between them, but they both refused to acknowledge it towards me. It couldn't be that bad, or else Sam would have told me.

"Wow, she really didn't tell you? This is really awkward then." She took a few moments, savoring my newfound interest, before continuing.

"Well, as you know, I'm captain of the cheer team, which comes with many different responsibilities. So, I was staying after school to meet with the coach and when I was leaving I ran into my ex-boyfriend JT, who was practically begging me to take me back-"

"Get to the point," I said harshly.

"Anyway," She rolled her eyes. "As I was going to my locker, I overheard Scott and Christopher arguing in the hallway, and it seemed that the topic of discussion was you."

My voice piqued with interest. "What did they say?"

A small smile spread on her lips. "Something about Christopher's sister and your brother dating, and then about how Christopher planned to get his revenge on Scott through you."

My heart dropped. "What kind of revenge?"

"Apparently, he only dated you so that he could break your heart and hurt you the same way that Scott hurt Nicole, his sister."

Time seemed to stop as all color drained from my face.

No...this isn't true...it can't be.

"You're- you're lying," I stammered, barely able to breathe.

"I'm sorry Brielle, but it's true." I could tell from her face that she was everything but sorry.

And at that moment, I felt my world fall apart.

I had trusted him, and believed him, only for him to use me. All the times that he whispered in my ear and told me how much he cared for me were just lies. He was just a liar.

The memory of his words from earlier today flooded into my mind:

"I'd never lie to you."

I covered my mouth with my hands as I choked back sobs.

How could I be so wrong about someone?

You're so stupid Brielle. You're so stupid.

I knew that I shouldn't have trusted him, I knew that he was no good, but I went against my better judgement, and believed that he was something else. But the truth is, I knew who he was from the moment I met him, I just chose to ignore it.

And it worked, it worked so well that now I'm here, crying over a guy that I already knew was going to break my heart.

I ducked my head, not wanting to give Melanie the satisfaction of seeing the hot tears gush down my face.

"Is this what you wanted?" I said, looking back towards her after a few moments. "To see me like this? Because if so, congratulations Melanie, you won."

She rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to let you know what I was trying to tell you all along: that he doesn't care about you."

"Why do you have to be so cruel?" I shook my head. I don't understand how someone could be evil enough to enjoy seeing someone like this.

"Because you took what was mine, and now you have to pay."

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Well guess what Melanie, you don't have to worry anymore, because you can have him." I spun on my heels and stalked out the room, wanting to leave this school as soon as possible.

When I turned out of the classroom, however, I turned to see Christopher and Sam coming towards me. As soon as Christopher focused on me, a smile stretched on his face.

And while that smile was usually enough to make we weak in the knees, the sight of him, the cause of all my pain and hurt, just caused my heart to break into a million more pieces.

Anger filled my body as all I could see was the guy who betrayed me, who worked so hard to gain my trust just so that he could break it.

When I finally approached him, his face instantly fell, his eyes recognizing my saddened expression.