Prank Gone Wrong Chapter 09

Prank Gone Wrong Chapter 09

Third week. Afternoon. Connor came.

Before, my heart would’ve raced just seeing him walk into a room. Now my stomach turned.

He was wrecked. His signature blond hair hung greasy and limp. His eyes were sunken pits. He wore a wrinkled hoodie. Like he’d crawled out from under a bridge.

He stopped dead at the door. He stared at me. His pupils dilated. Like he was looking at Medusa.

Yeah.

I’d seen myself in the bathroom mirror.

Centipede sutures crawled across my face. The exposed skin was sickly yellow-purple.

My cheekbone was caved in. My nose bent wrong. The corner of my mouth couldn’t fully close. Nerve damage.

The girl who used to wait on the cold bleachers for his practice to end. The girl with the quiet smile. He’d destroyed her with his own hands.

“Maya…”

His voice was sandpaper. Thick with tears.

I turned my head. Stared at the ceiling.

He dragged himself to my bedside. I smelled cheap alcohol. Vape juice. This was the star athlete who used to refuse soda. Now he reeked like garbage.

“Jesus. I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know it would go this far…”

He covered his face. His shoulders heaved.

“I just wanted to look cool in front of her. You know how it is. Stupid high school shit…”

“If I’d known she was insane, I would never have dragged you into this. Never.”

I turned my head slowly. Fixed my one working eye on him.

It was a dead stare.

No love. No hate. Not even human warmth.

Just dead.

“Connor.” My voice came out ruined. The breathing tube had left me sounding seventy years old. “When you zip-tied me to that chair. Did you think about whether I was scared?”