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3
Bianaca
Aiden was gone when I woke up the next morning. I didn’t know why that surprised me, why that hurt me, but it did.
But what the fuck did I expect from the man hewn from solid ice? He’d fallen apart last night, allowing me to glimpse the face of a man I doubted very many people had ever seen, but I knew that closeness couldn’t last.Wouldn’tlast. He was too rough, too jagged, and he’d been nothing but an ass to me since I first arrived.
Some people in this world were executed, while others were executioners. Aiden fell firmly into the latter category, and his weapon of choice was that caustic tongue of his, spewing proverbial bullets at my face before I could say a single word in my defense.
Still, his absence left me feeling hollow and bereft, as if he took more than just his body when he snuck out of bed this morning.
Morning sunlight streamed through the open window, as gray and dreary as it usually was in this hellhole. The sun never seemed to penetrate the canopy of dark clouds, no matter what time of day it was. It was there, a tiny silhouette of subdued yellow and white light, but never prominent. Never warm. It was almost as if the sun were an afterthought, as if the creator of Purgatory, Limbo, wherever the fuck we were, thought that it would add to the atmosphere and decided to hastily place one in the sky. Its tepid heat permeated the room but did very little to chase away the cold completely.
Stretching like a lazy house cat, I rolled out of bed and moved towards my closet. I ignored the hideous school uniform and instead put on a teal leotard. I brushed through my long blonde hair before placing it in a tight bun. I threw on a pair of sweatpants to complete the outfit and then stepped out of my dorm room, locking it behind me.
Just as I was leaving my dorm, I saw a familiar shock of blond hair on the opposite end of the hall. Beau’s back was towards me, a towel slung over his shoulder as he made his way to the shared bathrooms. As of now, he didn’t see me, but I knew the second he did…
Memories of my last interaction with him played out in my head.
My confession of love.
His wide, shocked eyes.
And then Maria appearing behind him, her hair disheveled and her buttons undone. She’d admitted during the poker game that Beau had rejected her, but had that been the truth? Why had she been in his room in the first place? How far did they get before he changed his mind? Did he push her away because of me and my confession? Did he initially have every intention of fucking her? That distinction might not have seemed like a big deal to others, but it mattered to me. A lot.
I took a moment to survey my best friend uninterrupted, my eyes feasting on his broad shoulders and that mop of blond hair, longer on the top than the sides. I knew that if he were to turn and stare at me, his eyes would be a bright, unnerving blue—so blue, it felt like staring into the core of a blistering hot flame.
At first glance, his gait appeared casual, almost nonchalant, but the closer I looked, the more I noticed miniscule things. His shoulders seemed to droop, for one, and his head was lowered. He moved slower than usual, almost as if it hurt him to take each step.
I wanted to run to him, to ask him if he was okay, but I didn’t. Couldn’t. Not with the pain of his silence, and consequently his rejection, still at the forefront of my mind.
Instead of giving in to my ridiculous desire to wrap my arms around his waist, I turned on my heel and marched down the staircase and out of the school.
Cold air greeted me, whipping a few strands of hair that’d escaped my bun around my face. The wind was ice-cold this morning, and each slap of it felt like keen daggers being thrust into my arms. I suddenly wished I’d remembered a jacket.
Moving quickly to get out of the morning air, I headed towards the gymnasium where I knew there to be a boxing ring. It wasn’t a perfect place to practice gymnastics, but it worked.
I didn’t know why I even bothered with my daily exercises. After everything Heath had told me, I should’ve been curled up in a ball in my room crying, but I needed this. I needed something familiar to hold on to, even when my world had fallen to shambles around me, each shard slicing at my skin.
The gym was empty at this time of day, except for a few men I could see through the window leading to a different section, working out on the treadmills. None of them paid me any mind as I moved to the center of the mat and began to stretch out my taut muscles.
Heath.
Purgatory.
Between.
Aiden.
Nine circles.
Heath.
Purgatory.
Between.
Aiden.
