The Game

by Natalie Clarke

  I sit and peer around the room, it’s a moderately sized room, decorated in white and black. It’s not too small that it feels cramped, but not too large that it feels empty and too big. Thick heavy curtains hang at the large window overlooking the city below, casting a beam of light onto the four-poster king sized bed in the center of the room. A tall, wide dresser sits opposite the bed, a small armchair off to the left in the corner by the window.

  It’s late morning, I’ve been asleep for hours, if it had been up to me, I’d sleep all day, wanting to avoid Kyle and put off facing him for as long as possible though I’m going to have to face him eventually. What the atmosphere will be after last night is anyone’s guess, but it’s guaranteed to be awkward.

  I haven’t got a clue where we stand with each other, I’m not even sure how I feel about him, I should hate him, I want to hate him, I guess I do, but there’s also a small part of me that doesn’t hate him at all.

  Of course, I’m angry with him for how he tricked my dad at the casino, how he’s giving me no option but to remain here with him. But I’m also grateful for how he saved me last night, if he hadn’t have been there, I hate to think how the night would have ended, well, I know how it would have ended, the same way as it did the last time. He didn’t have to come after me, he didn’t have to step in, he could have just turned a blind eye and let what was going to happen, happen. But he didn’t.

  But he knew exactly what he was doing when he made that deal, he knew that my only choice was to stay here to be able to pay off our debts, if I leave, I leave my dad and I with nothing, we’ll be back to square one.

  Now I was paying the price, forced to spend a week with a man that both infuriates me and yet intrigues me at the same time. A man that makes my heart skip a beat, that sends a sliver of electricity down my spine, that radiates throughout my body, that evokes feelings within me that I once considered lost to me.

  I just wish I could stop my body from reacting to him, from wanting him so much.

  My mind and my body are at war, I just have to decide which side I’m on.

  I swing out of bed and head for the bathroom, pulling on yesterday’s clothes that I left to dry on the towel rail last night, except for my blouse, which is shredded, the sight of it evoking memories of last night, the thought making me nauseous. I end up pulling on my jacket and zipping it up all the way and dumping my torn blouse in the trash. I splash my face with some water to make myself more awake and brush through my hair with my fingers to loosen the tangles and pull it into a ponytail. I find a spare toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet that I can use, hallelujah, hope Kyle doesn’t mind.

  I look at myself in the mirror above the sink and take a deep breath before making my way out of the room.

  I return to the bedroom to find my phone buzzing.

  It’s Gwen.

  “Hayley, what the hell is going on? Where are you? Your dad’s been calling non-stop, he’s worried sick. He said something about some guy at the casino, is it the same guy from the other day? He told me to tell you he’s sorry and to come home and that you were right and that he should’ve listened to you.” She doesn’t pause to take a breath.

  “Morning to you too.”

  “Well?” she asks.

  “Look, it’s complicated…”

  “Spill.”

  “It’s a long story. Just trust me okay, I’ll tell you everything, I promise, just not now.”

  She sighs. “I’m just worried, having your best friend’s dad phone you late at night is a little scary. You should call him.”

  “I don’t want to talk to him right now. Look, I’ve got to go, I’ll talk to you soon I promise. Love you.”

  “Just, be safe, please. I love ya, babe.” She ends the call with a kiss before hanging up.

  My missed calls from pretty much everyone has doubled since last night. I know I should call my dad, but my feelings haven’t changed, he still sold me out, made a deal with the devil, putting us both in a situation that we wouldn’t have been in if he hadn’t have been so selfish and greedy.

  I pad across the penthouse, it’s beautiful, I never got the chance to admire it last night. The suite is easily twice the size of the ground floor of my house, the décor modern and stylish dressed almost entirely in grey and white. A huge floor to ceiling window which stretches almost the entire width of the room overlooks the New York skyline, it’s beautiful. In front of the window sits the couch and a large coffee table, placed in front a beautiful fireplace that commands the entire room.

  Off to the right in a huge open plan kitchen, with an island and breakfast bar, where I find Kyle, sat at the bar with his back to me, in front of his laptop, taking to someone on his phone.

  I slow my pace, expecting that his conversation is private. He must hear me approach as he turns to see me standing awkwardly a few meters away. To my surprise, he smiles. He tips his head, motioning to me to come and join him. I slowly make my way to him and sit down opposite.

  “No, that won’t be necessary, I leave the company in your hands, you’re the only one I trust to look after everything.” While he speaks into his phone, his eyes never leave mine.

  He laughs. “Luke, you’re not going to fuck it up. If I thought for even a second that you would, do you really think I would be leaving my company in your care?” I can hear the faint hum of a voice on the other end of the phone. “If you need me, call me, okay? Yeah you too, brother. Bye.” Kyle hangs up, places his phone on the table, shuts his computer and turns to me. “Good Morning,” he says politely.

  “Morning,” I reply, offering a shy smile.

  “Sleep well?”

  “I guess, you?” I ask. He had a nightmare, what do you think?

  He hesitates. “I slept alright.”

  I nod sheepishly.

  “Are you alright after yesterday, in the alley, how’s your neck?”

  Bile rising up in my throat at the thought of them, I can still feel their hands groping roughly at my body. I touch my neck, rubbing the sore red skin that his brutal touch left behind. “Still sore, but I’m okay.”

  He sighs, his fists clenching. “I apologise about last night, well, this morning, when you found me.”

  “It’s fine, you didn’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

  He shakes his head. “It’s not something I like to talk about, but I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He leans forward towards me, resting his elbows on the table. “I understand why you must hate me. Just give me a day. That’s all I ask, just a day, to show you that I’m not a total jerk.”

  I chew the inside of my lip.

  I shouldn’t trust him, but he saved me, he protected me.

  “A day,” I agree. His face softens. “But first I have to go home, I need to change, grab some stuff.”

  “I can take you if you want?” he offers.

  I shake my head. “No. That’s a bad idea, my dad hates you as it is.”

  “I’ll wait in the car,” he persists.

  Figuring he won’t take no for an answer, I agree.

  We leave the suite and hop into the elevator, standing side by side. I glance down and see his hand is purple and bruised from yesterday.

  “How’s your hand?” I ask.

  He follows my gaze down to his battered hand. “Fine. I’ve had worse, trust me.”

  “No doubt.” The way I say it comes out is harsher than I intended. “Shit. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “It’s fine, I probably deserve it.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “Rather than go about it the way you did, if you wanted to get closer to me, couldn’t you have just… I don’t know, asked me out on a date, like a normal person?”

  He chuckles. “Maybe, it's just not my style.”

  “Not you’re style?” I let out a small laugh, crossing my arms over my chest. “No, I guess your style is using you
r power and money to get what you want. In this case, to get me into your bed.”

  “As much as I would like that,” he says amused, “my intentions were never to force myself on you. If you ever end up in my bed, it will be your choice, I assure you.”

  “Yeah, keep dreaming.”

  “I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t want you, because I do. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you in the dress store, but I just want to get to know you, spend time with you.”

  “Must be pretty lonely at the top for you to go to all that trouble just for some company. You must have hundreds of people banging down your door, wanting to spend time with you.”

  “That’s just it. I do, but they all want something from me, they usually want money, a favour, a loan, a quick fuck...” he trails off. “You, you’re nothing like anyone I’ve met before, money doesn’t impress you, I didn’t impress you.”

  “We’re not all shallow, materialistic assholes you know. Maybe the reason people always want something from you, is because all you have is money to burn, to throw around when it suits you, when you want something.”

  “Because it’s the only way I know how... and I know that makes me a dick, but...”

  The elevator door dings, and they slide open as we reach the lobby. We walk out in silence, crossing the wide, open foyer.

  “Good morning, Mr King!” A lady shouts from the welcome desk, jumping up from her seat the second she saw us coming. She’s young, insanely beautiful and a little too enthusiastic. We walk over to her and stop in front of her desk.

  “Morning… um….” He trails off, searching for her name.

  “Stacey,” She replies, giving him the biggest smile, I’ve ever seen, flashing him her name badge.

  “Stacey. Can you give Alex a call and ask him to bring my car around?”

  “Of course,” she replies, still smiling, never taking her eyes off Kyle. She picks up the phone on her desk and makes the call.

  Kyle turns to me.

  “Will your dad be home?” he asks.

  “Probably,” I reply, the feeling of dread washes over me.

  “Your car will be ready in a few minutes, Mr King.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Have a lovely day,” Stacey says, twirling her hair around her finger seductively.

  Kyle places his hand on the small of my back, sending a shiver through my body as he leads me away through the lobby and out of the entrance where a shiny dark green 1960’s mustang sits. When we reach the car, Kyle holds the passenger door for me, once I’m in, he shuts the door behind me and makes his way around the car to the driver’s side and gets in.

  “Queens, right?” he asks.

  “Yeah.”

  Kyle nods. The car rumbles to life, the sound is glorious, the steady hum of the engine sending vibrations through my body. We pull out and wind our way through the busy streets of New York.

  I reach for the car radio. The silence is deafening, I need something to cut through this atmosphere. “Do you mind?”

  “Be my guest.”

  I flick through the stations until I find the classic rock station, playing Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. How ironic.

  The journey consists of mostly silence, in which I spend most of the ride, gazing out of the car window, resting my head on the cool smooth glass, while I allow the music on the radio to drown everything out, only speaking to give Kyle directions.

  A short while later, we arrive outside my house, my dad’s car is parked on the driveway. My stomach lurches at the thought of seeing my dad.

  Kyle pull the car up to the curb and turns off the engine, the radio cutting out. “I’ll wait out here.”

  “Okay.” I climb out and make my way to the front door.

  Before I have chance to open the door, it swings open and my dad steps out.

  “Hayley! Thank God,” he says, pulling me into a tight hug.

  I struggle out of his grasp and step back. “I won’t be staying long.”

  “Wait.” He tugs me back gently, his eyes widen. “What happened to your face, and your neck?” He looks up to see Kyle who has gotten out of the car and is now standing in front of it, watching us. My dad tenses. “Why is he here? Did he do this to you?” he asks, attempting to hold back his anger.

  “No, he didn’t. In fact, he was the one saved me, and don’t you dare be mad at him! Let’s just remember how we got into this situation in the first place, more specifically, how you got us into it,” I shout.

  Of course, Kyle isn’t innocent, not by a long shot, but my dad isn’t either, and here he is acting like he’s done no wrong. I move past him, stomping into the house and heading up the stairs into my room.

  “Did someone hurt you, did they… did they touch you? Tell me,” he calls after me as he bounds up the steps and across the landing, into my room, where he sees me shoving a few handfuls of clothes into a bag.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Where are you going?” he asks.

  “I’m not staying here, not after yesterday.”

  “So, you’re going with him? You can’t trust him Hayley.”

  “And, I can trust you?”

  “Of course, you can, Hales, I’m your dad.”

  “Don’t call me that, and no, I can't trust you. I know Kyle’s no saint, but neither are you. And yes, I’m going with him. I don’t particularly relish the idea, but I don’t really have a choice, after all, you’re the one who made that deal with him. If I back out, we lose everything. So, thanks, dad, for putting me in this position.”

  I pack up more of my stuff and brush past my dad, heading back down the stairs, out of the house and back to where Kyle is waiting for me.

  My dad follows me. “Hayley.” I turn around and look at him, his eyes pled with me not to go.

  “I’m sorry dad, but I can’t be around you right now.”

  I turn back towards Kyle who is again holding the car door open for me. I climb in, tossing my bag onto the backseat. I stare dead ahead, not allowing myself to look my dad. Kyle climbs in next to me and starts the engine.

  I can see my dad out of the corner of my eye, standing next to the car. As we pull away, I can’t stop myself from glancing back at him and I instantly regret it.

  He looks completely deflated. We drive away. Tears flow freely down my cheeks for most of the ride back.

  Chapter 11

  Hayley

  The next day blends into the one after that, both Kyle and me doing our own things, Kyle spends most of his days in his study, on his laptop, his voice occasionally seeping through the walls as he speaks into his phone.

  My days consists of staring out the window, watching the people below, small enough that they look like ants as they scurry through the winding streets of Manhattan, watching TV or spending hours on end with my nose in a book. Suffice it to say, I’ve never been so bored in my life.

  I’ve always liked the indoors, never having had to struggle to find something to keep my mind occupied, but being here, it’s difficult. Although I’m not technically a prisoner here, that’s what it’s beginning to feel like. I might as well be locked up in a cage.

  I’ve hardly seen Kyle at all, save for some awkward mealtimes consisting of mostly silence and small talk. Why did he demand having me here for the whole week, only for him to ignore me, to stay hidden away, tucked into his study for the majority of the time since I arrived here? It doesn’t make any sense. The thing is, if he insists I be here, I at least want to talk to someone, the loneliness is driving me insane.

  I’m sat on the couch in front of the blank TV when my phone buzzes beside me, and I pick it up without looking at who it is.

  “Hello?”

  “Hayley? What the hell is going on?” Aaron shouts.

  I sigh. “Aaron, like I told Gwen, it’s too long a story to get into right now.”

  “Oh I see, so you speak to Gwen but not me? Are you in danger? Are you alright at least? I’ve been trying to get a hold o
f you for the past three days and you’ve been ignoring me, dodging all of my calls? What the fuck?”

  “I’m sorry, okay?”

  “No, sorry isn’t okay, we’re supposed to be friends. Hayley, I’m worried…”

  I hear a door open and Kyle enters the space.

  “Aaron, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon, I promise.” I hang up before he can answer.