Chapter 74 Chapter Seventy
Omniscient Narrative
The silence after Demi ran was louder than the fight itself.
For a moment, no one moved. The music was still off, the string lights in the backyard glowing too brightly against the tension hanging in the air.
Conversations that had been warm and easy minutes earlier now felt like fragile glass, one wrong sound away from shattering again.
Alex stood frozen on the porch, heart hammering so hard he could feel it in his throat.
‘You're dead to me’
The words echoed back at him, cruel and final in a way he hadn't meant, in a way that made his stomach twist violently.
Chris released Demi only when he was already gone, staring down the street like he might still catch him if he ran fast enough.
Kyle kept a firm grip on Alex's arm, his face pale.
"What the hell was that?" Kyle demanded under his breath, he didn’t know how and why what happened had happened.
One minute they were normal, he and Chris were talking, Demi was getting a drink and Alex was with his girlfriend, the other minute they’re fighting and Alex is telling Demi he’s dead to him?.
Alex didn't answer.
Claire hovered a few steps back, eyes wide, one hand pressed to her mouth.
She looked like she'd walked into a nightmare she hadn't known existed, before she got with Alex, she had heard and seen how close the best friends were, it was like they were two halves of one.
She thought they just had a falling out for some reason but now, now…
Alex's mom was the first to move.
She stepped onto the porch, her expression torn between anger and worry. "Alex. Inside. Now."
Her tone left no room for argument.
Kyle let go, giving Alex a look that held more disappointment than anger.
Alex followed his mother inside, every step heavy, every curious stare burning into his skin.
Behind him, the party slowly restarted, not with laughter, but with confused murmurs and people pretending not to stare.
"What happened?" someone whispered to their neighbor.
"I didn't even know they were fighting." Another person had said, judgment filled their words.
"They looked like they wanted to kill each other." One had muttered as they looked at the spot Demi and Alex were fighting.
Inside the house, the air felt too warm, too close.
Alex's mom turned to face him, hands trembling just slightly. "Care to explain?."
Alex opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
"I heard shouting Alex," she continued, voice tight. "I saw you hit him. I saw him run off like he was terrified."
"I didn't mean to," Alex said finally, the words weak even to his own ears.
"Didn't mean to what?" she asked sharply, she couldn’t believe what was happening. "Hit him? Or say what you said?"
Alex swallowed hard.
"I was angry, he got me really angry." He said, his eyes getting watery.
"That doesn't answer the question Alexander Crown Ricci."
“Wow, full government” his brother had tried to whisper to his sisters but everyone still heard, their mother chose to ignore it because her mind was still on the matter on ground.
He looked down at the floor trying to fight back the tears. "Both." He whispered, but she heard.
Her shoulders sagged as she stared at her sad son.
"Alex," she said more softly now, "whatever is going on between you and Demi, it's bigger than a stupid argument. I've seen you both change, I’ve noticed it, you think I don’t, but I do. I just didn't realize it was this bad, I thought it was just something that you guys can stop arguing over."
He couldn't meet her eyes.
Outside, Claire stood alone near the porch steps, watching the street where Demi had disappeared. Chris approached her cautiously.
"I should go after him," Chris said.
Kyle nodded. "Yeah. I'll come."
Claire hesitated. "Is he okay?"
Chris didn't answer. He was already moving.
Alex watched them leave through the front window, something in his chest cracking wider with every step they took away from him.
They're choosing him, his mind supplied cruelly.
They always do, everybody always preferred Demi.
Even his ex best friend.
And he deserved it.
He sank down onto the bottom step of the staircase, head in his hands, the adrenaline bleeding out of him and leaving only shaking regret in its wake.
"I didn't mean it," he whispered to no one. "I didn't mean to hurt you Demi." He was now staring at his hands. The same ones he had used to hit his best friend with anger and what an outside person would say-hate-.
Demi didn't slow down until his lungs burned.
The streetlights blurred past as he ran, breath coming in harsh, broken gasps.
His hands shook, his vision swimming as the words replayed over and over in his head.
‘You're dead to me’
Each repetition felt like another blow.
He barely remembered unlocking his front door. He barely remembered stumbling inside. But he ran, he ran upstairs and he didn’t look back nor did he care.
He got into his room, shut the door and laid on his bed, Demi then curled in on himself, staring at the darkened ceiling.
He'd known it would hurt to see Alex with Claire acting all couple like,
He hadn't known it would end like this.
.
Back at the party, people were leaving early.
Alex's dad tried to salvage the evening, laughing too loudly, insisting everything was fine, but no one bought it.
The energy had shifted irreversibly.
Claire approached Alex one last time.
"I think I should go," she said softly.
He nodded, numb. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
She hesitated. "I don't think this is about me Alex, and I think we should take a break."
He didn't argue.
After she left, Alex stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the counter where Demi had set his drink earlier that night, untouched.
He imagined Demi running down the street, heartbroken and humiliated.
And for the first time, the full weight of his fear settled in his chest.
What if that was the moment he lost him for good?