Birth of a Player

She wasn’t what he thought she was. The person in front of him wasn’t the girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. Sure, she looked the same; had the same beautiful blonde hair and hazel eyes, the same mole right above her perfectly curled lips, the same slender fingers and shapely figure. Everything on the outside was the same but the girl behind the beauty wasn’t someone Elijah recognized.

No.

His Sydney was a free spirit and there was no bringing her head from the clouds but that was what Elijah liked about her in the first place. She would go anywhere she wanted, do anything she wanted all the while being true and loyal to herself. That was another thing that Elijah loved about her- her unflappable loyalty. At the drop of a hat she would be by his side, helping him deal with whatever life decided to throw his way.

When did that all change? Who was this girl sitting before him, clothed in nothing but a blanket? How could she stare at him so coldly, as if all the love in their world had flown out of the open window of his bedroom?

“Aren’t you going to say something?” she asked bitterly.

Elijah stared into her lifeless eyes. “What is there to say?”

“That you hate me. That you can’t stand the sight of me. That you never want to see me again.”

“I would say all of that if I knew who you were… but you’re not the Sydney I know.”

She seemed confused at this statement.

“The Sydney I know wouldn’t have done anything like this.”

Her eyes narrowed and jumped to her feet. “Jesus Christ Elijah! You’re so fucking high and mighty all the time. Don’t you have anything bad to say about me? I just fucked your brother in your own fucking bed! Call me a slut, a bitch, something!”

“I can’t,” he said quietly. “If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.”

Sydney remained quiet but watched with smoldering fury as Elijah picked up her shirt, pants, and underwear and held them out for her. With pride, Sydney dropped the blanket, letting Elijah take a good look. Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t looking at her fit body; he was looking into her eyes. She snatched her clothes from him and got dressed.

“You’re not a man Elijah,” she mumbled.

Now it was his turn to be confused. “You’re saying that since I’m not smacking you around or calling you names, I’m not a man? If you really think that I could raise a hand to you then you never really knew me at all. I’m going to take these recent occurrences as the end of things between us and I guess we can just leave it at that.”

Elijah turned to walk out of the room but Sydney scrambled to grab onto his arm. She peered up at him through the curtain of hair in front of her face.

“I’m not perfect Elijah.”

“I never asked you to be and yet, to me… you were.”

Even though they were in his house and it was his birthday, Elijah walked down the stairs and left. Being alone and heartbroken on his birthday really wasn’t something Elijah had foreseen when he woke up that morning. In fact, it was the last thing he’d thought of. Digging a cigarette from his pocket, Elijah brought it to his lips and lit it with the silver lighter Sydney had bought for him a few weeks ago. After successfully lighting the skinny stick, he tossed the lighter in someone’s yard.

As he smoked, he continued to walk until he reached the abandoned train yard. He hadn’t meant to go there since it was where he’d first asked Sydney to be his girlfriend. Now, his favorite place was tainted by the memory of the girl that shattered his heart. He sat down on one of the tracks, taking long and deep puffs. Soon, the sun had begun to set but Elijah hadn’t moved an inch except to light four more cigarettes.

He heard the footsteps before he saw his brother sit beside him. “They say sharing is caring.”

Elijah remained silent.

Evan chuckled nervously. “I guess it’s too soon for jokes. Come on Elijah, you know how dense I can be. One minute we were just talking and the next, she’s got her clothes off. I just…”

“Couldn’t say no?”

“Look, I know you’re going to hate me for this but… this wasn’t the first time. Sydney first approached me a few months ago and at first I told her no. There was no way that I could hurt my little brother like that especially since you would move heaven and earth for that girl…”

“But you did,” Elijah said plainly. “Let me put this into prospective for you Evan. You’re dating your dream girl and your five year anniversary is right around the corner. You were saving yourself for that special day when the two of you would make love for the very first time together. You come home on your birthday, anticipating the best surprise ever not because you think it’s a new phone, an expensive watch, or tickets to see your favorite band… It’s just because you know she’ll be home waiting for you. You go up the stairs, to your room to see her getting fucked by your own brother in your bed. She’s yelling his name, not yours. All you ever wanted to do was love this girl but it wasn’t enough; your all wasn’t enough.”

“For Pete’s sake, I’m sorry.”

Elijah took one last drag from his cigarette. “Yeah, me too. I finally realized love is not something precious. I shouldn’t waste my time with it if it’s just going to get thrown back in my face. From now on, you can save your sorry for someone who cares. I’m going to play the game just like everyone else but believe me, brother, I won’t be the one getting hurt.”

Evan watched his little brother flick his cigarette into the gravel and stand up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. Right before his eyes, Elijah had become something heartless and cold and it honestly scared Evan. He knew his brother never half-assed anything and a merciless Elijah would not be fun to be around. With so little effort Sydney and Evan had created a monster. Thus, a player was born.