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He wanted her. That was for sure.
He sat by the school swimming pool, a notebook resting on his legs, clad in a hoodie and sweat pants and sitting on the floor against the wall. It was several years after he had found the orange gem; he was sixteen now and attending the high school of a large town after yet another move. There were dark rings around his eyes, given them a sunken look and his dark brown hair was thinning out; the hairline receding.
Those dull grey eyes were focused on the girl taking her position on the diving board. She had a swimmer’s body –probably why she was captain of the swim team- with sleek curves. Granted, she wasn’t very ample in the chest, but he still drank her in as she raised her arms above her head, getting ready for the dive.
Her eyes were closed, but he could remember vividly the color; a deep blue that sparkled in any light. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back tight behind her, but he knew how long it was when she had it down, falling just low enough to tickle her neck as it flicked inward at the end. Everything about her was showing quite clearly in his mind’s eye.
Her chest rose and fell a few times as she took deep breaths, her naturally rosy lips parting with each breath. She bounced a few times, then inhaled sharply, soaring upward in a dazzling display of diving before gracefully hitting the water, creating very little splash.
Oh how he wanted her.
So, so much.
And then she came out up, swimming to the ladder. He admired the sight as she climbed out of the water, the liquid glistening down the skin that was exposed outside of her yellow one-piece with black letters down each side spelling out CAPTAIN. She was the material that dreams were made of. He wanted her all to himself; he would be nice to her, supply her with everything she needed, tend to her every whim.
But no, she was his.
She climbed out of the water, flashing her perfect smile, with teeth glistening more beautifully than the water that had fallen off of her mere seconds before. Her smile was aimed to the side of the pool, where he was standing with a group of friends. He smiled back, but that smile was not nearly as compassionate.
No, she was with someone who didn’t deserve her, and today he would change that. He would take her from him and then all will be right.
Back to the nothingness.
What had that been about? Weren’t all the visions circling around those little gems this person was finding? The more he had thought about it (for what else was there to do when you were in nothingness for all eternity?) the more he became confident that this person in these visions was him. But why? Was he in purgatory? Floating there as his sins flashed before his eyes.
Sins...
“You aren’t supposed to be in here!” squealed one of the girls as she quickly pulled a towel up to cover her. But he didn’t care, she was not who he was looking for. His target was in the showers then, for he could see her, beautiful and perfect even in the nude.
She turned toward where the squeal had come from, but it took her a moment to acknowledge what had caused the cry. Her brain was deprived of oxygen, he knew, after all that diving. But it didn’t hinder her more than a millisecond, and she quickly grabbed for her towel.
But he was quicker, having spent so many years in the city, getting what he wanted from people’s pockets. He lunged forward, grabbed the towel and flung it back into the locker room with his left hand, his right grabbing her extended wrist before she even realized what was going on.
Someone behind him let out a scream as he took her other wrist abruptly, pressing her against the wall. She tried to show resolve, a collected calm that just caused him to admire her more, but her amazing blue eyes showed the real terror behind her face. He pressed her against the wall, keeping her wrists pinned with his arms and his clothed body against her naked one.
She was trembling now, but she did not break the eye contact they had established. He tried to poor all of his lust into that connection, but was countered by some newfound courage inside of her. This only fuelled the wrath deep inside of him, and he squeezed her wrists harder.
“What do you want?” She had incredible calm in her voice, considering the terror told by her eyes.
“You,” he murmured back to her, his voice raspy, full of his passion for her. But the comment caused her eyes to widen, as if she had just come to the obvious conclusion.
“I want you. I have since the day I set eyes upon you. I’ve been watching, too. He doesn’t love you, you know. The way he looks at you, it’s not with love, no, he only wants you for one thing. You’re a trophy to him. But you won’t be to me. No, to me, you will be my world!” he smiled, a crazed look in his eyes.
“N-no...” she squeaked.
“Yes!” he screamed, losing control and shoving his face towards hers. He expected her to kiss him back. Why wouldn’t she? He loved her so much, much more than him. But she didn’t. She struggled and tried to break free. This infuriated him.
“Bitch!” he cried, flinging her to the side. She lost her balance and slipped, smacking into the shower wall. “Love me back! I love you now more than he ever could!”
“Please! Somebody help me!” she screamed, rolling over to show a gash in her forehead that was bleeding quite freely.
He was contemplating how the blemish had taken away some of her beauty when a hand clasped his shoulder. He turned around to find himself face to face with him. And then there were stars, as the fist collided with his cheekbone.
He fell to the floor, everything was a daze. He saw her get up, her bare feet rushing across the floor. Someone talked in the distance, but he couldn’t pick out what they were saying. Nor did he care.
Before him, sitting on the shower’s drain, was a small gem. It was too big to fall through the drain, about the size of the other stones he had found like it before. But this one was purple, a deep purple color.
As he felt his consciousness fading, he reached forward and grasped the stone.