The Journey of Self-Healing

The weekend afternoon sun slanted across the glass walls of the shopping street. I gripped the reservation info for the murder mystery game on my phone and bumped Alex Lynn's side as I turned my head: "I told you this 'Mystery House' spot is insanely popular. Good thing I booked it three days in advance." Alex Lynn wrapped an arm around my shoulder, his fingertips lightly brushing my arm, smiling and teasing me: "I knew you had the foresight, or we'd have wasted a trip today and Paul Carter would've been nagging us forever." We were meeting Paul Carter, plus our two friends Ryan Lee and Amy Clark. When we pushed open the door, the staff member was checking the info on a tablet at the front counter. Seeing the five of us, he looked a bit apologetic: "Sorry, guys, the six-player game you booked is still missing one player." Paul immediately stepped forward, rubbing his hands eagerly: "Sure, sure, count me in! My brain's already itching to solve something—don't want to waste any time." Ryan leaned back on the sofa with a grin: "Paul, are you trying to crack the case, or just looking for a chance to show off?" Amy jumped in, teasing: "Definitely the latter. Last time he even got the culprit wrong—this time he might need his ride-share buddy to save him." The shop assistant promptly responded, "Thank you for understanding. We happen to have a female player looking to join a group—let me check with her for you." Less than two minutes later, a girl in an off-white dress walked over slowly. With her long hair draped over her shoulders and a trace of timidity in her eyes, she gave a slight bow and greeted, "Hello everyone, my name is Cindy Scott. This is my first time playing a script murder game, and I'm not very familiar with the rules. I'd appreciate your guidance." Her gaze quickly swept over the five of us, lingering noticeably on Alex for a moment. Her eyelashes fluttered faintly before she hurriedly looked away. Alex let go of my hand, his tone gentle, "It's okay, we're just following the Dungeon Master's process, so no need to be nervous. If there's anything you don't get, just ask us." A sudden unease bubbled up inside me. I reached out and tugged his sleeve, my voice deliberately cold, "Stop chatting and pick a script already. The sooner we choose, the sooner we can start." Alex hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay," and casually picked up a script from the table to flip through. Cindy leaned over close to him and whispered, "Alex, what script did you pick? I'm worried it'll be too hard and I might not keep up with everyone." "This is deduction-heavy. If you find it too tough, we can switch to an easier version." Alex Lynn responded without thinking. "No, no, I'll just stick with everyone else." Cindy Scott quickly waved her hand, but couldn't help sneaking another glance at him. I said nothing more, just clenched my script tight, my fingertips turning a bit cold. In the end, we settled on the deduction-heavy scenario. After the Dungeon Master handed out the scripts, they sat down and went over the rules: "Everyone gets their own script and secret missions. When you find a clue card, you can reveal it or keep it hidden—but hiding clues might mess with the overall deduction. Now, everyone takes turns drawing cards from the clue area. When it was Cindy's turn, she went over to the clue area and fumbled around for a moment, holding a card but didn't come back right away. I looked up just in time to see her sneak a glance at Alex Lynn, then stuff the card into her bra neckline, straighten her skirt, and finally sit back down. Paul Carter was the first to snicker, tapping the table, "Hey, Cindy's really upping the challenge for us, huh? She's hiding that clue pretty well." Ryan Lee immediately joined in, teasing, "She's probably too shy to show it since it's her first time playing. Alex, she's totally dropping hints — go help her out!" Amy frowned and whispered, "This isn't really okay, it's a girl's private area after all." "Come on, it's just a game, why be so uptight?" Paul waved his hand dismissively. I clenched the clue card tightly, my knuckles turning white, staring at Alex Lynn, silently hoping he'd reject this ridiculous suggestion. But he only hesitated for a moment before standing up and walking over to Cindy, saying, "Let me hold it for you, so you don't accidentally lose it and mess up the rest of the deduction." Cindy's cheeks flushed instantly as she looked up and leaned closer to him, her voice soft: "Thanks a lot, Alex." She gave a slight shrug and let Alex reach out. They were way too close—Alex's fingertips clearly grazed her neck. Cindy let out a soft 'ah,' her body trembling slightly, eyes full of shyness. I couldn't take it anymore and suddenly jumped up, the chair scraping loudly on the floor, breaking the lively noise in the room. 'Alex, what are you doing?' He looked back at me, surprised, holding the clue card, his voice a bit puzzled: 'I was just helping her grab a clue card. Do you really have to blow up like that?' "As for what?" I hurried over to him, my voice rising a bit, "Is it really okay to get that close to another girl and reach down there in front of everyone?" Cindy Scott immediately lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, her voice breaking as she apologized, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault—I didn't put the clue card away properly, which caused trouble for everyone and made you guys argue." "Stop playing the victim!" I said, turning to her with cold eyes. "You did it on purpose. You could've just held onto the clue card, but you had to stuff it in a place like that. What were you thinking?" Paul quickly stood up and grabbed my arm, "Sarah, don't be mad, really. It was just a joke. Cindy definitely didn't mean anything by it. It's a game after all—having fun is what counts." "A joke?" I pulled my arm away sharply, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "What if it was your girlfriend, getting that close to another guy—would you still call it a joke?" Paul was instantly speechless, scratching his head, unable to find the words. Alex's face turned serious. He tugged me aside, sounding a bit annoyed, "Sarah Xavier, don't make a scene. Show me some respect in front of everyone." "Respect is earned, not handed out by others." I snatched the bag off the sofa and turned to leave. "I'm done with this round. You can stay and keep playing with your 'friends.'" "Sarah Xavier!" Alex tried to catch up and grab me, but I slipped aside to dodge him. I walked right out of the murder mystery game store, pushing the teasing, the pleading, and Alex's yelling out of my mind. The wind outside was chilly, making me shiver all over. Leaning against the railing by the road, I pulled out my phone and quickly got a W Chat message from Ryan: "Sarah, don't be mad. Alex just lost his head for a moment. We've backed him up. Please come back?" I stared at the screen for a few seconds and replied with just two words: "No need." Within two minutes, Alex Lynn called, but I didn't hesitate to reject it and immediately blocked his number. Back home, I collapsed onto the couch, and all the emotions I'd bottled up exploded at once—I broke down in tears. Two years of feelings, the gentle moments we shared every day, cracked beyond repair the moment he reached out to help Cindy Scott grab the clue card.