The Heartbroken - S01 E05

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E05

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 5

continues

“Hey, watch it!” came

the voice from behind

me, and I recognized it

immediately. I looked

up

to see Seth Everett. He

wasn’t looking at me,

though. He was looking

at whoever had

thrown

that football in my

direction.

To my surprise, it was

Cedric. Cedric, who had

never played football.

At least not that I

knew of. He ran

towards me and I

wanted to run off as

far away as possible

before he could actually

get near, but I was

rooted to the ground.

Seth had a firm grip on

my shoulders, and I

would’ve have looked

like he still affected me

if I did run away.

So I stayed there.

Seth did not pick up the

ball. Neither did I. So

when he came, he

picked it up and looked

up at me.

In the morning light, his

brown eyes seemed

amber and I realized,

really, how tan he had

become. It wasn’t a

deep tan, but it was

enough for me to

notice. I also noticed

how much longer his

black hair was.

So he wasn’t just

Football-Playing Cedric.

I wondered, for a

second, how much he

had changed.

“We’d appreciate it if

you don’t try hitting

people with your lousy

throw,” Seth told him.

I pursed my lips

together, trying not to

defend Cedric, not to

spat at Seth for being

such an Bottom. It was

almost a reflex, for me

to feel protective of

him.

So we stood there,

Seth behind me with

his

arms on my shoulders,

and Cedric in front of

me, at arm’s length, in

the middle of the

grassy courtyard of

the

school. A lot of people

passed us by, some

going to the peach-

colored building to my

right, some going out,

changing classes or

having break.

But in that moment, it

felt like it was the just

three of us.

“I don’t have a lousy

throw,” Cedric said

through gritted teeth

before looking at me.

“I’m sorry. Are you

okay?” I heard the oh-

so-slight, softening of

his voice as he turned

to me.

I held my head high and

stepped back until my

back could feel the

warmth of Seth’s

chest. I made the

gesture obvious, and

even held one Seth’s

hands on my shoulders.

“I’m fine,” I said and

smiled sweetly at him,

“it was just a lousy

throw after all, wasn’t

it?” I cocked my head

to

the side, still smiling,

thinking, Do you regret

breaking up with me?

Are you hurting? Are

you jealous?

But really, the only

question that ever

really mattered was—

Will you take me back?

“Of course,” he said.

I was almost startled,

wondering, if by some

chance, he had

answered my question

with an “of course,”

before realizing he

couldn’t have heard the

question. And he

wouldn’t want me

back

anyway.

Besides, I realized he

was talking about his

throw when he added,

“I’ll work on it, and

next

time, I’ll try hitting you

again to see if it

improved.”

“Why not?” I asked

him,

shrugging. “I’ll probably

be twenty seven by

then.”

Seth snorted and

Cedric’s face darkened.

Seth slid his hand so

that he was half-

hugging me, one arm

draped across my

shoulder, as he let his

other hand slip away.

He put it in his pocket

and looked at me.

“Let’s

go.”

The two of us went

off, leaving Cedric

standing there.

Seth kept his arm over

my shoulder, even as

we walked into the

school.