The Heartbroken - S01 E40

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E40

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 40

I whipped around, my

eyes wide.

Without even turning

around, I knew who it

was, but I still found

myself shaking my

head as I confirmed my

guess. What really

surprised me, though,

was the other person

looking at me too.

I looked at the man and

then at the brown-

haired woman who still

looked pretty despite

the darkness. The man

was broad-shouldered

and tall, looking a little

uncomfortable and just

a tad curious. In one

hand, he was holding a

leash and the other

was linked with the

woman’s. They both

looked back at me. None

of us said anything at

first, but the woman

opened her mouth as if

to say something, to

explain something,

looking at me and then

at the man she was

holding hands with, as if

she couldn’t quite find

the right words to say.

It was I who broke the

silence first.

Quietly, slowly,

tentatively, I called her.

“Mom.”

The confusion came

first, then the

realization, then the

angry words came as

Mom tried to explain,

tried to tell me, tried to

make me understand. I

knew I had to at least

listen, but it suddenly

felt too much to just be

there. Maybe it was the

fact that I was

reminiscing about my

father just a few

minutes ago. Or maybe

it was because I was

still thinking of Cedric.

Maybe it was the moon,

hiding behind clouds,

useless in the blackness

of the night. Maybe it

was all of these. It felt

as if everything was

out to get me, so I

couldn’t hold back.

I laughed at her,

shouted at her, felt

hurt because here I

was thinking about Dad

and here she was, out

on a date with this man

I’d never even seen.

Twenty minutes later, I

was on a bus heading

nowhere, with nothing

but my wallet and my

cell phone and its

almost dead battery.

She tried to stop me

from walking away,

telling me to wait, she

can explain, don’t you

dare walk away, young

lady. As if I could face

her, as if I could even

look at her, much less

stay in the same house

as her.

Maybe I shouldn’t have

fought with her. Maybe

I should have just been

mature about it.

Already, I was

regretting my decision,

but not entirely. It’s

just that sometimes, it

felt so difficult. It’s not

that I didn’t want her

to go out with other

people. I knew it was

her right to do so and

there was nothing

wrong with going on a

date with this man. But

she didn’t even tell me.

She didn’t even let me

know that she was

seeing somebody.

Was she with him

whenever she came

home late? Was she out

with him eating dinner

as I stayed at home

eating alone? Was she

with him when I needed

her most? Just where is

she when I’m looking

for her?

After spending a few

minutes on the bus, I

got off at a random bus

stop with a nearby

convenience store. A

few blocks down the

road, there’s a music

store. I got some of

that horrible

convenience store

coffee and then headed

to the music store.

There weren’t much

people in there, save for

a punk-looking couple by

the rock CDs aisle, a

long-haired guy holding a

Nirvana album and the

slightly pudgy guy

nearly dozing off at the

cashier. One of the

fluorescent lights

seemed to be blinking

on and off, as if it

would just stop

working any second.

Cedric loved these

music stores.

“Did you know,” he

would say, coming from

a random aisle, holding

an album from an

underrated band, “that

this band is one of the

best? The best, I tell

you,” with that cute

grin of his.

Thinking about him

made the night so much

worse.

I thought back to the

picnic I had with Seth,

when he said that thing

about forgetting my

hatred for Cedric by

redirecting my hatred to

him instead.

I guess that was what

made me do it. Standing

there in the music shop,

too dull without Cedric

telling me a trivia about

this album or that one,

sipping the horrible,

watery coffee, I took

out my almost-dying

phone and dialed Seth

Everett, the last person

I would have ever

turned to at times like

this.

He answered on the

third ring.

“Hey,” he said.

Oh, god, what am I

doing? I almost hung up,

regretting that I’d even

called him in the first

place. It was one of

those spur-of-the-

moment decisions that

I just didn’t think

through.

“Hello?” he repeated.

Taking a deep breath, I

finally said, “Seth?”

“Uhh, yeah?”

“Can I crash at your

place tonight?”