The Heartbroken - S01 E47

Story 5 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E47

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 47

There were a lot of

things that could go

wrong on a rainy night

at 11:38 p.m.

For example, the lights

could go off as the

electricity went out

after a devastating

crack of thunder that

might have made me

squeal a like a little girl

and Seth act all macho

and shit.

Second, Seth might

have a “bright idea” (I

am not even kidding, he

actually said those

words) and bring out

some bottles of beer to

drink in candlelight. I

never really liked the

taste of beer, nor did I

want to get drunk while

huddled around a candle.

The only thing missing

was a Ouija board and

we’d look like a legit

cult.

Third, though most

times I’d prefer to stay

sober (especially when I

know I’m with a

perverted guy in a dark

room), this time, I want

to get a little alcohol in

my system, knowing

that we will be talking

about things that both

of us didn’t want to

talk about.

Seth came back to the

living room from the

kitchen with two

bottles of cold beer,

skillfully held in only one

hand and a bag of chips

on the other. He handed

me one of the beers

and said, “So, how are

we going to do this?”

Taking the beer from

him, I shrugged and

said, “I really don’t

know.”

“How about we both

get ten questions to

ask each other?” He

settled back into the

seat beside me on the

couch, the distance

between our shoulders

and thighs seemingly

too big in the confines

of the dark living room.

“What if I don’t want

to answer a question?”

I asked him.

He thought about this

for a while. I could

almost see the gears in

his head working to

come up with a

reasonable solution for

this. He must also be

thinking about himself

and how he might not

want to answer some

of my questions.

When it was clear he

wasn’t about to

answer soon, I said,

“How about we get to

pass up on some

questions? Maybe two

questions. We can

choose not to answer

two questions.”

Looking at me as he

considered the idea, he

nodded, “Okay. But we

get to ask an extra

question for every pass

used. Like, if you choose

to pass up on a

question, I can ask you

a different question.

Maybe we can have

two passes, but for

every pass we use, we

get another question.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll go

first.”

He took a swig of his

beer and grimaced a

little, wiping the side of

his mouth with the

back of his hand. “Go

ahead.”

“Uhh.” Well, this was

harder than I thought.

For some reason, I

couldn’t quite think of

anything to ask him.

Funny how I couldn’t

come up with a

question just when he

actually gave me the

chance. The thing was,

I didn’t have anything

better than “What are

you hiding, Seth?” and it

didn’t seem like a good

enough question that

would get me a reply,

so I didn’t ask that.

Instead, I looked hard

at him and began with,

“The night at the party.

You were about to

offer me some beer but

when you found out

that I was driving

home, you didn’t want

me to drink anything.

Why is that?”

Tugging at his ear, he

shifted uncomfortably

in his seat. “Um, who in

their right mind would

let a person drink if he

knows that she’ll be

driving?”

“Just answer the

question, Seth. Don’t

play smarty-pants with

me because I saw how

you reacted that night.

It was the first time I

realized you were hiding

something.” I leveled

my gaze with his. “So,

what was it? Did

someone you know, I

dunno, die in a car

accident or something

because he was

drunk?”

He took a big gulp of his

beer, tipping his head

back. “It was two

years ago.” Looking

down at his hands, he

refused to meet my

gaze. I could see the

hesitation in his actions.

Whatever secrets he

was hiding, he wanted

them to be kept that

way. I was almost sure

he wouldn’t answer,

but then he continued,

“My big sister died in a

car accident.”