The Heartbroken - S01 E49

Story 5 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E49

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 49

Lips parted, I couldn’t

think of anything to

say.

There was something

about the way he

couldn’t look at me that

finally showed Seth in

his vulnerable state.

And it scares me—to

think that this guy, who

had just played a stupid

prank on me, who

agreed to help me with

my Cedric issues, who

bought some

underwear for me to

wear, would be here

looking like a helpless

child.

“It’s just…” He trailed

off.

“F----d up,” I finished

for him.

There was a moment

where both of us

couldn’t quite think of

anything else to say,

but it didn’t feel

uncomfortable. We both

sat there in silence as

we took this

information in,

conscious of the fact

that here we were,

worse than being stark

naked, revealing things

we preferred to be kept

hidden.

“It’s your turn,” I finally

broke the silence. “To

ask a question, I mean.”

“Right. Okay. Um.” He

turned a little so he

was looking directly at

me. “Where’s your

Dad?”

And so I told him. I told

him about my father

and how his death had

affected me and Mom. I

told him how I watched

my father die, day by

day, and how Cedric

came into the picture

just when my heart

was in pieces.

Even simply saying the

words out loud brought

tears to my eyes.

“The thing is,” I said,

holding back a sob,

“when I lost Dad, I lost

Mom too.”

“Hey.” He put down his

beer on the table and

for a second, a panicked

expression crossed his

face. But then he

reached out to me and

pulled me closer. “Hey,

I’m… I’m sorry.”

I hadn’t realized how

cold it was without the

heater on until he

pressed my head

against his chest, his

heart right next to my

ear, beating steadily in a

rhythmic pattern that

was both soothing and

unsettling.

“I shouldn’t have

asked.” One of his

hands was wrapped

around my shoulders

and the other was

gently running through

my hair. “That sucks.

I’m sorry.”

We both fell silent again.

F--k. I should stop

crying. I carefully

pushed myself away

from him and dried my

tears, feeling stupid

that here I was, crying

for the second time

tonight. It took a while

to compose myself as

Seth just sat there,

letting me calm down.

The last time I ever

told somebody about

this, I was with Cedric.

Never did I think that I

would end up retelling

this little piece of my

past on a rainy midnight

to an almost-stranger.

But here I was.

And just to be honest?

I was more than just

completely fine with it.

As much as I wouldn’t

want to admit it, I

didn’t have Cedric and

Hail anymore, the only

two friends I’d ever had

ever since my father

died. The closest thing I

have to a friend is Seth

Everett. I wasn’t sure if

Seth was feeling the

same. Being popular

probably came with a

lot of friends, but from

the looks of it, it didn’t

seem as if any of his

friends knew him

behind his mask. Maybe

I was also his only

almost-friend, who can

share all this shit

wedged between the

cracks of our pasts.

I never thought I’d ever

tell somebody other

than Cedric and Hail

about these things. It

was always just the

two of them and they

were enough. We had

each other. They knew

my secrets and I knew

about theirs too. I knew

that Hail is an

illegitimate child. I knew

that Cedric was—

I stopped short upon

the realization. Oh, my

god.