The Heartbroken - S01 E74

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E74

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 74

“Oh, um , yeah.” What

the f--k was wrong

with me?

Behind me, the kid kept

running after a hasty

sorry, looking happy and

oblivious.

“Sorry,” Seth said after

a beat, scratching the

back of his neck

sheepishly. “I didn’t

notice you were left

behind.”

“It was pretty much

my fault,” I said. “I got

distracted.”

“Really? From what?”

I considered not telling

him, but for some

reason even I couldn’t

exactly understand, I

said, “It’s stupid. I saw

this little girl.” Afraid to

meet his gaze, I looked

down as we started to

walk. “She was with

her mom and dad,

holding hands with both

of them. I just felt—

It’s stupid. Yeah, I

know.”

For a second, he was

quiet, then out of the

blue, he took my hand in

his, making me look up

at him in surprise. “I

know I’m not your

mother or your father,

but this is fine, right?”

He smiled and tugged

me along. “Also, this

way you won’t get left

behind and lost.”

“I clearly remember

telling you not to touch

me with your dirty

hands as much as

possible,” I said, trying

to summon as much

hostility as I could, but

the words came out

half-heartedly.

“Ah, I thought you’d

say that,” he said.

But I wasn’t exactly

pulling my hand away.

By the time the sun

was setting, we’d gone

on a lot of the smaller

rides, all of them

claiming it was best to

ride the bigger ones

without the sun, when

the place was lit up

with the colorful lights

and stuff. Eating some

cotton candy on a bench

near the Swans (which

were actually boats), I

watched how everyone

were simply just

together, mingling

around like it was

perfectly normal to be

with each and every

one of them.

It felt kind of nice to be

part of a group.

Especially a group that

kept harassing Seth

Everett for squealing

girlishly when his foot

slipped when we were

in the haunted house.

“I told you, it wasn’t

because of the ‘ghosts.’

My foot slipped,” Seth

kept telling them, and

he was telling the truth.

But though we all knew

he really did slip, we still

insisted on making fun

of him.

Soon enough, we rode

the bigger rides, Lily

passing on the roller

coaster because she

didn’t like it, no matter

how much everyone

coaxed her into riding. I

think Seth expected me

to be scared, but as the

cart moved, steadily

picking up speed and

momentum, bringing all

of us along with it, I

couldn’t help but feel

alive.

I threw my head back, I

let go of the railing, I

screamed and laughed

and let the wind whip

through my hair as the

sheer speed of it carried

us along.

I loved it.

When we got off, there

were different

reactions from

everyone. I think

Warren was looking a

little green and Alyssa

disappeared with him

somewhere, seemingly

used to that kind of

situation. The others

seemed fine and were

already making their

way to Lily.

The adrenaline rush I

got from the ride was

still making me feel

slightly breathless,

feeling as if the

moment in that highest

peak of the roller

coaster was still just

within my grasp. I didn’t

know I was laughing

until Seth pointed it out.

“I’d never seen you

have so much fun,” he

said.

“It was awesome!” I

gushed out before I

could stop myself.

He chuckled. “Wow, I

remember having that

same reaction… when I

was six years old.”

I punched his arm. “Shut

up.”

We then rode the

Viking, which for some

reason Lily was

completely okay with,

and the spinning thingy,

which finally made

Warren give up and

pass on the other

extreme rides, keeping

Lily company instead.