The Heartbroken - S01 E79

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E79

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 79

On the third rotation as

we neared the ground, I

caught sight of them,

waiting patiently by the

Ferris wheel, eating

some cotton candy. “I

feel bad,” I admitted.

“It’s just that,” I

struggled to come up

with the right words,

and ended up saying,

“they’re really rooting

for the two of us. And

it makes me feel guilty

because it’s not real.

None of this is real.”

“Then,” he said, leaning

closer, “let’s make it

real.” He looked at me

through his eyelashes,

dead serious, his hair

falling across his

forehead.

My mind went blank. His

blue eyes continued to

pierce through mine and

I could feel the blood

rushing to my cheeks

as my mind scrambled

to make sense of what

he just said. His words

wouldn’t seem to

connect in my mind, like

constellations with

stars that drifted apart

in a cosmic mess.

Then he grinned,

ruffling my hair in that

familiar way that he

always does. “Relax. I’m

just kidding.” He looked

out at the view as once

again, we reached the

highest point of the

ride. “Man, I’m starving.

How long is this ride

anyway?”

I collected my thoughts,

willing my heart to stay

still.

“Hey, I was just

joking,” Seth repeated

when he noticed my

sudden muteness. “Like

that would ever

happen, right?”

Finally, in a tone that

didn’t quite match the

fuzzy mess my mind

had become, I managed

to say, “Not even in

your dreams.”

“Right.” He nudged me

with his elbow again.

“So relax, okay?”

I’d been telling my heart

the exact same words.

—

I hadn’t expected

myself to be so tired,

but on the ride home, I

found myself fighting

the urge to fall asleep.

When we’d gotten off

the Ferris wheel earlier,

everyone looked at us

expectantly and literally

jumped in joy (Alyssa)

when they saw us

holding hands. Seth had

suggested it, for him to

get out first and offer

his hand to help me, and

walk over towards

them with our hands

held together.

“It would be easier than

to say, ‘Hi guys! Look,

we made up!’” he had

told me. He was right.

Satisfied, they didn’t

ask any questions as

we looked for

something to eat.

After that, we (quite

reluctantly) went home.

Just as I was about to

get in the car earlier,

Alyssa stopped me and

asked for my number.

“I realized I didn’t have

your number yet,” she

had said, “and since

you’re a part of us now,

we should definitely be

hanging more often.”

Then she hugged me

goodbye.

Now, seated in the

passenger’s seat as

Seth drove, I tucked my

feet in front of my and

hugged my knees,

resting my head against

the window as my

eyelids started to feel

heavy.

“Hey, you can’t sleep.

That would be so unfair

to me,” Seth said, just

as I was slipping away.

I stifled a yawn, with

every intention of

ignoring him as

everything in me

started to loosen up,

exhausted from the

rides and everything.

“I can’t believe we have

school again

tomorrow,” he said.

“Also, my mom’s

coming back.”

Right. His mom. That

meant I had to go home

and face mine. I’d

almost forgotten that

my stay in his house

was temporary. I

wasn’t sure if the

disappointment I was

feeling was because I

didn’t want to go home

or because I wanted to

stay.

“Did you have fun?” he

said.

“Mm-hmm.”

“That’s good,” he said.

“I’m glad.”

I sneaked a sideways

glance at him. There

was a faint smile on his

face, barely there. My

eyes fluttered close,

the image of his smile

the last thing on my

mind as I fell asleep.