The Heartbroken - S01 E80

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E80

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 80

I remember that I’d

almost drowned when I

was young. I can’t recall

much of the details, but

I remember clawing

through the chlorinated

water, kicking uselessly

as the water continued

to suffocate me. A

random, middle-aged

guy had managed to

save me. I had never

been more scared my

entire life.

As Cedric’s question

hung in the air, I felt as

if I was jolted back to

that time. Scared

shitless, desperate to

breathe, looking for a

way out but there was

nothing I could do on my

own as the water

engulfed me.

“What do you want?”

Seth asked from beside

me.

The others had fallen

silent, eyeing Cedric

suspiciously.

He ignored Seth and

looked at me with

pleading eyes. I

struggled to breathe

normally, reminding my

lungs to inhale and

exhale. I didn’t know he

still had this effect on

me.

“Please,” he said, his

warm brown eyes

boring into mine.

Seth opened his mouth

to say something, but I

beat him to it. “Okay.”

“Kyla.” Seth forced me

to look at him, his eyes

asking a silent question.

I shrugged and stood

up. Almost instinctively,

he reached out and

grabbed me by my

elbow. “You don’t have

to, Ky,” he said.

I didn’t know what to

say to that, so I bent

down and kissed him. “I

won’t be long.”

Was it my imagination

or did Cedric’s jaw

tighten?

Wordlessly, we set out

to the courtyard. I could

almost see him struggle

to say something on

our way, but he decided

to keep quiet until we

got there.

There were a few

students milling around

and we chose a spot

that was far enough to

give ourselves some

privacy.

Then he said, “Your

mom is really worried.”

I crossed my arms over

my chest. “Is that all?”

He let out a ragged

breath, and that was

when I realized how

miserable he looked.

Dark circles ringed his

bloodshot eyes. “Have

you been staying at

Seth Everett’s house?”

It felt like talking to a

stranger. This new

Cedric and new me,

facing each other in an

uncomfortable

conversation either of

us wanted to have.

“What of it?” I said.

“Kyla,” he said, “he’s not

worth it.”

“And you are?” I

scoffed. Unbelievable.

“He’s bad news. You’re

smarter than this

and–”

“I don’t give a f--k

about what you think.” I

glared at him. “You don’t

even know him, you

judgmental

motherfucker.”

He seemed taken

aback. “He’s not exactly

that hard to read, Kyla.

He’s a player. He will

only–”

“Break up with me out

of the blue?” My voice

broke at the last word

and I cursed myself for

it. “Without even telling

me why?”

“It’s complicated.” He

barely choked the

words out. When I

looked up to meet his

gaze, there were

unshed tears on his

eyes. He shook his head.

“I didn’t mean for things

to end this way.”

“In what way, Cedric?

With me getting a life

you’re not a part of?” I

fought the tears back

and tried to keep my

voice calm, struggling to

show him I was fine, I

was fine, I was fine.

“Yes,” he said,

exasperated. “Exactly

that. You changed the

moment we broke up.”

“You’re blaming this on

me? You’re the one who

broke up with me for no

apparent reason.” I

could feel myself

drowning again, blindly

clawing through the

flooding surge of

emotions rising from

the part of my heart I

thought I’d locked long

ago.