The Heartbroken - S01 E107

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E107

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 107

There was absolutely

nothing I could have

done to prepare myself

for Alyssa and Lily’s

identical reactions when

they found out I was

going to meet Seth’s

mom after school.

There was a lot of

squealing. And OMGs.

And more squealing.

We were eating in the

cafeteria when Justin

suggested we all hang

out after school since

Duuuude, it’s a Friday

night. Seth and I

exchanged looks before

refusing, telling them

we already had plans.

“Are these plans of

yours really important

that you can’t bother to

put them aside for your

best friends?” Dan

placed a hand over his

chest, where his heart

would be, feigning a

hurt expression.

“Um, yeah, they sort of

are,” Seth replied,

looking thoroughly

amused, before

explaining the whole the

situation.

He never would have

told them anything if he

knew how Alyssa and

Lily would react to the

news. The squealing

made heads turn to our

table.

I noticed, from my

peripheral vision, that

was Hail looking over,

sitting alone at our

usual table. When I

turned to look at her,

she was looking directly

at me. I couldn’t tear

my eyes away, taking

in the dark rings around

her eyes and the

miserable air that

seemed to surround

her. A part of me

clenched at the sight,

squeezing so tightly it

hurt.

I only looked away

when I realized that

Alyssa was talking to

me.

“We’re definitely helping

you get ready for it!”

I honestly didn’t

understand much of

what Alyssa and Lily

were saying. I found

myself agreeing to

whatever they were

saying, my mind too

preoccupied with

thoughts of Hail to give

them my full attention.

At some point between

Alyssa asking me if I

had a curling iron at

home and Justin falling

out of his seat (long

story), Seth must have

noticed that something

about me was off.

“What’s up?” He turned

on his seat to look

directly at me. The

expression on his face

seemed to say “You can

tell me, but it’s okay if

you don’t.”

I looked over at Hail and

his cryptic stare left me

to look over at the

other tables, following

the direction I was

looking at. He must

have seen Hail, but if he

reacted in any way, I

didn’t notice.

“Kyla,” he said quietly,

“I think you should go

and talk to her.”

The objections were

already halfway out my

mouth, but when I

caught sight of Hail

again, the words died

on my throat. I

considered it for a long

while, trying to think of

pros and cons, but

finally conceded and

nodded. “Yeah. I think

so, too.”

I excused myself from

the others (who were

now in a rather intense

debate about movies)

and stood up.

Before I could even take

one step away, I felt

Seth tugging at the

sleeve of my cardigan. I

turned to look down at

him, slightly confused.

“What?”

He looked at me

through his lashes. “You

—you’ll come back,

right?”

My brows furrowed

further, wondering

what made him say

that. “Of course.”

He let go of the cloth

and nodded, turning

back to the others and

joining the discussion

without missing a beat.

That was definitely

weird.

I almost sat right back

when I realized what I

was doing. It was

nerve-wracking, the

walk towards Hail’s

table. For the past two

years, I’d eaten at that

table with her, talked

about boys with her,

complained about the

cafeteria food with her.

Now, the distance

between us was so big

it seemed impossible to

cross.

But she looked so sad,

it seemed much more

impossible not to try to

cross that distance.