The Heartbroken - S01 E138

2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E138

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 138

“Was it because you remembered Cedric?” he asked me when it was clear I wasn’t going to answer anytime soon. “You looked really, really freaked out.”

Inspecting his foot, I was relieved to find that the bleeding had stopped. “Why did you think it was because of him?” I peered curiously at him.

He was looking down, one hand fumbling with the hem of his hoodie. “I did bring you to the place where he dumped you.” He scowled right after saying the words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put it as bluntly as that.”

I refocused on his foot, reaching for the gauze and the medical tape. I had absolutely no idea what to reply and the silence stretched out before us awkwardly.

“You asked me why I was so willing to help you,” he said after what felt like forever. “It’s not just because I thought you needed help.”

His voice was quiet and solemn, sending my heart in a sudden frenzy.

Taking my silence as a cue to keep talking, he said, “I think it was because I saw myself in you.” I looked up at him, but he was looking elsewhere, one hand pointing at a spot near the juice bar. “See that, right there?”

“What about it?”

“That was where I saw you crying. The night you broke up,” he answered. “You got out of the juice bar and pushed past me in your hurry.”

My eyes snapped to his. “You saw me crying?”

He lifted a hand over his shoulder and placed his palm on the back of his neck. “Yeah.”

I sat there blinking as I tried to process this information.

“I didn’t know who you were at first. No offense,” he added quickly, “but you weren’t exactly under my radar at school.”

If I wasn’t so shocked about hearing all this, that would have warranted an eye-roll from me.

“Then I saw you and Cedric and realized we actually go to the same school.”

“We’ve had four classes together since freshman year.”

Judging from the way his eyebrows shot up, I could tell this was news to him. “Really?”

I gave him a flat look and he sent me a sheepish smile.

“Anyway, when I saw you rush out of that juice bar, tears and all, I kind of thought of myself. With Sarah, I mean. But I didn’t think it would lead to–hey, what are you doing?”

“Mm?”

“The gauze. Are you, um, you’re not using all that are you?”

I looked down to see that I had succesfully unrolled half the gauze absentmindedly. It was strewn all over the blanket. I gritted my teeth together and flushed as I rolled it back.

He chuckled, the sound so familiar to me now. Shaking his head, he continued with a smile. “As I was saying, I’m glad you ended up being one of my closest friends.”

Friends. “Right.” I cleared my throat. “Me, too.”

There was a pause as I started to work on wrapping his wound. I was absolutely, completely, undeniably screwed. What was I supposed to do?

For a second, I considered telling him I was starting to fall for him. The thought, however, completely evaporated as soon as I thought about the consequences. I hadn’t completely rid Cedric out of my system yet. There was also the fact that I was sure he still had unresolved feelings towards Sarah. Where would telling him lead to? It was impossible to figure him out.

Some part of me wanted to believe that he harbored the same feelings for me. What guy would get out of bed at one in the morning for someone who wasn’t special? But I knew Seth could have easily done the same thing with someone else. I couldn’t get my hopes up.