The Heartbroken - S01 E173

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E173

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 173

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” I said.

She nodded. “Maybe.”

I gave her a grateful look because I

knew she was the only one

keeping me together when I was

ready to burst at the seams.

We entered the cafeteria, deflecting

yet another round of curious

students asking questions about

whether or not the rumors were

true. Which rumors, I had no idea.

In spite of myself, my eyes

automatically tried to find Seth’s

when we stepped into the

cafeteria. My gaze swept over the

usual cacophony of the large hall

and landed on what had been our

table for the past few weeks.

Everyone except Seth was there.

I felt relieved, for some reason,

because I wasn’t sure how I would

manage if I saw him and his blue

eyes and his grin and every single

f-----g thing that made him him.

Alyssa caught me looking over as I

stood in line with a tray in hand,

her eyes asking me a silent

question. I gave her an apologetic

smile and ever so slightly shook my

head. I hoped she understood I

had nothing against them, and that

I hoped we all could still be friends

despite everything else.

The line moved quickly while Hail

was telling me about another

rumor she had heard that for some

reason involved some guy named

Jeff.

I was acutely aware of the fact that

Seth hadn’t made an appearance

yet, and something about this

made me regret what had

happened to the easy relationship

between us.

It was, however, inevitable in a

way.

Was I angry at him? Yes. Was I sad?

Yes. Did I hate him? Possibly. Did I

miss him? Yes, motherfucking yes.

The lines between each emotion

blurred together and it was difficult

to pinpoint exactly where I should

stand. All I knew was that he was

right: He wasn’t ready and neither

was I.

I was chasing a form of happiness

that involved using him as a

distraction, and he had done the

exact opposite. He turned away,

choosing instead to hurt us both

now while the damage wasn’t as

big as it would have been if things

went my way. He was only saving

us both from a relationship that

could easily crumble because of our

pasts.

Hail reached over to squeeze my

hand when she noticed I’d gone

quiet. “It will be fine. You’ll be fine

in no time.”

I swallowed and looked down at

my food. “I know.”

She was about to say something

when people suddenly began

shooting up their seats, bolting out

of the cafeteria. Curiosity spread

like wildfire, making more and

more people stand up to find out

what the commotion was all about.

I exchanged a look with her.

She was looking back with a

slightly curious expression. “You

think Jack and Finn are here for

people to react like that?”

Not getting the reference, I just

shrugged.

“Want to check it out?” she asked

me.

I wasn’t in the mood to make my

way through the thick throng of

nosy students, despite my curiosity,

so I told her I’d just stay here.

“I’ll go see what’s happening,” Hail

said and stood up.

When she was gone, I let myself

just sit there, among a few others

who were surprisingly not curious

enough to prioritize that over food.

Not a minute later, Hail was back,

running frantically until she

reached our table.