The Heartbroken - S01 E212

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E212

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 212

After a long stretch of silence, I heard a slight sniffle.

Stunned, I looked up at her and found her rubbing

her eyes, and for some reason, the sight made my

own eyes water.

“This is beautiful,” she said, rising from her seat. I

couldn’t take my eyes from the tears in her eyes as

she walked across the room and sat next to me on

my bed, the mattress sinking with her weight. “Your

father would have loved it.”

I swiped at my eyes, unable to reply.

I didn’t know why I was crying or why the tears

wouldn’t stop coming.

“Your father was a good man,” she said. “I don’t

think I can ever stop loving him.”

I looked up at her.

She placed a hand over my shoulders and tucked

some of my hair behind my ear. “I will never forget

him, and no one—no one—can ever replace him in

my heart.”

“What about Norman?” I asked her.

Her eyes seemed to glitter as she pulled me closer,

smoothing out my hair with one hand. “That’s the

thing about love, sweetie.” With a shake of her head,

she continued, “You never stop loving a person. You

never remove them from that special place in your

heart. They will always be there, no matter how

many people you end up meeting and loving along

the way. And that’s not a bad thing.”

“It’s not?”

She smiled. “It makes us stronger.”

—

After eating lunch with Mom—we both agreed to

order some pizza—I headed to the hospital. On my

way, I decided I’d buy some apples, which had

always been Cedric’s favorite fruit. I stopped at one

of the smaller grocery stores in town and went

straight to the produce section.

I always made sure that the apples had no bruises,

so I examined them as closely as I could. When I

reached for my fourth apple, somebody else

happened to reach for the same one. I retracted my

hand and plastered a polite smile on my face as I

looked at the man beside me.

His blue eyes almost made me reel back. “You can

take it,” the man said, smiling kindly.

Dazed, I blinked, trying not to stare. It was difficult

not to. His blue eyes had already taken my attention.

There was something about the way he stood that

was achingly familiar.

And suddenly I knew who it was.

He picked a different apple and was already turning

on his heel. I couldn’t help but watch him walk away.

I tried to remember the contents of his grocery cart.

There wasn’t much in it and he didn’t seem like he

was shopping for a family of three. He seemed to be

buying just a few necessities for one person, like a

tourist staying for no more than a few days.

I took my phone out and dialed Seth quickly, but I

couldn’t reach his cell. I had a flashback of him

turning his phone off last night. Was it possible he

still hadn’t turned it on? I put my phone back in my

pocket.

There was no need to call him, right? Besides, I was

only making assumptions. I didn’t even know if the

man really was his father.

Pushing past the thought, I went back to choosing

apples, distracting myself with the thought of paying

Cedric a visit.

—

Cedric looked better. The color of his face was back

and he didn’t seem as tired as he did last night. My

face automatically broke into a grin as I entered the

room.