The Heartbroken - S01 E221

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E221

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 221

I heard a sob, and for a second, I thought it came

from me.

It didn’t.

His chest was shaking against mine as he finally

wrapped his arms around me too, hugging me close

with the same urgency. I let him engulf me in his

warmth, taking in the familiarity of his embrace. I let

him cry, holding back my own tears because I knew

one of us had to be strong.

“You’re here,” he said, almost to himself than me. He

pulled away, his shaking hands finding their way to

my face. I could almost taste his tears as he held me,

resting his forehead on mine as he let his eyes flutter

close. “You’re here.”

I lifted my hands and brought them to his face,

prompting him to open his eyes.

“I am,” I murmured softly, willing him to see that I

was telling the truth “I’m here. We’re here.”

—

“How long have you been here?” I asked him, trying

to search his eyes.

We were sitting under the tree now. I didn’t care

about the grass stains my dress would acquire from

sitting directly on the grass, right next to Seth. All I

could think of was that I was glad I’d found him. I

was glad that he was all right. When I called Alyssa

to let her know I’d found him, she was so happy she

started crying.

He was playing with a blade of grass with his hands,

avoiding my searching gaze. He wasn’t crying

anymore, but there was still a hint of his sadness in

the air. “All day,” he replied.

I let out a breath. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“The car. In Snowflake’s parking lot.”

“Jesus.” I couldn’t help but shake my head violently

at this information. “Have you even eaten?”

“Come on,” I said. “We still have some leftover pasta

at my house.”

He ignored me. “Why did you look for me?”

“Are you kidding me?” I shifted from my seat,

moving to the spot right across him so that I could

meet his eyes. “Are you f-----g kidding me? Why

wouldn’t I look for you?”

He stared back. I couldn’t quite make out the emotion

in his eyes.

There was no reply.

Deep inside, I knew he wasn’t waiting for me to find

him: He was waiting for his family.

For Isabelle, maybe. Or possibly his dad.

I swallowed. “Seth, we were all looking for you. We

were all worried about you. You f-----g scared me

to death.”

I saw something shift in his eyes and my heart

tugged at the sight, spreading warmth from my

chest to the tips of my fingers. I moved closer and

grabbed his hand.

“Isabelle’s worried sick about you,” I told him, “and

so is everyone else.”

He looked away. I waited for him to say anything, so

I stared silently. I studied his unkempt hair and the

dark bags under his eyes.

After a long stretch of silence, he spoke. “I’m sorry.”

A smile made its way to my lips. “Save that for

Alyssa. I think she’s planning to kill you the moment

she sees you.”

My heart lurched at the sight of his lips tugging into a

slow smile. “Yeah?”

“She’ll probably make it a slow and painful death,” I

said.

“I don’t expect anything less.”

We shared a look, both of us smiling. I was so, so

glad to see that the smile reached his eyes. That he

was still able to do so genuinely.

But I knew I had to confront him somehow, so I

dropped my smile and turned to him. “Why didn’t

you go home, Seth?”

His smile dissipated as he looked away, clenching his

jaw as he picked up a twig.

“I don’t have a home,” he replied. “Not anymore.”

I bit my lower lip. It was too painful to hear him

speak with this voice, full of raw emotion and grief.

He sounded like a vulnerable child who couldn’t find

his way back home.

“Are your mom and dad getting a divorce?”

He inhaled sharply, snapping his gaze to mine.

I didn’t flinch.

He studied me for a while before opening his mouth

to reply. “Yeah.”

“Is that why you’re upset?” I asked him.

“I know it sounds stupid.” He looked completely torn

by his own emotions. “I know it is stupid. I saw it

coming. I knew it was coming. And I understand

that it’s the only way things could have ended with

them, but…”

He shook his head and I squeezed his hands,

wrapping them both in mine to keep them from

trembling.

His eyes were raw with pain, but he forced himself

to continue. “It’s stupid, but I think a part of me still

believed that they could work things out. That they

could stay together.”

Silence aired as I tried to think of something to say;

something that would make him feel better;

something that could take away the pain in his eyes

and voice and heart.

“Seth.” I squeezed his hands. “It’s okay to feel that

way.”

He shook his head vehemently, not daring to look

me in the eye. “It’s not. It’s not okay. I should know

better. I’m seventeen, for f--k’s sake, and yet—”

“So what?” I cut him off, squeezing his hands harder.

“Everyone gets hurt. Even if you’re older now, even

if you know better, even if you understand, you can’t

keep yourself from hurting. And that’s okay.”

He looked at me, and there was electricity in the way

we both looked into each other’s eyes. I wondered if

he could feel it. I wondered if he was just as afraid of

it as I was. I wondered if it would lead to anything at

all.

My unspoken questions were answered when he

dropped his gaze, breaking the connection.

If there was even one.

“Kyla” he said quietly. He pried his hands away from

mine and something about this gesture stung. I

pulled back, just slightly, and tried to pretend that the

stabbing pain in my chest didn’t exist. “You make it

so hard not to fall in love with you.”

I bit the insides of my cheek so hard I could feel a

numbing pain.

“And I do want something to happen between us,”

he continued, but all I could hear is the rushing of

my blood with every beat of my heart, “but I have to

sort things out first.”

“You don’t,” I found myself saying, “you don’t have

to do it alone.”

When he met my pleading eyes, his lips were

already tugged into another of his sad smiles. “Ky.”

The way he said my name made my stomach drop.