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“Can we go home, please?”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m just…” I catch Liam standing where I left him, his eyes glistening with tears as they fixate on me. Yanking my gaze away from his, I say, “I’m not feeling well. Can you take me home?”
“Of course.” Dad stands. “We’ll all go home.”
The Four Musketeers and their husbands ask me if I’m okay. I just nod that I am. I can’t look at Ally and Zack without thinking about their son. Being reminded of that knife he sliced into my heart.
“Go to the car,” Mom tells Dad and me. “I’ll look for Rylee.”
Dad puts his arm around me and holds me close as he leads me to the car. The weather’s pretty cold, but I’m not shivering because of it. I’m shivering because my heart has just shattered into a million pieces.
“I hope you didn’t eat something bad,” Dad says as we head to the parking lot. “I thought the shrimp might have had a funny taste…”
It’s not the shrimp, Dad. It’s the boy who I thought would never hurt me. But he’s hurt me in the worst way possible. I can’t breathe normally because my lungs feel like wood.
I get in the car and cross my arms over my chest, leaning my head on the window. I don’t want to cry because I don’t want to worry my parents, but it’s like I’ve got a fountain behind my eyes. The only things that play in my head over and over are his words. Rubbing salt on the wound.
“But I don’t want to go home yet,” Rylee complains as she and Mom reach the car. “Zoey, Mia, and I were about to play Hide and Seek with the other kids.”
“Your sister’s not feeling well.”
“Oh. That sucks.” She slides in and sticks her face next to mine. “Are you going to throw up?”
“What?”
“Are you going to throw up?”
“No.”
“That’s good. Because I don’t like being near people who throw up—”
“I know, Rylee. Because it makes you feel like you’re going to throw up, too.”
I don’t mean to sound so harsh. Yeah, I’m super mad, but I’m more hurt.
“Okay, sheesh. But in case you do have to throw up, aim the other way and not at me.”
I close my eyes and allow the tears to fall. I’m just too weak to fight them.
“Chloe, are you sure you’re okay?” Mom asks as she gets in the passenger seat.
“Yeah.” I force a smile. “It’s just my head. I didn’t sleep well last night because I was excited for the ball. I just need to go to bed and I’ll be fine.”
Mom and Dad don’t look convinced, so I try to make my smile more believable.
“It doesn’t look like she’s gonna puke,” Rylee says. “I think our patient will be fine.”
Dad nods and starts the car. My parents and sister discuss the ball on the way home, and I wish I had earplugs. I want to forget about the ball. Never think about it again and remember how…
I can’t believe he let me stand out there like a pathetic loser. Waiting for my knight in shining armor to arrive. Did I really think my story would end in a happily ever after? Life doesn’t work that way. In life, there are disappointments. There’s heartache. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to fall for someone I never met. How ironic is it that the one person who told me to guard my heart was the one who stomped all over it?
And he claims it’s because he’s in love with me? That he’s loved me for years? Why didn’t he just tell me?
“Maybe you should take a nice warm bath, Chloe,” Mom says when we pull up before the house. “Would you like me to make you tea?”
“No, thanks. I just want to roll into bed.”
