His Dream Life | Park Solomon

Chapter 3

Dear diary,
The sound of glass echoes in my mind all night. I held Sophie in my arms while they fought and her cries are like bullets going through my heart. Dad will leave soon and the house will be in peace once again. I hope I'm strong enough, at least until he leaves.
Hailey

I read Hailey's diary with tears running down my cheeks. I quickly rub them off, hoping no one sees me crying. I put my hand on Hailey's back as she looks out the classroom window with empty eyes.

"I don't want to come home, Isla. Let me stay with you, please. Please, just until he leaves." She begs with wet eyes. My heart breaks for her. "You can stay as long as you need, Hails. Come to my house tonight, I'll wait for you there after the project with Solomon." I hold her hand while I speak, then give her a hug.

The rest of the day goes slow as I check on Hailey every few minutes. Afterschool, Solomon gives me a ride to his house like last time. But this time, I don't pay attention to the beautiful mansions we pass along the way or even bother to start a conversation, my mind is too busy worrying Hailey. Her parents aren't doing well and is coming close to a divorce. My only hope is that it goes quickly, so Hailey don't have to suffer for long.

With my empty mind, I'm back at Solomon's porch. I take a bite of hotteok that his mom has made for us to clear my mind. I need to focus up and finish today's part of the project, so I can be with Hailey as soon as possible.

"Ah, my laptop is lagging again! How can we finish it this way?" Solomon grunts as he presses random buttons on his laptop.

"Here, let me help." I do my familiar work with the laptop and it stops lagging. "Wow, how did you do that?" He says as he types something on the keyboard with wide eyes. "That's nothing. I just find gadgets interesting, so I know my way around it."

"You should work with these for a living. You've got talent, Isla." I blush when he says that.

"Yeah, I'm thinking of working somewhere in IT." I gulp a little nervously for some reason. "How about you, Lomon? What do you want to be?"

He stops typing and answers, "act in more movies, I guess...become a world known model...take part in a runway, maybe." He heaves a sigh. "It sounds like you're not looking forward to it," I bite my tounge. I shouldn't have said that.

"No, no I do want all those things. They're my dreams and I'm so excited to experience them," he smiles and continues, "it's just that....there are things I want more than them. The things I have to sacrifice to get them."

"What things, Lomon?" I ask and this time, I don't hesitate. I've dug this far, why not go further?

"Regular things. Playing basketball with a group of friends, walking home from school together, have lunch with our tables pushed into one, oh, and I want to go to the arcade afterschool." He sighs and drops his head. I want to say something comforting, but my phone rings suddenly. I pick it up quickly.

"Isla.....where are you?" It's Hailey and her voice sounds weak. I'm instantly worried and tells her that I'm in Solomon's house. "Please, let me go there with Sophie." She sounds like she has been crying. I tell her that I need to ask Solomon if she can come, but it seems like he heard everything already and nods.

I can't focus while waiting for them to come. Solomon seems to see that and tells me that we can continue when they're here. Ten minutes after she called, Hailey and Sophie arrives. Hailey walks towards us with Sophie's hand wrapping around her finger. Both sisters's eyes are puffy from crying. It hurts my heart to see them.

Solomon's eyes are symphatetic and he sighs. He comes up to Sophie and she immediately hugs his legs and starts crying. Solomon's eyes are watery, but he keeps it in and kneels down to her level.

"Do you want to see the flowers I planted? We should let Isla and your sister talk," he says. Sophie nods and Solomon smiles his cute smile. They both walk hand in hand to the garden and I find it adorable how Solomon makes smaller steps so Sophie can keep up.

"Oh, Isla," Hailey blurts out, crying and hugs me. I can't help but cry with her. I sit her down on the porch and let her rest her head on my shoulder. She tells me everything from how bad the fight was and how worried she is about what's to come. I listen and with every word she say, I hurt with her.

Solomon's mom serves them hotteok and she seems so delighted by Sophie's presence, not knowing why she's really here. Solomon and I continue our project, but then get distracted by Hailey crying and as we all know, when she cry, then I cry.

Solomon got her a tissue box and hugs her. She rests her forehead on Solomon's chest as she sobs. Solomon lighly rubs her back. I swallow hard and I feel a heavy feeling at the top of my chest. Is this from crying too much or am I...jealous? No, that can't be. Not when Hailey's in this much pain and jealous because of Solomon? No way, we barely know each other.

But what could it be? Why do I want to be one in his arms instead?