Cruel Summer | SIMBAR

3... In Breakable Heaven...

Ámbar had made a mistake.

Okay, more than one. But funnily enough, the most pressing one was not kissing her ex... twice. It was getting back to her house with his hoodie still on.

The plan had been to untangle Simón from her life from that night forwards. She'd said goodbye for a reason. But now she had a piece of clothing that smelled like him in her room, and she would have to give it back eventually, which meant seeing him again.

(She had considered asking Emilia, or even Luna, to hand it over to him instead, but both of them would ask questions and she was pretty sure neither Simón nor her wanted anyone to know about that night.)

(Hell, she had even considered handing the hoodie to one of the drivers with an address and a name and letting Simón handle how he explained that to his family, but the whole ordeal just seemed more stilted than it needed to be.)

Maybe meeting with him to give him back his hoodie wouldn't be so complicated if what happened at his birthday party hadn't happened. But it had. And throughout the day, and now night— maybe especially because it was night and it was quiet and she was alone— Ámbar couldn't stop thinking about it.

She was just meant to give him the present and leave. Hand him the guitar strings as a thank you for his support, a 'parting gift' of sorts, and leave. But she didn't, and the rest of the night ended in a way she couldn't have anticipated.

And that was on him. Sure, Ámbar could admit that she had gone to Simón's birthday party knowing it was a bad idea and that it went against the distance she was trying to keep. But she never could have imagined... that would happen.

Why did he kiss her?

Why did she kiss back?

Ámbar got up from her bed and started pacing.

Simón abandoned her when she needed him most, she reminded herself. He didn't even listen to her when she tried to explain the situation. He met her feelings with derision and practically spat on her face. He was just another one of the Roller's insufferable goody-two-shoes and Luna's personal lap dog.

But he was also there for her when no one else was. He stood by her side when she felt more alone than ever. He held her as she cried. He kissed her so good that she forgot about her problems. So good that, for a moment, she felt wanted. Cared for.

She could still see his eyes in the back of her mind, boring into hers. His chest heaving close to her own from the lack of air. His ragged voice. The words breathed against her mouth. Ámbar, I...

What was he going to say?

The truth was, as much as she wanted to know, she also feared it. That was the reason why she hadn't stayed long enough to find out.

Simón had broken her once already. He could do it again. She couldn't allow that.

Ámbar sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the paper bag under her desk, the one currently holding the incriminating hoodie. She had to give it back. She'd never be able to cut ties with him permanently if she didn't.

Is that really the reason you want to return it?

Ámbar stomped on the little voice inside her head and snatched her phone from the bedside table before she could second-guess it any further. She went to her messages app and opened her chat with Simón.

She ignored the fact that the last message sent by either of them was from months ago.

She also ignored how fast her heart was beating.