Endeverafter: The Series Presents The Cursed One

Chapter Eighteen

"Oh! Ow! I'm-I'm--" when she looked up, Seth was standing there. Dressed in a backwards baseball cap, burgundy pullover hoodie and light blue overalls, his eyes were bright with surprise. "Seth. Hey."

"Hey, Drue. What's--" he stopped when he noticed the redness in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Drue said, quickly wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. I-I got something caught in my eye."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Where are you off to?"

"Um, I was just going to get something to eat from that burger place on Perry," he responded. "You know it?"

"I think so. It's called the Vineyard, right?"

Seth nodded. "Yeah," he said, looking down. "You wanna tag along?"

She was really hoping he wouldn't ask her that. After her argument with Lex, all she wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed. But standing in front of Seth and seeing the sincerity in his face, she couldn't resist. "Yeah, I guess I could eat," she said.

Seth smiled wide. "Come on."

At the Vineyard, Drue sat down at a booth while Seth stood in line for their food. Pulling out her cell phone, she frowned. No text messages from Lex saddened her but she didn't want to think about their argument anymore. She put her phone away as Seth appeared at the table. He slid in beside her and placed a tray in front of them. When she noticed the bacon cheeseburger in front of her, she smiled. "I would ask how you knew but I think I know the answer."

"I have a good memory," he said, proudly. "I just hope it holds up against the burgers at Five Guys."

"Eh, they're overrated. And expensive." Even after they finished their food, Drue and Seth sat in the booth and continued talking. Seth updated her on his future plans after graduating from Springfield. She was surprised to hear that he was considering leaving Camden Hills. "What did your parents say about you leaving? I know your mother won't be happy."

"I haven't spoken to them about it, yet," Seth replied. "They've been kind of distracted lately." He leaned his elbows on the table and started fidgeting with his thumbs.

"Seth, what's going on?"

His shoulders drooped. "My parents are getting a divorce."

Drue's mouth dropped. "What? No. Seriously? Why? I mean, I'm sorry to hear that but what happened?" She knew Seth's parents' marriage wasn't perfect - JR and Stephen were an example - but she didn't know things had gotten that bad. Having been distracted with her own life, she felt bad about how much she was missing out with her friends.

"I don't know," Seth said, shrugging. "They've just been arguing a lot lately and my father spends more time out of the house than in. I haven't seen him since the festival."

Drue knew how much Seth idolized his father, so to see his parents' marriage crumbling must have been heartbroken. "I'm really sorry, Seth. Your parents were my last bit of hope that love still existed."

"You and me both. If they get divorced, I know they're gonna use me to get back at each other. I just hope I'm long gone before that happens."

The sadness in his voice broke Drue's heart. There was anger mixed in there, but she understood where it was coming from. Seth had the bad habit of putting the entire world on his shoulders, so she wouldn't be surprised if he was blaming himself for his parents' failed marriage. She reached out and touched his arm. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

Seth's eyes looked down at her hand on his arm and inhaled. "That's easy for you to say," he said. "Your mother doesn't lie to you about how disappointed your father is with you."