Clato: The Cost of a Broken Heart

Chapter 10

CLOVE

I wake up with blood pouring from my mouth. While I watched Cato die in my nightmares I must have bitten my lip. Hard. Watching him die in my arms is a special kind of hell. Every time I think it's Favian. Every time I think it's real. And to me it almost is.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about Cato but I know it hurts to see him hurt. I know sending him away that day on the balcony is one of the hardest things I've had to do. I know that when he dies in my dreams I want to curl up against him and die too.

It's nearly 4:00am but I can't sleep. Lately I've found myself with an awful lot of time and nothing to do. Maybe I should join a gym. I think of the four hours a day I spend jogging and working out and laugh. Why go to a gym when my house basically has its own?

This in mind, I slip out of my pajamas and into running clothes. Shoving open the front door, I take off down the path at a sprint. I like to run off the demons sometimes. It seems to help.

I've just made my third lap of the loop when it happens. The stars are shining and the night envelops me in a layer of black. I feel like I can disappear. My heavy breaths create an easing rhythm as my feet slap the ground. I round the corner near Cato's house, carefully avoiding looking in his direction. On the other side of the street I notice a shadow. It moves.

I stop suddenly, breaths coming hard and fast. My feet are still. The shadow moves, taking on the shape of a man. A man I recognize all too well. He has greasy black hair and grey eyes like sharks. I stand in the middle of the road and scream.

Lights flicker on in Cato's house, illuminating the street. And just like my dreams, I discover that it isn't real. Favian is a figment of my imagination. He isn't waiting for me on the streets at night. But still, I can't do this. I can't handle being out in my own with this constant fear of being watched and followed. The fear follows me wherever I go.

I crouch in the street, trying to gather the courage to turn back around and make the trek home in this awful oppressive dark. Light spills over me. I glance up to see a bedroom lamp on in Cato's house. His broad-shouldered form fills the window. Just as he turns to sweep away the curtains, I dash behind some decorative shrubbery. Cato peers out his window, rubbing sleep from his eyes. His blonde hair is mussed and he isn't wearing a shirt.

I find myself watching as he surveys the street, eyebrows crinkling. His blue eyes spark with adorable confusion. Cato shakes his head and I watch as he plods over, turns off the lamp, and collapses into the bed, sound asleep. I scurry home in the night. Despite my fear, I find myself smiling softly.

When I wake up it is to a throbbing headache and a thumping at the door. As usual, my first thought is fear of Favian. I didn't make it upstairs last night though and fell asleep on the couch downstairs. Whoever is knocking can see my silhouette through the curtains. Groaning, I roll off the couch and peep through the hole. It's Elise. There are tears running down her cheeks. Her mascara drips from her eyes. I throw open the door.

"I'm still really mad at you," Elise whimpers as she hugs me.

"I know. What's wrong?" She cries into my shoulder.

"Roni broke up with me."
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