Tear In My Heart | hes

i

chapter one - single rider

as part of my little sister's graduation gift, our family had decided it would be a great idea to vacation at some amusement park for a week. one whole week to do nothing but fun and i don't think i had ever seen my sister so excited for anything else as much as she was excited for this. i had already graduated three years ago, working a full time job at a record label but because of the special occassion, i was allowed vacation time.

so here we were, standing in line for a roller coaster that had just been put up sometime last year. hayley unlocked her phone as she scrolled through twitter, already annoyed that we'd been in line for twenty minutes with our little brother max. he was looking around excitedly, it was his first time here and it was so cute to see him jumping up and down in one spot with a funny hat resting on his head from a local gift shop.

"could you be anymore excited?" i asked him, hayley looking up from her phone to finally join the conversation.

"shut up bella." max groaned as the line started moving forward again. max was just nine and way too smart for his own good but i absolutely adored him.

"who's turn is it to sit with him?" hayley asked me. since there was three of us, and the rides usually seat two each, we would switch with max and the other would have to ride as a single rider.

"i think it's your's. i'll go by myself this time." she smiled, and i know she was silently thanking me for taking the weight of awkwardly having to sit with a stranger off her shoulders.

in a few more moments, an employee walked past us. "any single riders?"

"oh, i am." i told the man and he smiled.

"follow me." i jumped over the barricade and waved off my younger siblings as i followed the middle aged man to the front of the line. without looking at the other passenger, i climbed in, the guy automatically adjusting the seat so it wouldn't move around.

"excited, yeah?" i asked the stranger, hoping it wasn't some creep.

"very." his deep voice made my eyebrows furrowed and i craned my neck to see his face. just as the same guy started counting down to one, i was able to get a good look at him.

"harry?"

"arabella?"

"go!" the ride started and i screamed, hearing harry's yells beside me as he laughed.

our hair flapped in the wind as i saw the amusement park's skyline and i gripped the cold metal bar so tightly my knuckles turned white. i was still very shocked to know that harry was right next to me, after two years of not seeing or speaking to one another. pur feet dangled and swung, the ride not stopping for another whole two minutes. once it slowed and then came to a complete halt, a woman this time came around to unfasten us. without looking for my brother and sister, i followed harry off of the ride and stopped him from walking away.

"harry, don't you remember me?" he turned to face me and smiled, only one side of his lips going up into a smirk as a dimple intruded his cheek.

"of course i do." he held his arms open as i ran into his hug, him lifting me off the ground for a moment. "it's been so long."

"yeah." he set me down and i backed up a bit. "do you not have a phone?"

"i do." he bit his lip and i frowned. i would've thought he'd keep in contact, especially with his best friend since we were just babies. "i'm sorry bell." it had been so long since i heard that nick name that i literally cringed at the sound of it. harry didn't see, since he was staring at our feet and running his fingers through his hair.

"it's been three whole years. and you didn't bother talking to your best friend?" my voice sounded distressed as i adjusted my scarf since it was a bit chilly.

"i was busy. between university, a job, katherine-"

"katherine?" i asked, taken aback.

"yeah, my girlfriend." i nodded to let him continue. "i'm really sorry love."

"so why are you here now?"

"i'm on vacation with katherine and her family right now. but i finish my semester at uni soon and i plan on coming back for work in about a month."

"oh." was all i could manage, feeling my brain rummage inside my skull as i tried to take all this new information in.

"maybe we could hang out, like old times? i can give you my number now and we'll make plans." as mad as i was at harry for it being a whole three years, almost four since i graduated a year after him, i thought it was nice of him to be taking the initiative to fix the wrongs.

"sure." we exchanged numbers and he asked for a quick picture.

"i like setting pictures for my contacts." he explained before snapping one of us both.

"oh harry, i look god awful." i put my hand over my mouth at my messy hair and big brown eyes. harry looked at the photo with confusion.

"you? god awful? never. i think you look exquisite arabella. and i hope to see you again soon."