Finding Hearts

Chapter 26

KATE

"Don't you ever do that again, Kate Madison Blake", Mom shouts throughout the house. Cal brought me home a few minutes ago, and snippets of our conversation in the car or the evening we spent together still have my heart beating wild in my chest and a soft smile plastered on my lips.

I am in love with you, Katie Blake.

Baby, all you have to do is breathe.

You could be waltzing around in your pyjamas and I'd still think: Oh my God, how is this girl real?

I am in love with you, Katie Blake.

I take a deep breath to force my head in the moment and not at the guy holding my heart. "Mom, I told you. I was at Vee's. No big deal."

My best friend agreed to cover for me saying I was over at her house. I feel bad for using her as an excuse and dragging her into this mess, yet she didn't even need much time to be convinced. She said all she wants in return is me telling her a detailed description of tonight and a free-pass to punch Liam.

It didn't take me much before I agreed.

"No big deal?!", Aaron shouts too. "We were looking for you for more than three hours, Kate. Four almost. Not to mention how worried we were. Liam too."

"I. Was. Fine", I hiss. I tug onto the memories so I don't fall apart. "I was at Vee's."

"We were there, and nobody answered", he counters.

Oh-oh. Think fast. "Because I had zero interest in talking to you or Liam."

"That's not nice", he spits. I'm about to tell him what he did to Cal wasn't nice, how he punched him, the view of him with a black eye still hurting me, yet I stop, so that I don't bring the both of us in more trouble. If Aaron would find us we were together, he'd beat Cal again, and this time it won't stop at a black eye.

"Neither is you forcing me to date Liam", I counter. "I hate that guy."

"Why?! He is good, has always been good to you. And he obviously cares about you, and he..."

"But he doesn't love me", I shout, tears in my eyes. "He does not love me. Not like..."

"Not like whom, Kate?", Aaron counters, his eyebrow already raised.

Good job, Katie.

"Not like love should feel like", I blurt out. "You want butterflies, I feel none. You want happiness, we also lack thereof. I feel nothing towards him." And everything towards Cal.

"Love ain't real", Aaron hisses. "It will only leave you hurt."

"Love can be real", I counter. "And it makes you feel so happy. So very happy." I make an effort to meet his gaze. "Do you want me to be happy, Aaron?"

"Of course I want you to be happy", he blurts.

"Then let me be happy. Don't force me to date Liam. Let me find happiness. No matter with whom."

Aaron rubs his temple, as he suddenly gets an incoming call and curses once at the ID. "I have to get this", he tells us. But before he goes away, he looks at me once more. "This conversation ain't over. I am not letting you fall in the arms of someone like Callum Slade or Trevor Huxley. You don't want Liam, fine by me. But at least have the decency to date someone who will actually give a fuck about you."

And just like that he's gone, running upstairs with his phone stuck to his ear. "Hey, babe", I can hear him say, before the sound of a door closing roars through the house.

I sink my face in my palms, tears starting to burn my skin.

"Honey", a soothing hand goes on my back, drawing circles and little hearts. I look up and see Mom looking at me, her eyes filled with worries. "Are you alright?"

"He hates me, Mom", I whisper between tears. "He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you, Katie. He just wants to make sure you're okay."

"By making my life hell?", I counter. "I don't see how that makes me okay."

Mom takes a deep breath, before asking: "Is this about that hockey guy?"

"Callum...", I whisper, since there is much more to him than just hockey. Sure, he is amazing at what he does, I know that now after seeing him at the workshop. But there is also his kindness. His pure heart. The way he always makes me feel safe and happy.

"You were with him, weren't you?", she figures it out.

I nod. What point in denying it?

"You like that guy...Callum?", she continues.

I don't even notice when I start nodding. "I really like him, Mom. Like a lot. He is different than all the other guys. He is kind. And always there for me. He makes me smile and laugh. He makes me feel like I'm the prettiest girl on this planet." I smile at the memory of him. "And he's handsome. And he always knows how to say the right things. And I...I...I think I love him."

The confession simply bursts out of me. I knew it for some time, yet tonight proved it. I wanted to tell it to him in the car, yet the nerves got the better of me and I panicked. I couldn't let the words out, although I felt them with every beat of my heart.

"You love him?", she asks, her smile lopsided by the tears in her eyes.

"I do", I confess. "But don't tell Aaron", I quickly add. "He hates him enough already."

"Don't worry, sweetie, I won't", she tells me, winking at me like she just sealed a secret. "But tell me about him. I thought I felt something going on between the two of you when you first mentioned hockey. But how did the two of you even meet? You were in the same school for some time now, what changed everything?"

I wipe away a tear with the back of my hand and a smile tugs on my lips. "It all started with a kiss..."