HOW DID IT END? paige bueckers

18

—- REAL LIFE

LEIGHTON PRINCE

I spent most of my night and morning in an ever-waking misery. Startled and woken up by the sadness contained in my body, I didn't get much sleep. It was now the mid-afternoon, and the sun shining through my blinds only reminded me of the nothingness of a day I have had. I refused to go to the practice today, knowing the state I was in, and who might make it worse.

For my whole morning, I used my time staring into the abyss of my dorm room, not even bothering to lift a finger. My phone buzzed multiple times, but never did I think to pick it up. Well, besides for making an on-a-whim instagram post in order to feel better about myself. I thought about taking a nap, or making myself food with the little resources we had in our dorm, but both activities seemed equally hard to actually get up and do. I just needed to distract myself, but how could I when my body was glued to one place I felt safe in.

Avery showed me nothing but mercy and kindness since the information I aired out, and I was so grateful for it. She never once ridiculed me or made me feel like a burden, but the voice in the back of my mind did. Thankfully, she lied for me and told Mr. Owens of my whereabouts, making up something about a family emergency. But for now, I could not come to the terms of seeing Paige, or even using the little energy I had left to confront her in general. Every thought or reminder of her left nothing but a pit of loneliness in my heart. I don't know what's worse, seeing her with someone else and it hurting me when it shouldn't, or her being with someone else and it not hurting her.

Deciding to finally do something with my life, I get up out of my bed colored with navy blue sheets, and take down the high bun I have no recollection of ever putting in my hair. I brush and brush until all the tangles come out, in an attempt of getting rid of last nights events. I've been glued to my bed for almost 12 hours now, so there's no clue what I look like. I change out of the white tank top and purple boxer shorts Avery put on me, and into a UConn Cheer hoodie and black lounge shorts. I grab the bottle of water on my nightstand, and chug it in record-breaking seconds. Thankfully, I don't have much of a headache from drinking. However, I do have a headache from a certain 5'11, extremely athletic, a never-ending thought in my mind, blonde girl. To suppress my thoughts of her, I connect my phone to the small speaker in the corner of the room that me and Avery use to get ready for parties. I play a mix of my favorite slow songs, and turn it down some, so it's just background noise. Doing my best to find something to eat, I rummage and rummage through storage bins and drawers, unable to find anything, only forced out of a daze when a soft knock enters the room. I jump up, confused, considering if it was Avery, she wouldn't have to knock.

I shuffle myself to the door in a lazy manor, uninterested to whoever is behind the wall. Thinking it's most likely someone mistaking my dorm for theirs, or a random friend coming to see me, I invitingly open the door, my wide-tooth smile coming to a halt whenever I come face-to-face with who it is.

"Hi." Paige lets out in an exasperated, and long-awaited sigh, her mouth slightly open with eyelashes fluttering wildly. Her eyes crinkle together moderately, in a way of relief. My gaze drops completely, my heart rate quicking up, just like the thoughts in my mind. At this point, my mind was a race, unable to catch up on the words scattering through my mind. I wasn't quite sure what to say, as every word sat on the til of my tongue, but quickly abandoned me. My eyes were darting all over Paige's face and body, taking in every detail of the sight in front of me. Her hair was straight, fallen over her shoulders, framing her face perfectly that was filled with her clear square rimmed glasses that I once cherished so dearly a lifetime ago. She wore a black long-sleeved UConn Basketball athletic shirt, matching my hoodie in a way. Occupied to the hoodie was black and white checkered basketball shorts, Overtime, I'm sure.