That's when I heard a girl's voice calling my name.
Her voice echoed in my mind as my vision began to brighten.
Slowly, I opened my eyes to find a gorgeous girl with curly brown hair snapping her fingers in front of me. Her expression was a mix of concern and urgency, drawing me back into the present moment.
I was back in class, my body drenched in sweat, the damp fabric of my uniform clinging uncomfortably to my skin. A dull ache throbbed in my head, a lingering echo of the turmoil I had just escaped.
"You alright?" Samantha asked, concern etched on her face. Her brow furrowed slightly, as if she could sense the weight of my dreams, still clinging to me.
"You looked like you were having a bad dream," she continued, worry dancing in her light brown eyes.
"I'm alright," I replied, though the words felt hollow, a thin veneer over the storm brewing inside me.
Right, we had gone back to class after lunch, and the afternoon heat had lulled me into a fitful sleep. But why had my dreams been filled with such haunting memories?
Revisiting those feelings made my stomach churn, each recollection a sharp reminder of my vulnerabilities. As I glanced at Samantha, a sudden vision of Francine overlapped with her in my mind—a cruel twist of fate that deepened my unease.
I fell silent, the weight of it all pressing down on me like a heavy fog.
Soon, class ended, and we began our walk out of school, Samantha animatedly discussing the novel she had started reading. Her voice was bright, weaving a tapestry of words that contrasted sharply with the shadows lurking in my thoughts. I listened, nodding occasionally, but my mind was elsewhere, haunted by echoes of the past.
The fear began to crawl inside of me, a cold presence that tightened my chest. I wanted to engage, to share in her excitement, but the memories gnawed at me, making me retreat into my own silence.
"What do you think?" Samantha asked, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, but I could only muster a soft response, "Yeah, it sounds interesting."
A brief pause filled the space between us, and I could sense her shifting, perhaps sensing my distance.
"Hey, if you ever want to talk about something, I'm here, you know?" she said, a hint of softness in her tone that caught me off guard.
I glanced at her, taken aback by her concern. Here she was, so full of light, while I felt like I was drowning in shadows. "Thanks, but I'm okay," I managed, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes.
"Alright, just remember, I'm always around." She smiled back, though a hint of worry lingered in her expression.
As we walked, the world around us buzzed with energy—students laughing, the distant sound of a basketball bouncing—but I felt trapped within my own thoughts, struggling against the tide of memories that threatened to pull me under.
A friend, huh?
My heart felt like it was turning to stone.
The regret of my past weighed heavily on me.
Why was I even trying so hard to forge a friendship?
I deserved what happened to me. My cockiness had led me to believe I was the main character in some grand story, when in reality, I was just a background player, stumbling through the script.
Then my stomach made a noise.
I was surprised when Samantha burst into laughter.
"Dang, I guess all that thinking has made you hungry," she chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
YOU ARE READING
Timeless Regrets.
RomanceA young, silent college student accustomed to his predictable routine encounters a girl from another country, whose vibrant spirit shakes him from his self-imposed isolation. As their friendship blossoms, he is forced to confront the regrets and pai...
