Heart's Games

Heart's Games|Chapter 34: Hurricane

Chapter 34: Hurricane

"I know this might freak you out. Frankly, I can't blame you. But there is so much I want to talk to you about. But it all goes way back. It goes about, eighteen years ago. Yes, before you were born. I know what you are wondering: Then why am I even in this? Well, Katherine Solomon, you are about to find out."

Since I was a little girl, I've liked stories. I liked thinking there was a meaning behind everything and that in the end, everything could be puzzled together and everyone would be happy. Something told me that this story was going to be a little different.

"You might think I am a freak," I heard him say as Lorena brought me a bowl of sliced apples. I took one to the mouth, mostly because my nerves were begging me to find something to chew on. "I can't blame you. I do, as well. But let me explain to you how all of this started. It has been chasing me since elementary school. This is not where the story starts; it is just where it warms up. I've always been kind of different. I'd like to say unique, but with the things they said, no. I was not. I was just an ordinary freak, but different in the group of people in the school. The boy who wore black only. The geek with the huge glasses that were bigger than his face. My eyes were, apparently, too big and exotic for my face. My wild eyebrows were of no help. My dark, dark hair was a mess no one wanted to see. I was a mess. In elementary school, the story doesn't begin, because I decided to wait. My mother told me I was going to change and I was going to grow up to be what everybody thrived for. Eventually, my brother graduated college and I began middle school. The age gap is big, but it never really did bother me much. I didn't grow up with him, but I was still his shadow. Imagine if I had grown up with him. So I always guessed that having him away was for my own best." 

Damn it. I swear my breath was beginning to cut off.

"The thing is that, he had a kid of his own once I entered middle school. I had became an uncle, and I don't know why that thought made me feel better. Until I had to face reality. There was this one guy, who I envied so much. Such good looks and yet such a caring heart. Which, I figured, was because he was never hurt. He didn't know pain at all. He was humble, I admit. I didn't understand why, but rumor had it that he hadn't had an easy childhood. Ridiculous. He looked well-taken care of, unlike me. I was too skinny for my age, too ugly for the girls, and too geeky for the world. Everyday, kids would tell me to just disappear. They told me I would never be good enough. Mom told me they were jealous because I was the smartest kid in the class. Pish-posh." A small laugh escaped from him, and I felt a jolt of fright run throughout my body. "Nobody liked the know-it-all."

I let go of the rewind button, because I was feeling my breath being knocked off. I took the headphones off as Lorena let her bowl aside and rushed toward me.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look so pale."

The room was spinning. I was feeling nauseous. I didn't even know why. Why did I even feel like this? I was getting some answers; what I thrived for.

It took me a while to understand why, but I eventually did: I had just realized he was human. He had a story and a past and feelings and some crap going down on him. Never had I taken the time to think that this guy, in the end, wasn't all that different from any of us. And just that was enough to terrify me to death.

"I just...I...I think I need to rest," I told her.

"What has he said?" Lorena asked, eyes widened and sparkling thanks to the bit of light entering the cabin.

"It is like an introduction to his school life," I said, beginning to pack everything inside my bag one more time.

"Oh, well...okay. You really look like you can't handle this." A small dry laugh escaped her puffy lips. "Let's talk about something else..."