Broken Souls {l.f. + r.m.}

A spark

R I L E Y
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I sat on my couch, wondering if I had done the right thing. I had done what was easiest for me. I had a yet again lost someone and given up.
Riley Matthews, you are a strong and independent girl. You do not need to put your happiness in a boy of little wit.
A tear ran down my cheek. As hard as I tried, I knew that I could never be the tough person I had dreamed of being. When I lost Elliot, I all but died. I couldn't bear the pain of dealing with that again so I dropped Lucas. I knew he wasn't just a guy. I didn't care anymore. I was home alone, feeling sorry for myself. I walked to the kitchen and opened my parents' liquor cabinet. I grabbed the vodka bottle. The clear alcohol helped me forget, helped me to not feel. I don't know how much I drank, but I somehow woke up at an unfamiliar house. I heard these booming voices coming from downstairs. I looked around, seeing a room full of lacrosse decor and plays.
A familiar looking guy walked in, and jumped when seeing my consciousness.

"Oh wow. You're awake. I'll be right back." he said while dashing through the door. He came back in, shortly after, with a sports bottle in his hand.
"Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better."
I drank it, not thinking though the fact that I was in a stranger's house, drinking a mysterious liquid.
I couldn't think. My head was pounding and every sound I heard intensified in volume. I cringed when I tasted the grimy texture of the drink.

"Okay, I know you have questions. I'm Nate Hale. You got drunk last night and ran around the town, collapsing here and there. You even ended up at the lacrosse field. Luckily, I was there practicing late, so I thought it best to take you home and help you." His ice blue eyes sparkled in the rising sun's light. "The only person you told me to call was a girl named Maya, so I called her just a few minutes ago, and she said she was on her way.

"Thanksss." I stuttered. "But I don't need yourr help." Dizzily, I tried to make my way out of the bed, and I fell, Nate catching me.

"It's okay. I gotchu." He seemed tender and kind. I fell asleep, then, waiting for my best friend to come and help me. Later, I woke to Maya tickling me. The drink Nate made me drink somehow sobered me up in a fast manner, and I was ready to get out of there. I graciously thanked and apologized Nate and his mother for everything.
Maya and I walked out, but instead of going straight home, we took a walk.
"Maya, we broke up." It took all of my heart to utter those pitiful words, but I had managed. "We broke up.." I said again, my voice breaking. Maya grabbed me down onto a park bench and put my head on her shoulder. "I know, sweetie. It's okay. I'm here." For hours, i sat there, crying, until Maya wanted to walk again.

For the next few weeks, it became easier and easier to deal with the pain. I surrounded myself in school. I wanted to try an extracurricular, but I had no possible talent in any sport. I wanted to learn, but Maya had no idea how any of that worked.
Maya had pushed me to go ahead and pursue others to get my mind off of Lucas. I had tried to make a go of a few guys, but it wouldn't work out. There was no spark.

After school one day, I had decided to volunteer to clean up the school basement. There was only one other volunteer, but that was fine. I could handle myself. I went to the basement to begin organizing and to wait for the other girl. Instead, I found myself in a dark basement, with no light, and Nate Hale. He was dressed in a Nike t shirt and jeans. He laid his backpack and lacrosse stick down in the only visible corner of the floor. I explained to him that I expected a girl, and that I had no idea where the light switch was. We devised a plan to stick together until we found it. We began walking away from the corner, relying on our phone flashlights as our last resort. My battery had died, and Nate's did as well after about half an hour. We continued walking, trying to guide ourselves by using our common sense. We finally found a bulb in the ceiling and both of us had the idea to unscrew it. We both reached to the glass structure, but when our touches came down on the object, bam. A spark.

We cleaned out the basement, leaving it spotless after a week or two. Over those days, I had taken a liking to the game of lacrosse, and Nate offered to teach me how to play. To start, he wanted me to attend a few of his games. I had a nice, cozy feeling when around Nate, and it made me feel glad. I told Maya constantly what was going on in my life. She simply declared that me going to a lacrosse game and party with Nate meant a date. I didn't believe so. Somehow, the word of me and my date spread like a catastrophic wildfire. as I walked through the halls, people stole looks from me, glared, smiled, anything. The only unique reaction I noticed was Lucas's. I knew he would have heard anyways, and he just needs to deal with it. He looked a myriad of things: sad, surprised, protective, and jealous.
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