Eighteen year-old Zach Curtis has lost everything: his girlfriend, his job and his scholarship. Nothing in the world matters anymore, until he receives a rude awakening from a stranger.
Petite and awkward, Terra Quinn is living the life with her bes...
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– Zach –
I reach for the keys in my pocket and unlock the door. We enter the apartment and sit next to each other on the three-seater couch opposite the blank screen of a TV. Terra resumes to her knee-tucked position and I rest my elbows on my knees, feeling...what even is this feeling?
We remain silent like that for what feels like ten minutes. She would normally be the first one to speak, but I decide that it is my turn now.
"I'm sorry." I say. She doesn't reply immediately.
"What for?" she asks.
"For not helping you." I answer.
There is a short minute of silence again. This would be unusual for anyone else, but I know now that this is the best way we communicate, and I don't have a problem with it.
"It's not your fault." She says, her voice muffling against the pillow she is hugging.
"It is." I object, tired of sparing myself from blame. "Remember that conversation we had?"
"Which one?" she asks.
"One of the very first ones." I say, trying my best to recall. "That day when I told you about James and I working together, and you denying that you aren't over him."
"Oh, that." She utters.
"I said you could talk about it later, but you insisted that there isn't anything to talk about." I continue. "I knew you were hiding something, but I didn't want to pry because I didn't think I was in the position. I thought you would mention it later and that I wouldn't have to try to get you to. I realize now that you needed a little push to say it, and I didn't do that. I'm sorry."
"That's not your fault, really." She repeats. "I wanted to tell you, but...I was afraid."
"At least let me take responsibility for that." I say pleadingly. "It's a request."
She looks at me, the green in her now puffy eyes barely visible in the poorly lit room. I can only imagine what she went through today. I should've figured this out sooner.
"If you insist, then okay." She agrees compliantly.
"Alright." I rub the back of my neck, aware of how sore it is. I probably won't last another hour, so I have to make this quick. "I'm going to do something I haven't done before, okay?"
Terra nods without hesitation.
"What happened?" I ask the question I have been wanting to ask a long time ago, the question that is now long overdue.
I really should've done this sooner.
"I don't know where to start." She says and takes a while to compose herself. "Um...so, James and I broke up six months ago."
