Dare to Fall

Chapter XVIII

I watched Amelia as she hunched over a bucket of ice cream, her spoon diving deep into the creamy depths, and I cringed at the thought of the tantrums she'd thrown earlier. The screaming, the throwing things—my things—into the air, all because of the heartbreak she was now drowning in.

"Why do guys suck and play with your emotions?" she asked, her voice muffled by the ice cream. I shrugged, unsure of how to answer. I had experienced heartbreak before, more times than I could count, yet I still struggled to find the right reasons behind it. Maybe I was just a sucker for love, too.

Amelia looked at me with her tear-streaked face, the remnants of her black mascara smudged beneath her eyes, giving her the appearance of a raccoon. "I really thought he had feelings for me."

I knew that expectation was often the root of heartbreak. We set ourselves up, imagining what could be, only to crash down to reality. It wasn't fair to blame the other person; we put ourselves in that position.

"Why does it hurt so much?!" she wailed, punctuating her frustration with another spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream, as if each bite could chew away her pain.

I grabbed the bucket from her, setting it aside on my nightstand. "You need to stop being so dramatic," I said, hoping to break through the fog of her despair.

"I know it hurts right now, but we both know that pain will pass. Don't feed it with a bucket of ice cream! That's so unhealthy!" I added, watching as she blinked up at me, her eyes wide, still shimmering with tears.

She swallowed hard, the ice cream still hanging on her spoon. "I'm sorry. I just need it."

"I get that," I said, softening my tone. "I've been there, and it feels good in the moment, but you're just prolonging the pain by doing nothing." She nodded, slowly absorbing my words.

"I agree with you," she said quietly.

I believed what I said; indulging in junk food during a heartbreak offered temporary comfort, but it wouldn't heal anything. It just masked the hurt for a little while.

"Let's watch some comedy instead and eat something healthier," I suggested, extending my hand to help her up.

"How about we watch something romantic and order some pizza?" Amelia proposed, a glint of mischief lighting up her eyes.

I plastered on my serious face again. "Come on, one last junk food night!" she pleaded.

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes, but I could feel a small smile creeping in. "Oh, and please wash that mascara off your face. You look ridiculous."

With that, she trudged into the bathroom, and I grabbed my phone from the nightstand to order pizza. I had a slight guilty pleasure about pizza night, especially since I'd told myself I'd start eating healthier. But really, who was I kidding? I could push that goal back until my mid-twenties.

As I made my way downstairs to return the ice cream to the fridge, I heard my mom call my name from upstairs.

"Hailey, come here!" she shouted. I rolled my eyes; I had barely sat down when she summoned me.

I walked into her room, where she was spinning around in a sleek black dress, smiling at me. "What do you think?" she asked, her voice filled with excitement.

"Did you seriously call me up here just to ask about that dress?" I replied, my skepticism evident.

"Yeah, so what do you think?" she repeated.

"It's fine," I replied, not particularly impressed.

"Great! I'm off then," she said, grabbing a clutch from her bed and gliding past me as she headed down the stairs. "Just order some dinner for you and Amelia, okay?"