The Valentine's Note

Chapter 31

"Ava, what's wrong?" Kyla asked as I sniffed on the phone.

I had asked my dad to pick me up since he was on his way home already and now, I was sitting in my room trying to fight off tears.

"He doesn't love me, Kyla," I said, swallowing to get rid of the lump in my throat. "All of that. Everything he did for me, it was all lies just so that he could get his ex-girlfriend back."

"No," she gushed from the other end. "Did he explicitly say that to you?"

"His face did and he tried to explain things but I just didn't want to hear anything he had to say," I answered.

"That jackass," she muttered, making me laugh sarcastically. More at my stupidity than at what she said. "So that's it then?"

"That's it," I confirmed. "We're over."

"Ava, maybe you should've heard him out," she said.

"I told you I didn't want to hear anything he had to say," I snapped.

I heard silence in return and looked up at the ceiling, blinking a few times to prevent myself from crying.

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it?" I said. "Why he suddenly asked me out on Valentine's Day and why he was persistent on taking me to the dance...so that she could see us together. Even on the trip, he was extra flirty when she was around like at the deck when I'd injured my foot and the volleyball match, he freaking carried me to my room just so that he could put a show on for her."

"I guess," Kyla mumbled, not convinced.

"I should've known better," I said, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. "I knew my judgement about him was spot on right from the start. I don't know what changed along the way."

"He is quite charming," she responded.

"I'm done with this," I said. "I'm done with him."

The next morning, as I walked down the stairs, I felt my thoughts wandering back to Seth and oddly enough, I felt this actual ache in my heart. It was something I'd never experienced before. I barely got any sleep last night. Every few minutes, I would get hit by some random memory with Seth or something that he had said to me or something we'd done together. It's like my brain refused to stop harassing me with these memories.

"You're up early," mom said as I walked aimlessly toward the kitchen.

I blinked and my eyes zoned in on my mom as I gave her a weak smile. Her forehead wrinkled slightly but she didn't say anything. Once she handed me my bowl of cereal, I quietly sat on the table eating it.

"Ava," mom spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Is everything okay?" she asked, placing her hand on mine as she tilted her head to get a better look at me.

I nodded, refusing to speak.

She paused before saying, "You look..."

"Everything's great mom," I responded, forcing a smile on my face.

"Well, you know if you ever want to talk," she said, "I'm right here."

"I know," I whispered.

*

"Oh, Ava," Kian said, giving me an apologetic smile and pulling me in for a bone-crushing hug. "He was simply not the one, okay?"

I nodded, feeling a lump rise in my throat. Crying in the middle of the school hallway was one thing I did want to do.