In Case of Heartbreak

23 | erupt

C H A P T E R 2 3 | K A T I E

The light spring breeze tousled my hair gently as I sat in the quad, my review notes in my lap as I waited for Dean's exam to finish. It was crazy how fast time had flown by, and now, as the end of a chapter neared, I found myself strangely okay with moving forward.

Maybe it was everything that had happened over the past year – it all piling up to make me a stronger person, but whatever the reason, with just one more exam to go in a few days' time, I was ready to step out into the world as a university graduate. I'd been offered a new position at the hospital, starting in just over a month, and I couldn't wait to see what else was in store for me.

When a mass of students began to pile out of the biology building across the lawn, I closed my notebook, tucking it into my backpack as my eyes scanned the crowd. Dean was one of the last ones out, his grip loose on the strap of his bag when, amidst the swarm of people, his eyes met mine and his lips turned up at the edges.

"Hey," I greeted him, my hand reaching for his as I leaned up to kiss his lips. "How was the exam?"

Dean shrugged as I pulled back. "It was alright I guess," he replied. "A lot of the content was crammed into the questions, but overall it wasn't that bad."

"That's good then," I said encouragingly, squeezing my fingers gently between his.

"Just one more to go," he sighed, pulling me closer as he pressed his lips against my forehead, "And then it's over."

There was a dreariness to his words that I could tell he'd tried to disguise. Over the past few weeks, whenever the topic of the future had come up, Dean had appeared to be happy, excited, and sometimes even a little nervous about what was in store. I'd slowly started to notice however, that while there was a smile on his face and a lightness to his words, the happiness never seemed to reach his eyes. He was putting up a front for one reason or another, and while I wanted to ask him about it, I also didn't want to push.

"Can you believe it?"

He shook his head as his eyes scanned the campus around us. "Sometimes I wish it would all just pause so that nothing would change." Dean's voice was quiet, his honest thoughts beginning to seep out into the open. "Or at least just slow down."

I didn't respond right away, searching the corners of my mind for words of encouragement, though nothing came. Instead, I raised my hand to his cheek, stroking the skin that grew a small layer of scruff. Our eyes met, and though I saw a hint of indecisiveness swirling in his irises, a glimmer of a smile appeared on my lips, causing his features to mirror my own.

"How about a coffee?" I asked softly, a hopeful and cheery tone to my voice. "My treat."

"That sounds great."

There were plenty of places to grab a cup of joe on campus, but figuring the best thing for Dean in that moment was to get off of campus, I suggested William's, the small diner just a few minutes away that Stella and I had frequently visited over the years. It was fairly busy for this time in the afternoon, though most of the customers appeared to be students, filling up the tables with identical piles of paper as they studied.

Dean and I found an open booth near the window, sitting down across from one another as a waitress came over to take our order. Not long after she turned away with fresh scribbles on her notepad, she reappeared with our coffees, as well as the chocolate chip muffin I'd ordered for the two of us to share.

The silence between us grew heavier as I sipped at my drink, not knowing what to say as I noticed the far off look in Dean's eyes. I wanted to enjoy this moment that we had free, but at the same time, I wanted to know what was bothering him so that I could help.