Harry's hands shook while he read Olivia's letter to him, and a lone tear fell from his eyes. It was truly heartbreaking, but then, he definitely deserved it. After all, he was the cause of all the pain she had endured for months.
He was happy that she had moved on and was planning to decorate her life with new memories, friends and possibly romance. His heart tightened when he remembered seeing her walking around with Dean. He was nice, but not perfect for his Olive.
His Olive.
She would always think of him as a childhood best friend, her first love and someone who broke her trust. She would never know his condition, he thought sadly, for even if he seemed like a heartless person, and he had his reasons for his actions.
Harry had an acute condition of scleroderma. Now, this usually did not occur in teenagers but fate had bestowed this surprise, or rather shock upon him. He found out during the summer when Olivia was away. It had shattered him, but he held on to the hope that he had another twelve years to live. Yet again, destiny played her game and it was discovered that this disease was accompanied by Stage IV lung cancer. This reduced his life span drastically, and the doctors had no idea how long he would live. Maybe a year or two, they said, crushing the hopes and aspirations of a boy yearning to explore the world.
He was already wallowing in depression, and he did not want to pull down Olive with him. She was precious, like those rare deep-blue diamonds. Therefore, he made the decision of not telling her about his condition. However, she would realise that something was wrong whenever they hung out together, so he did something enormously stupid- he decided to cut her out of what remained of his life. He was not happy with the idea, but he convinced himself that it was for his dear Olive, the best aspect of his life.
He knew the consequences, he knew the amount of heartbreak that was going to affect both of them, but he was willing to take the risk.
Gabrielle was just a replacement. Yes, he did feel something for her but it was not in great magnitude.She was nice and beautiful, but no one could even reach close to the perfection that was Olivia Barton. It hurt him to see her pained expression, her glances filled with longing, and worst of all, her tears. Nevertheless, he put on an impassive and nonchalant façade around her, thereby managing to convince her that Harry was indeed on interested in having her in his life, for he had mastered the act of faking love. Those adoring glances at Elle, those tender kisses, those bright and warm smiles- they were all for Olivia.
His heart clenched when he saw her exotic blue green eyes sparkling with hurt and betrayal. Each time, he had to convince himself that it was for the best. She had to discover her beauty by herself, and it took strong will to stop him from scooping her up in his arms.
He was quite shocked and a tad bit upset when Elle cheated on him, but he soon got over it. He never really loved her in the first place. It was only attraction. Olivia was his true love. Well, Harry knew he deserved all the shit that life threw at him because he had hurt someone so fragile and innocent like Olive.
He was happy that she had learnt to let go of him. It would have hurt her so much more if she had stayed through his illness, for she would continue pining for him after his death, which was inevitable. He set her free, and now she was like a bird, soaring in a sky full of possibilities. His betrayal was unavoidable- no pain, no gain, right?
He sat on top of the highest branch of the tree in their neighbourhood- a place that held so many bittersweet memories. He felt a wave of nostalgia as he gazed up at the night sky. It was a splendid sight- all of the stars twinkling brightly, and the crescent moon right in the midst of this beautiful chaos. He felt at peace, knowing that Olivia would be looking up at the same sky half the world away. The night held so much depth and meaning; we all look at the same sky, yet see such different things.
At least we look up at the same sky, even if we do not see the same things anymore.
~~~ THE END ~~~
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Broken Promises, Shattered Heart |✓
ContoHe promised that he would protect her. He promised that he would always be there for her. He promised that they were a team and no one could tear them apart. Then why did he leave her behind? © 2017 Daydreamer1637 ...
