Where Hope Is Found

Broken

I sat on a bench about three blocks from where I had left Harry calling my name. Wrapping my arms around myself I shivered uncontrollably. I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold wind or the cold I felt beginning to seep through me. Harry was right, something always tried to ruin our anniversary dates, and now it had succeeded fully. Mr. Harrell had succeeded. I knew there was something to worry about with him.

Single? I knew why he wanted this from them. Girls wouldn’t go as crazy for a group of boys who were already taken as opposed to five guys who were all on the market.

I dared myself to think about Harry’s decision. I knew I couldn’t ask him to choose between me and his dream. He never asked that of me because we both knew how selfish it would be. He always encouraged me to pursue my dream, even through the difficult choices. I had to do the same for him now, no matter how difficult it was. Was it even a choice for him? How long had he thought it through?

I stood up from the bench and, hugging myself tighter, beginning to walk down the dark, empty sidewalk. It had to be around one in the morning.

And what about Caitlyn and Taylor? How had they reacted to the news? I wondered then where they were, if they had made a quick getaway like I had.

As if right on cue I felt my phone vibrate multiple times in my pocket. I reached to retrieve it, hoping silently that it was Harry and knowing that I couldn’t answer it if it was. It was Taylor.

“Hey,” I said. My voice sounded like I had cotton stuck in my throat. Running and crying in this cold, bitter weather was not a good mixture.

“Hey,” she replied in a similar voice. She had heard the news as well.

“There won’t be a better time than now for that coffee date,” Caitlyn said. Taylor must have made this a three-way call.

Letting out a shaky breath I told them where I was. Minutes later they picked me up and we made our way to Leo’s coffee shop.

After making ourselves comfortable in a corner of the shop where three, plush recliners were placed; silence began to stretch between us. We stared at inanimate objects, eyes not focusing and our thoughts God knows where. I knew we all wanted to talk about what just happened, but how do you even start a conversation like that? What felt like just moments ago we were all having a care free night of drunken karaoke with our boyfriends. Now we were all single?

My phone buzzed and my heart skipped a beat, thinking it had to be Harry. It was Ofelia.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hi,” she said softly. She must have heard the news from Ed or something. Well news of broken hearts travels fast in London. “Can I come over?”

“Yes. I’m in the coffee shop.”

“Be there in ten,” she said and hung up. Ofelia always seemed to brighten a room. Maybe she could be a beacon to our pity party.

“What’s happened?” Caitlyn almost whispered as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “I just can’t fathom it all.”

Taylor just shook her head, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. She wasn’t a coffee person. I was on my second latte already.

“That bastard,” I said through gritted teeth, referring to Mr. Harrell. “I knew it. I knew there was something not quite right about him and his offer.”

“How dare he put the boys in this position!” Taylor was nearly shouting now and Caitlyn and I jumped in surprise. I had never heard her speak so loudly. “What about us, hmm? Two years just down the drain? I can’t even argue because it’s not my decision! Fuck!” She had sat her mug on the coffee table beside her chair to avoid spilling anything.