The Heart Game

The Heart Game Chapter 10 Home Is a Feeling

This is the day Chris got out of the hospital. Aria called Mrs. Greyson but she said Chris didn't want to see her or Ren. He told them to move on and forget everything in the past. He said he wanted to be a new person with a new life. But, Aria never gave up. She kept on trying to get to know the new Chris but whenever she came to his house, he was never home. He was at the hospital, meeting Krista.

"You're here again today," Krista smiled, "don't you have anything better to do?"

"Nope. This is the 'better thing' to do. Or should I say the best," Chris said as he sat down on her bed.

She sighed, "Chris, maybe you should try to be friends with your friends again. You must be so important to them and they must be so important to you. If not, they must have left you by now."

"What's the point of being friends with them when I can't remember anything? Every time I was with them, they always tried to make me remember things that I can't remember. It's frustrating."

"Give me your phone," Krista said, holding out her hand.

Chris reached for his back pocket and gave it to her, "What do you want with it?"

"Look here," she said, "even your gallery is full with their photos. Especially Aria."

"I've never noticed that before," Chris said as he looked at the photos.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Krista asked when she saw Chris busy with his phone.

"Deleting them."

"Are you crazy? Chris, no. Chris!' she said as she tried to reach for his phone, "stop it!"

"They're all in the past, Krista. If I really loved this Aria, why did my brain choose to forget her?"

"Chris!" Krista yelled, "stop running away from your past!"

"Why? It's my fucking life!" Chris shouted.

"You loved Aria. She loves you. I can see it in her fucking eyes. Can you please stop hurting her?"

"Well what if I told you that the me now is falling head over heels with you?" Chris blurted it out.

Krista paused. She turned away from him.

"Look at me, Krista. Krista!" Chris said as he placed his hand on her chin and turned her head to face him.

"What the fuck do you want?!" Krista cried.

"I love you, Krista. I fell in love with you when you first greeted me at that teen community. You're the reason why I kept coming. You're the reason I still visit this goddamn hospital. You are also the reason why I decided to leave my old life because I want to create my new life with you," Chris said, he buried his head on her shoulder, "please, Krista. Please, give me a chance."

"I can't love you like that!" she yelled and pushed him away, "you have no future with me. I am dying."

"I don't care about how long you're going to be with me because we will have enough time to create memories before you die. And I will find a heart for you. I won't let you die. So please, can I stay by your side?"

Krista eyes went watery. She loved Chris but she knew they will never find a heart for her in time. She'd die before they could find a donator and she will waste Chris' life thanks to that. To be honest, she wanted Chris to be by her side. She wanted him to be her one and only. But she realized that the person Chris should be loving was someone else. Krista didn't say anything else, she suddenly went quiet and started coughing non stop and a lot of blood came out. She was throwing up blood.

-

"Aria," Ren said when he came over to her house, "my deadline is up. I need to go to New York next month."

"I know," she said, biting her bottom lip.

"And I want you to come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me to New York."

-

"Aria, you were born here. This is your home. It's your own place, honey," Charlotte said, trying to make her stay in LA.

Aria just kept switching the TV channels without even looking at them.

"Aria? Are you even listening?" Charlotte snatched away the remote from her.

"Charlotte..." she lowered her voice, "home is a feeling, not a place. I don't have any feelings to be here anymore. Well, except the pain and anger. I couldn't do this thing anymore. It hurts me, Charlotte. If I still live here, the pain itself will eat me and soon enough I'll just be a living human without any purpose to live. But, if I actually move to New York, I can have a brand new start. So I can move on. Like Chris said, forget the past and keep moving on with life. Maybe it's best to do what he wants once in a while," she stood up and head upstairs to her bedroom.

Aria couldn't sleep that night. Right now she has to choose. It's either Ren or Chris. Her future or her dearest love. She thought maybe it was time to forget about Chris. Forget about all memories she made with him. All the dates, the hugs, the kisses. All of it. She needed to forget all of it. Aria took out her pen and some blank papers and wrote everything that happened from day one. From the day they met at the rooftop until the accident. She put it inside a box with every stuff Chris has gave her in the past and put it at her lowest drawer and locked it. After that, she grabbed more papers and started writing her letter to Chris. She couldn't afford to tell him herself. It was better to tell him this way. Just. Forget. The. Memories. Those are the words she's been repeating in her head. This time her heart won't help. She will listen to her head.

If you want to move on, you don't need to forget all about him. You just need to forget the feelings. Maybe if you told him and get rejected completely, you'd probably feel a lot better.

But she knew deep down she couldn't forget about Chris or her feelings for him. It can't just disappear because she loved him way too much. Too much that it hurts.

Sorry for the late update! The next chapter will be posted tomorrow.