heartache

one

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. My tears rhythmically fell to the tiled bathroom floor.

"Stella? Are you up there?" my mom called from downstairs. I sucked up my tears and steadied my voice. I had become a master at disguising my voice for years.

"Yeah!" I called back. "I'm getting in the shower! I'll come down when I get out!" That wasn't a lie. I was going to get in the shower. I just had to take a moment before. Tomorrow I started a new school, in a new town, and no friends. But what's new? The only friends I've ever had probably weren't even my friends. Besides, they're all the way back in New Jersey. I totally understand why my parents moved, but I wish we hadn't of moved so far. I mean, couldn't we have just moved to Pennsylvania or something? Or we could have moved here but just have brought my ONLY friends with us. But whatever. It is what it is.

The hot water felt good against my skin and temporarily rid my body of the internal hurting. I took a relatively fast shower and then continued on to get dressed. My usual night attire was sweatpants and either a long-sleeved shirt or a sweatshirt. Today I opted for the sweatshirt, seeing that it was cozier than any t-shirt I owned. After I was dressed and my dark hair was braided I headed downstairs. My mom was putting the garlic bread on the table and my dad was getting soda out of the refrigerator.

"Want some Star?" my dad asked as he held up the Fitz's Orange Cream bottle. I smiled faintly and nodded. Then I sat down at my seat and waited for my parents to sit down so that we could say Grace. Eventually, my dad told my mom to just sit down. If I ever find love, I want it to be as strong as my parents'. Even after twenty years, you could see in their shared looks that they deeply loved each other. Of course that only made me upset, knowing that I would never find anyone who would love me like that. I mean, who could love a lonely, broken girl who was full of heartache?

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"Stella Mae! Get out of bed right this instant!" my mom yelled as she ripped the covers off of me. "Your alarm went off three times and now I can't drive you to school because it's my first day at my new job and I can't afford to be late. You're gonna have to walk because your dad already left. Do you remember how to get there?" she asked.

"Mhm," I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Mom kissed my head and wished me luck before leaving. After she left I climbed out of my bed and messily threw the duvet over my sheets and scattered my pillows on top. After that I pulled on my outfit that I had picked out yesterday and then looked at myself in the mirror. My mom had opened the window, and I could feel the light breeze as it came through. I braided my hair to the side, like I always did, then went downstairs. Both of my parents were long gone but there was an apple and a water bottle sitting on the table, along with a lanyard that had a key at the end. I assumed that it was for the house, so I dropped it into my backpack. After glancing at the clock and seeing that it was already 7:05, I laced up my high-top Chuck Taylors and left the house.

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A bad habit of mine is that I don't look where I'm going when I walk. I tend to look down and watch my feet, I don't really know why. It's kinda weird. But anyhow, I was kicking this gray rock as I walked and then suddenly I plowed right into someone. I stumbled backwards and my backpack fell, my notebooks scattering everywhere.

"I am so, so sorry," I said quietly as I bent down to pick my books up. The person that I had bumped into leaned down as well, handing me one of my notebooks. I slipped it in my bag and stood up, where I got a really good look at him. He had big, beautiful blue eyes and dark brown hair. His jawline was sharp and well...gorgeous. He looked like he came right out of a movie, straight from the Hollywood sign.