Inside | Shane Harte

44 | Deeptalk

Shoutout to my sister @@Aworia who just released her first book "Different". I totally recommend to check it out!

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"Good morning, sweetheart" father greets me by the table.

"Good morning" I smile and grab another spoon of cheerios.

"Are you tired from yesterday?"

"No, not that much actually. Just happy to see everyone again"

He nods and I continue eating when my cell phone makes a light sound, indicating that it just recieved a text message. I look over to the screen and pull the phone closer over the table when I see who sent it.

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From: Mason 🗿
Hey, thanks for last night. I was just thinking, since we're leaving for Ottawa today, that we should meet before we go. Catch up, you know. It was kind of hard to do that yesterday with everyone throwing themselves at you because of the record deal and all that. Are you up for it?
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I smile a little, earning a suspicious look from father, before typing an answer.

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From: Me 😇
Thought you wouldn't ask 😎 Be by my house in 30 minutes.
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I hit the 'send' button and put down the phone again, and father clears his throat.

"You're meeting up with someone, aren't you?" he grins and I snort.

"Father, no! I'm not the kind of girl who uses rebounds to get over an ex" I laugh and father laughs as well.

"Okay then, who were you texting with a smile on your face then?"

"Mason" I say, and father nods understandingly. "We're going out for a walk. To catch up"

"Well, there won't be any silence at least" he smiles mockingly and I roll my eyes.

"I'm gonna go now" I say and shake my head tiredly.

"Have fun on your walk" he shouts after me and I run up the stairs to dig out my jacket and scarf in my closet.

30 minutes later I walk out of the house. The cool wind blows smoothly across my face and chills spread across my body. I cross my arms tightly against my stomach to try and keep as much warmth as possible.

Mason's standing by the mailing box, like he always did when we were going out somewhere. We give each other a quick hug  before starting to walk.

"So, how are you?" he asks, and I actually have to think about it for a while before answering.

"To be honest... Not that great"

"Why is that?" he asks, but after a quick glance at my face he answers his own question. "It's a guy, right?"

I smile a little before trying to get myself together, since just thinking about what has happened makes me want to fall to the ground and never stand up again.

"It's a long story" I sigh while watching the surroundings change as we continue walking. Brown and yellow leaves falling from the trees and children running around playing.

"Lucky I've got time then" he smiles and I take a deep breath before starting from the beginning.

"His name is Shane. From the day that I met him he was always so extremely mean and disrespectful towards me. Well, not just me, but everyone. It was like he didn't enjoy the company of people at all. After a while he started talking to me more, 'popping up' in front of me in the hallway and so on. He didn't want to show his feelings to anyone, but I could tell that he cared about me in some way. I fell for him despite his impulsive, raging behaviour at times. He might sound like the worst person you've ever heard of, but between the times he was bad... He was the most caring and loving person I've ever met" I say, noticing that my eyes are filled with tears. I look down to the ground and dry them off with the palm of my hand.

"He definately sounds like a bit of a rollercoaster" Mason says while putting a hand on my back for comfort.

"He was... He is. But, for about a week ago he took me to the most beautiful place that I've ever seen. It was like a cliff where you could see all of Toronto. There, he suddenly told me that everything was fake. He and his best friend Trevor apparently made a bet about who was going to get me in bed first. I couldn't believe what I heard" I sob, tears running down my cheek. Mason sighs sadly.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you, Kayla" he says before giving me a long and warm hug.

"Thank you. But that's not all... The last couple of days he's been acting extremely weird. He's been staring at me from a long distance, especially when being on stage singing. Like he wanted me to really take in every single word he sang. But the weirdest thing happened the day before yesterday at the fall concert. My partner, who was... Or is, Shane's best friend and the one he made the bet with, didn't show up to our performance. I started singing alone but when he was supposed to sing, Shane suddenly showed up on stage and sang his part. Afterwards he talked to me, more cold than ever, and then just walked away"

"Wow... I don't know what to say more than that Shane guy is either the worst ass that I've ever heard of, or he lied to you"

"What do you mean?"

"There was never a bet and he loves you too much to just let you go"

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Later, I open the front door to see my parents sit by the table in the kitchen. I take off my shoes and jacket and walk up to them.

"I've decided about the record deal" I say, and both of them turn quickly towards me with glowing eyes.

"What? You have? What will it be then?" mother asks rapidly. I lift the corner of my mouth, pull up the wrinkled card and dial the number written on it.

"Hey, it's Kayla Smith" I say. "I just wanted to say that I accept the offer"

"Great. We'll be in touch" Michael answers before hanging up. I put down the phone and look at my parents. It's silent for a few seconds before they squeal and stand up to hug me.