Hollow

Chapter 39

Please, please read the author's note at the end!

Happy Reading :)

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He was in the music room when I found him. Waiting for me. I smiled when I saw him hunched over his guitar. I stepped through the doorway and his face lit up when he saw me. Warmth spread through my entire body, making me feel completely weightless.

I watched him for a moment, letting my gaze wander along the playful curve of his lips before meeting his deep green eyes. They stared right back at me, soft and so intense I nearly forgot how to breathe. I could feel the way that he affected me, physically, mentally, emotionally.

This was happiness, pure and simple. I knew that now; I could feel it whenever I was with him. I couldn't dwell on it today, though. I sat beside him and took in a deep breath.

"Everything okay?" He asked, taking his focus off of the instrument in his lap.

I looked up and met his emerald eyes. "Jamie is gone." I told him sadly. "She's leaving today, to Colorado."

He blinked in surprise and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"She confessed everything, Sebastian." I said softly, still feeling the shock of it myself. "She told Angela the truth."

He was silent for a moment. The ticking of the clock blended with the hum of background noise. I watched the emotions change in his eyes as my words sunk in.

"She told Angela?" He repeated and I nodded. "And Eric?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so, but it shouldn't be long now before he finds out."

He looked away from me and blew out a breath. "Wow."

I didn't know what to say to him. I couldn't even imagine what he could possibly be thinking. A lie that caused his childhood best friends to hate him for years had just been revealed. What was going to happen now? Would they forgive him? Would he forgive them?

"Are you alright?" I asked softly.

At first he didn't answer. He stared off in thought, keeping his face stoic. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, he reached over and laced my hand with his.

"I'm okay." He said. "I just never thought that this would happen."

"Maybe this will be a good thing." I said, trying to sound hopeful.

He shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't want them to reach out to me just because the truth is out. They were fine until this point, this shouldn't change anything."

"But this changes everything." I said before I could stop myself. The broken tone of his voice made something inside of me shift. "He reacted badly, but he was hurt and not thinking straight. He thought you betrayed him."

"He could have just asked me." Sebastian's eyes filled with hurt and my heart squeezed painfully.

"Maybe that's why he went to you that day. To ask." I contemplated. "Maybe seeing you made his emotions take over. Humans are emotional, Sebastian. What would you do if it had been you instead? If the girl you care about and your best friend," I trailed off, trying to ease out of my rambling state.

I blinked and looked up, only to find him staring down at me. He squeezed my hand in his. "I guess it'd be different for me. I know you'd never do something like that."

Maybe it was the sincerity in his voice. Maybe it was because he'd never said anything like that before, but my heart skipped. I felt the beat pause and I knew I was in trouble. The steady rhythm in my chest was disrupted by a few short words from his warm, inviting lips. The emotion inside of me was so powerful I could barely take it. I knew I would do anything for him.