The Anatomy of a Broken Heart //Completed//

76. Caleb

She was right. This was right. I never should have trusted her...or my own stupid, useless heart. If I'd thought I could stop I still wouldn't have. My legs were moving faster than I could think, and in one of my slow thoughts, I feared I'd fall down. I was woefully unprepared for all of this. I was holding on to sanity by the skin of my teeth. If Farrah had been bad, this was closer to death. How many times can a heart break before you have to replace it?

"Caleb, wait!" I thought it was her, but when I turned around, blonde curls bounced my way. Marlow caught up with me a little breathless, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"What is going on?" she huffed. "Santana just came inside and crawled into bed. She isn't talking to me. What happened?"

"What I told you happened. She took the necklace and admitted to it and..." I shrugged, omitting what else Santana had confessed to. My pride didn't need to relive that. I'd be living it in my nightmares tonight.

A tear trekked down her pale cheek and she took a shaky breath in.

"Hey, don't cry," I said and subconsciously wiped the tear away with my thumb.

"I wanted her to be happy," she sighed. "She deserves something good to finally happen, you know?"

"You're too good to her, Mar," I laughed lightly, happy that I could still manage it. It wasn't really funny, none of this was, but it was like a salve on this gaping stab wound that was my life right now.

"I thought maybe you would be good for her. And I was right, but now..." She shrugged. "She's in love with you, you know."

"No." I shook my head.

"She's is. I know she's protective but I can hear it in the way she talks about you."

"Jasper—"

"Hurt her, and she learned the hard way that he isn't worth half of what you are."

"Don't talk to me about her, Marlow."

"Please."

"No!" I said too harshly for someone like her. She faltered and shook a little like a leaf in the wind. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." I took her hand as I apologized.

Behind me, I heard a car door slam and when I looked up I saw Zealand glaring at us. Or rather, at our joined hands. I dropped it immediately, but the damage was done. He got back in his car and sped away, his tires screeching as he rounded the corner.

Marlow's eyes were wide as she stared at the now empty spot where Zealand had been, but she said nothing. I wondered briefly if she felt the way he did about her. I wasn't sure what was going on there, but I didn't have time to think about it too much. I had to get home.

Marlow let me go easily enough, and I noticed her crestfallen face as she said goodbye. I wasn't sure who she was sad about now, though, Santana or Zealand. Maybe both. Marlow invested too much in people. I'd learned that about her when we had been together. It was something I had really liked but it took its toll on her now. She went back inside, dragging her feet and the door clicked lightly behind her as she shut it.

She'd offered to give me a ride home, but I wanted to walk. It wasn't a long walk home, and the cold air would help clear my mind. I hoped it would. Instead, it became more cluttered. Mom's walked down the sidewalk with baby strollers, power-walking off their wine calories in tight yoga pants. Some kids were playing on their front lawns. They looked like caged animals framed with the tall metal beams of their gates like prison bars. They screamed and laughed playing in the falling autumn leaves and I prayed to go back to the days when all that mattered was that. Having fun and not falling as I ran on our front lawn with Ansel and Marcus chasing after me.