UNBREAKABLE ↠ BRANDON ARREAGA

THIRTY-THREE - THE ONE WHO MOVES ON

MAKE SURE TO VOTE AND COMMENT!!

word count: [2100]

"I did not come to LA just to watch you sit in the hotel room forever," Hazel said from her spot, seated on a chair by the bed.

"You came to LA to comfort me," I said from my spot, laid out on the bed. "Did you expect us to go party or something? Because that's not happening."

"Well, no," she said, standing up. "I just didn't expect us to do nothing for a week."

"We didn't do nothing," I argued, stubbornly, even though I know she's right. That just sounds pathetic.

She gave me a pointed look. "Yeah, like watching romantic comedies and stuffing our faces with junk food every day is the definition for fun."

I glared at her. "It's fun for me."

She patted my shoulder. "I bet." I placed my arm over my eyes, surrounding myself with darkness. "It's been a week, Eliana," I heard her say softly.

"I know," I said. I could already picture her looking at me in a disapprovingly way. "Don't look at me like that," I instructed, using my other hand to point at her. "I know it's been a week. We've talked about this too, and I thought I was good, you know? But I'm not. It's harder than I thought it'd be."

She touched my arm and moved it away from my face. "I know," she whispered, probably wary that I'm going to break down. "I just want you to talk to me. You haven't said anything about the break-up since the day it happened. That's not healthy."

"It's just harder than I thought it was going to be. In retrospect, it seemed easy enough to forget him because it wasn't like he broke up with me. I broke up with him. I knew this was coming," I said quietly like I was losing my voice, but in reality, it's just that I didn't have the strength to speak. I felt like if I kept talking, I'd choke on my inevitable tears. "You know what's the worst thing? The worst thing is that I know, I know I shouldn't be this sad. I really shouldn't be this upset over a person who wouldn't choose me first, but the reality of it is that I am. I am sad." I looked at her directly in the eyes, not feeling the need to hide my hurt any longer.

"No one's going to judge you for being sad about your break-up with the guy you love." She looked back at me with the same intensity, and I know one thing for sure—I know that she would never judge me. I was afraid of what everyone else would say because I knew what they all thought about him, thought about us. People didn't think we'd last because everyone thought he had so many girlfriends, but I thought I knew better. I thought we'd prove them wrong. I guess I was the one who got fooled. "That takes time," she told me.

"But it shouldn't be that long, right?" I asked desperately. "I know I deserve better."

"There isn't a set time to get over someone." She shook her head. "You just have to let it be. Don't overthink," she advises, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. It makes me think of Brandon, though. He was always the person there to assure me of things.