Imagination || L.H.

Chapter 14

I know that every action has consequences and that the ones attached to this action are not going to be light, but in the moment, I find that I really don't care. There's no one else besides him and me, despite the fact that we're standing on a public pier and probably getting lots of strange looks. 

Only when we break away does the realization of what I've done hit me. 

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

I stare up into his blue eyes and every resolution I have not to be a coward breaks. "I... That was a mistake, I have to go." 

I take off running down the length of the pier, dodging tourists posing for pictures and people casting fishing lines into the water. I think I hear Luke calling my name but, no matter how much I want to, I don't look back. I just keep on running.

As I turn away from the pier, I list out options of places I could go. 

The Scoop, but that seems too obvious and I don't want the girls to dig into this particular problem. My house, but I don't want my mom to tell me it's okay and remind me of why I did the right thing. Calum's house, but not only is Luke staying there, but he would only say that he told me so. I don't want to dump my problems at Ashton's house because he's finally fixed his life and I don't want to ruin anything for him. Luke's house is the one place he wouldn't set one foot in, but I don't exactly want to talk to Liz about the son that she's practically disowned. 

That leaves one last place.

Out of breath, tears streaking down my face, I bang on Michael's door. 

He opens it, confusion and concern drawing his brows together. "Kat, what's wron-"

Before he can finish, I throw myself into his arms, choking out an explanation through my sobs. "I... I made a mistake and I don't know how to fix it, Mikey. Can I stay with you for a little bit? I have nowhere else to go."

He rubs my back soothingly. "Of course. What are friends for? Come inside."

I follow him, attempting to wipe the tears from my cheeks, only to have them be replaced by fresh ones. Michael leads me up to his room, closing the door gently behind him. I sit on his bed, drawing my legs up to my chest to hold everything that I feel breaking together. 

The heartbroken look in Luke's eyes when I pulled away, when I said the words that I had to, when I turned away from him... I see it every second. I can't escape it. 

My phone rings the way it has been the entire time I was running. I glance at the screen and see the fourteen missed calls from Luke and chuck it across the room. It slams into the wall, just three feet away from Mike.

He flinches and looks at me with wide eyes. "Why don't you tell what this is all about?"

A little stuffed lion sits in the center of his bed and I pick it up, hugging it tightly. "I kissed Luke."

Michael chokes on absolutely nothing, his eyebrows shooting straight up to his hairline. "You what?"

"It was a mistake, I know. So I panicked and ran." The tears gain speed and I sniff miserably. "You didn't see the look on his face when I left, Michael."

Mike takes a tentative seat next to me, his green eyes full of understanding. "He told you about what happened with his girlfriend?"

I nod.

His eyes flicker all over my face, studying me. They narrow after a few seconds. "Do you like, like him?"

I nod again, burying my face in the lion's fluffy mane.

"Oh, Kat." 

He wraps his arms around me comfortingly, holding me while I let everything out. I'm sure his T-shirt is soaked through with my tears, but I can't seem to make myself stop. It hurts too much. 

I've spent two years getting over what happened with the two people I trusted the most, spent two years alone for fear of being betrayed again. And now when there's a possibility that my heart is healed enough to be exposed to that again, the one person I'm falling for is the one person that I can't have. Why does life have to be so cruel?