Imagination || L.H.

Chapter 22

Not quite sure where else to go, I find myself heading to the park I visited every day when I was younger. The trees grow up through the ground, twisting in the air, their branches outstretched as they reach for the sky that they will never touch. A sun faded playground is set up in the middle of the park, the exact same one I used to chase Calum and Mali around on while our moms talked in the shade of a tree.

The sun had set hours ago and there's hardly anyone left in the park at all. I slowly make my way up the short flight of stairs to the platforms that lead up to the slides. The wind whistles through the spaces between the metal railings and I wrap my arms tightly around myself to keep warm. How could I have been so stupid to ever believe that everything in my life could stay so perfect? Everything that ever seems to go right for me is always ruined one way or another. Blake and Piper. My mom. Luke.

His name tears at the rip in my heart and that's when the tears start falling. Those few days in between when I fell asleep in Luke's arms in the guest bedroom at Calum's house and tonight, Luke's first gig at Oliver's, were absolutely perfect. They were some of the only days where I was ever truly happy. And now, everything's ruined again, another level of complications thrown on top of the pile. Not only am I pining after a boy who's haunted by his past and drinks away all the painful memories he would rather forget, but now I'm in love with the same boy who doesn't believe that anyone can ever truly choose him, so he's trying to do everything he can not to lose me.

It hurts to know all that he's struggling with and not be able to ease any of his pain. It hurts to think back on all the good times we had and restrain myself from running to him right now.

"I thought I would find you here." Calum ducks under the little plastic overhang providing a bit of shade over the slides.

I wipe at the tears staining my cheeks. "I don't wanna talk about it, Cal."

"Okay," he says easily. Holding out a hand, he adds, "But it's sad to watch you crying on a playground in the park. C'mon, Kat, let me take you home."

Sniffling, I let him pull me to my feet. His hand rests in between my shoulder blades as he steers me in the direction of my house. I lean heavily against him as the rest of the tears fall, burying my face in his shoulder. He holds me to his side and doesn't push me for information, content to simply walk me home in the dark.

Just as we turn onto my street, I look up at him miserably. "I love him, Calum," I whisper into the darkness, fresh tears springing to my eyes.

His brown eyes are full of shock and sympathy as they meet mine. "It'll be okay, Kat," he murmurs, squeezing my shoulder gently. "I'm sure everything will work itself out in the end."

"But what if it doesn't?" I twist to see his face, desperate for an answer. What do you do when you've faced heartbreak so many times? What happens to you when this time hurts more than the last?

"It will," he promises.

We reach my front door and he opens the door, stepping inside and shutting it gently behind me. I clutch him tighter, realizing that soon he'll leave me too and I'll be utterly alone with no distraction from the pain. My mom walks down the stairs, summoned by the sound of the door opening and closing. Her brows draw together in concern when she spots me clinging to Calum, tears streaking down my face.

"Kat, honey, what happened?" she exclaims, rushing forward to wrap her arms around me.

Calum surrenders me to my mother, shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot.

"I had a fight with Luke," I sob into my mom's shoulder.

My mom smooths my hair down gently, pulling back slightly to look me in the eyes. "It's going to be okay, sweetie, I promise." She looks back at Calum. "Thank you for bringing her home, Calum," she says sincerely.

He dips his head to accept her gratitude, flashing a concerned look in my direction. "Call me if you need anything," he says, heading out the door to go to his own house. I know that he would've offered to let me stay the night at his place if Luke wasn't staying with them too.

"You should be happy, Mom," I say, my voice breaking. "You were right; he broke my heart the way you always said he would."

Hurt flickers across her face. "I never wanted to be right about this, Katherine. Besides, I've never seen you so happy than when you were with that boy. I'm sorry for ever questioning your judgement. If you decided he was the one for you, I should have trusted that. I'm so sorry, honey."

That only makes me cry harder. She helps me up the stairs to my room and I try to push all memories of Luke lying with me on my bed out of my mind. My mom offers to do anything for me. She sets up my computer and puts on my favorite show. She makes a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, my favorite, and brings them up to me, still piping hot from the oven. I fall asleep with my head on her lap, my computer still open, memories of Luke flashing through my brain.

I'm awaken by the lights being turned on. Squinting my eyes against the bright light, I struggle into a sitting position, my eyes darting to the clock on my bedside table. "Calum?" I groan, raising my hand to block the worst of the light. "It's three in the morning."

Calum's expression is grave as he tosses a fresh pair of jeans and a Green Day shirt I stole from Luke and never returned. "Get dressed. Something's happened to Luke."