Heartless

32

"I'll meet you guys outside. I have to talk my aunt really quick" I said and the three of them left the room. "What's up hon?" My aunt said as I sat in the chair next to her. I felt my body slump over as I took a deep breath. "Are dad and my mom still married?" My voice cracked as she rubbed my back. It was a random question to have, since I haven't really been in contact with her for a while. She took a deep breath. "Yeah. They are. They never got divorced, but when you went off to LA, your dad got back in contact with her. He didn't tell me much about it, other than the fact that I shouldn't tell you." I closed my eyes. I knew it wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it but the fact that he hid it was breaking my heart. "Why not?" I said pressing forward, even though I didn't want the answer. "It's not my story to tell, Cora." I nodded, respecting her wishes to not tell me. "She has her baggage, and she takes it all out on you. I wish I could tell you how she really is...because it's not like how she acts with you." She stared out the window as she spoke. "Why does she act so different around me?" I said as I played with the strings on my hoodie, "again, it's not my story to tell." She sighed, "you'll learn about it eventually. But until then, just go have fun with your friends. Everything is going to be alright." She cupped my face and smiled slightly. I nodded and left the room, trying to digest what she just told me.

The front doors of the hospital opened and the car sat in front of the building, Sam and Kat were sitting in the back, Colby was leaning against the car facing me. "You okay?" He said as I walked up. He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. "I'm fine" I said with a small smile. He nodded and kissed my forehead once, before he turned to the car and got in the passengers seat. I got in the drivers side and pulled out of the parking lot. "Alright! Do we want food first or adventure first?" I said as I looked in the rear view mirror at Sam and Kat, "adventure!" Kat said and bounced in her seat excitedly. Nobody argued and I drove to the location.

"THIS is my safe space." I said with a smile, "I used to come here all the time, when I was sad, or when I was happy, or when I needed inspiration. This place has seen it all. Welcome to McMillan mountain." I said and got of the car. The crisp fall air kissed my skin as you could hear the nature. You couldn't hear any cars or city life at all, it was peaceful.

The mountain wasn't huge by any means, but it was big enough to where you wouldn't see other people hiking as you went. It was truly the most peaceful, beautiful place on earth.

"This is beautiful" Sam said admiring the views as we hiked. I was taking pictures of Kat for her instagram as I turned and smiled at the boys. "Isn't it so relaxing?" I said truly loosening up. "I wish we had something like this in LA." Colby said and snapped a picture of the view as we reached the top of the mountain. Memories flooded my mind of being here. I came here for the first time when I was 10. It was right before my mom left. I had run away from home, I ran until my legs couldn't run anymore. I ended up here, sitting on the top of this mountain. I felt Colby's arms wrap around my waist as we looked out at the view. He rested his chin on my shoulder as we stayed silent, listening to each others breathing. "Thanks for sharing this with us." He said softly as Sam and Kat went to explore a different part of the mountain. "I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else." I said and smiled, turning my head and kissing his cheek. He turned me and grabbed my face gently, kissing me. I melted into the kiss, in this moment all of the troubles and cares washed away. It was as if we were the only people in the world.

"That's so CUTE." Kat said and showed Sam and picture on her phone as Colby and I both turned our heads to face her. She smirked and walked up to us. She snapped a picture of us kissing, it was honestly really cute. I chuckled, "definitely send me that." Kat nodded and we all sat down on the cliffs edge, our legs dangling down. We all talked about the future, and where we wanted to be in ten years. Colby said he wanted to be happy, he didn't care what we was doing with his life, he only wanted happiness. It was a precious answer. Sam said he wanted to be married, and possibly have a kid. Kat laughed and agreed a little bit, she wanted to be going to the Grammys, with Sam on her arm. She wanted to be successful in her field, with the love of her life. They all turned to me, waiting for my answer.  "I want to show everyone that doubted me that I can be successful. But most importantly I want to be content with myself, and I want to be with the people I love." I nodded once and looked out into the sunset that was beginning to happen. "That's a really good answer" Kat said as Colby wrapped his arm around me. We sat in silence for a little bit, every once in a while some small talk would come up. But we mostly sat there, enjoying each others company silently as the sun set in front of us.

"Alright, whose hungry?" I said breaking the silence. "I am" Sam said and everyone agreed that they were too. We stood up and made our way back to my car. I  took a deep breath as I smiled, realizing that for the first time since being home, I was really happy.