Pieces [Wattpad's Editor's Choice]

54: LiFe LeSiOnS

Isaac and I stayed at the hospital for a few hours that dark Friday evening.

Patricia eyed me strangely but didn't comment as she checked my vitals, though I'm sure Isaac divulged info while she checked him in the other room. Police interrogated both of us to ensure the fire truly was an accident, and Saturday morning, they confirmed lightning struck the power box, setting the building on fire. Mom and Dad never found out.

Luna insisted Isaac and I leave the hospital Friday night, so she, Tyrell, and Phil stopped by and waited until police finished recording our statements. Phil and Luna argued nonstop about what happened to Arrow (did he turn into a moth? - Luna. Were his atoms floating through the air? - Phil. Had he teleported somewhere? - Luna. Did he cease to exist? - Phil.), to which I finally had to ask the doctor to escort both of them out for at least an hour so I could have some alone time (though Tyrell waited with me and we sat in silence, both mourning the loss of someone neither of us succeeded in understanding).

Isaac refused to look at me the whole drive home and when the car stopped, he stormed out, leaving me to alone to explain what really went down in the Wacky Lab.

The science building underwent reconstruction since a few floors collapsed and science classes moved online for the rest of the semester. No pig dissection, no more dissection at all. And guess what else that meant? No more seeing Isaac in Anatomy or Ethan in Chemistry.

But Sunday morning while Luna slept and I drank coffee, someone knocked at the door. When I answered, my whole body jolted awake.

"Thought you might want these," Isaac said, holding out a box, his hair sticking up like he just got out of bed. He kept his eyes low, his jaw tight. "Arrow left them and Phil recovered a few things from the lab."

Isaac... I wanted so badly to reach out and hug him, kiss him, take his hand and pull him inside. But he couldn't even look at me, so I took the shoe box from his hands. It felt like it carried a book. "Thanks. Um...I wanted to-"

"Stop." He shook his head and looked up, dark eyes fatigued and...broken. "There's nothing left to say."

I nodded and he left, and I let five minutes pass before finally closing the door.

Has your heart ever hurt so bad, the world seems to shrink around you till you suffocate? Have feelings ever overflowed to the point where you don't feel anything at all? Too many things hurt inside, slashed through my chest, and I locked myself in the bathroom long enough to sit in the shower and mourn two losses I could never amend.

Later, I searched through the shoe box and found Howard's biology book, Arrow's Latin book, the directions Phil read (Latin) and...Arrow's bucket list?

When I pulled it out, I read only a few items, all unchecked:

¹. ᵀʳᵃᵛᵉˡ ᵗᵒ ᵃⁿᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗʳʸ². ᴸᵉᵃʳⁿ, ʳᵉᵃᵈ, ᵉˣᵖᵉʳⁱᵐᵉⁿᵗ³. ᴹᵃᵏᵉ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᶠʳⁱᵉⁿᵈˢ⁴. ᴱˣᵖᵉʳⁱᵉⁿᶜᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠᵒʳᵉⁱᵍⁿ "ˡᵒᵛᵉ."

He wanted to experience love?

My chest tightened at the thought, so I put his letter back in the box and shoved it in the closet.

Nothing would be the same. But not all of it hurt.

Professor Howard moved in with Tyrell, believe it or not, so Tyrell stayed with Luna and I most of the time; they stayed in our dorm so as to avoid making an awkward R-Rated appearance on Howard's screen as he recorded online classes in Tyrell's dorm. Oh, and Luna and Tyrell made it official-and got matching tattoos. One music note each.