AppleHeart

Chapter Fifteen

Be·tray·al/bəˈtrā/verb: The breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence

This was hard.

Keeping a secret this big was eating Mr. Dalmatia from the inside. Every time he saw Apple Poison, he couldn't help feeling intense guilt rising to the surface, waiting to burst through. But, he promised. He promised Jack that he wouldn't tell anyone else about it. 

Not even the father of his baby...

Yes, Dalmatia figured it out. Soon after Joe and Malfie did as well. This is how it went down;

It was calm early fall morning, Apple Poison was sitting on his bed, feeling depressed and unhappiness. It's been three weeks since he has last seen Jack. No text messages, no calls, not even a letter in the mail. It's obvious that Jack was full-on avoiding him. Did Apple do something wrong? Did he move too fast? If only he could see Jack in person and talk to him, things would be easier. Apple stood up from his bed, exited his room, and made his way to the back of his house. Once he was outside, he grabbed a basket and a pair of gloves hanging on the outside of his door and approached the orchard. Poison began pulling apples from the tree and carefully placed them in the basket.  As he picked his apples, the leaves on the trees began to fall. Apple Poison takes notice but continues collecting his apples since autumn is just a natural event that pops up every year, a symbol of change if you will. Speaking of, Apple began to think about all the things that have happened in less than four months and how much has changed between him and Jack. To think, after years of their rivalry, all it took was a haunted horror attraction to give these gentlemen the balls to tell each other how they feel... sort of. 

"I told him I liked him," Apple thought out loud, "I never said I loved him." Love is a strong word. Apple never thought of himself as being capable of such a thing, sure, he can like some people and that's about it. Liking someone and loving someone? Two completely different things, so where did Apple fit when it comes to his feelings? He picked up his basket and moved over to the next tree and picked more apples from there. 

Meanwhile just a few feet from his cottage, Eightfoot Joe approached. His hands deep in his pockets and some guilt flooding his mind. Joe is usually unnerved by secrets he's meant to keep, but this one was something that he can't shrug off. He walked up to the front door and knocked on it. There was no answer. Joe knocked again, "Apple, are you in there?" Again, no answer. Joe then walked around the corner of the cottage to a gate that leads to the apple orchard in the back. He found Apple kneeling in front of one of the apple trees plucking the fruit. Joe called out to Poison but he received no reply. This was strange since Apple always had his guard up and paid attention to his surroundings, even in his own home. Something must be on his mind. Joe opened up the gate and entered the orchard, approached Apple, and tapped his shoulder. Apple sprang up and turned around with his arms raised arms into a fighting position. Joe raised his hands as if he was surrendering. "Whoa, it's me!" Apple lowers his arms.

"I'm sorry Joe," Apple takes his gloves off and tosses them into apple filled the basket. "How did you get in?"

"I tried knocking, but you didn't answer so I went around your house and came here."

"Oh right," Apple sighed. He slowly sits on the ground, criss-cross style. Joe sits next to him.

"Alright, what's going on with you?" Joe asked.

"I have a problem, " Apple replied, blush slowly flooding his face.

"Are you blushing?" Joe poked Apple's face. Apple looks away and covers his mouth.

"Just listen, I think I'm in love," Apple admitted, emphasis on think. Joe paused for a moment then scratched his temple.

"Since when?" Joe asked.