from first love to worst heartbreak

Chapter 21

The food tastes incredible in my mouth and I chew slowly as I listen to the violin playing. Out of all sudden, I want to text Lana and ask how she is doing with the boys but as using my phone would be a distraction for me, I decide to do that later.

"The food is great." Hayden breaks the silence.

"I agree. So, since we are getting to know each other, why don't you tell me about your family?" I suggest.

"Well, my father works at a bank and my mother is a professor at a university. I have an older brother. He is 23 years old and he is a policeman. He will get married next year." he talks. Marriage? At that age?

"That's great." I comment and take a bite out of my food.

"What about you?" he wonders.

"Well, I am an only child. My mother died in a car accident when I was four years old and it has been me and my dad ever since. He then married a woman and she has an 18 year-old daughter but we are not on the greatest terms." I explain the history of my family.

"I'm very sorry about your mother" he shows sympathy. I stay silent and let his words sink in.

"Yeah" I simply say because I am at loss of words. She might be gone for 14 years but her death still makes my chest pain.

"Why aren't you on the talking terms with that girl?" he seems to want to know the reason.

"She is a drug addict and she uses my dad. Whenever she is out of money she would either ask him or steal him. She asked only a few times, she was mostly stealing." I express my anger toward her with my words.

"What a terrible person." Hayden reacts.

"I don't even refer to her as a human being anymore." I tell the truth.

"I can understand why." he seems to agree with me. "Does she still live in your house?" he comes up with the question.

"No, she moved away with her drug addict boyfriend before I headed off to uni." I answer.

"Two drug addicts in love. That can't be good." he says.

"Actually that can't be anything because they are empty people. It's like the world is in slow motion and they are too high to give a shit about things. In reality, they are miserable and homeless and unemployed but that doesn't seem to bother them." I can feel my rage rising.

"That is the case for most addicts." he points out.

"You seem to be informed." I tease.

"I'm just saying. In their defence, it is even normal because they are too out of this world to take care of something or have any responsibilities." he makes a point. "What will you do after graduation?" he changes the subject with the question.

"I don't really know. My dad expects me to work with him in his company but I want to be independent, you know?" I ask if he understands what I mean.

"I know exactly what you are talking about. So if you were to be independent, what would you do?" he asks a very logical question.

"Well, running my own company would be stupid but maybe I can run my own hotel." I share my idea.

"That is an amazing idea. You could hire me if you want." he jokes.

"I will." I respond and we both we both laugh. We carry on eating our meal while chatting about university and other similar topics. After we finish our food, Hayden pays for it and we leave the restaurant thanking the waiter for great service. The weather has taken a turn and as we head outside, little rain drops falls on us. The cold air freezes my skin, in a way that I don't feel the cold. We decide to walk in the park near the restaurant for a little while.

"How have the first two days been for you?" he asks.

"Great, I look forward to the semester. I know that there will be many difficult and stressful days but I would like to believe that I will get through them." I explain.

"Of course you will." he encourages me. I feel heaviness on my eyes and tiredness in my body. I take a quick look at the time and realize that I have been hanging out with Hayden for over two hours. We decide to head back and so we return to the car. On the way back, my eyes automatically close. As I open them again, I recognize the parking lot of the campus.

"So sorry" I apologize for falling asleep.

"Don't worry, you have had a long day." he comforts me.

"No, it was the wine. I never get drunk, I just get tired." I say.

"I refuse to believe that. Everybody gets drunk." he says in disbelief.

"I will prove it to you someday then." I promise.

"Great." he says and looks me in the eyes.

"Great." I repeat his word and smile. We step out of the car and make our way to the campus.

"I had fun tonight, thank you." I show appreciation.

"Anytime." he says and looks me in the eyes. I stay silent as he does so. Out of all sudden, he closes his eyes slowly and leans into me. He tilts his head and comes even closer and almost kisses me but that's when I put my hand on his chest and gently push him away. He opens his eyes and looks confused.

"I think you should head back" I gently let him down.

"Oh" he says and still looks at me as if he searches for an explanation on my face. "You are right" he admits. I stand on my tip toes and bring my hand to his right cheek. I kiss his left cheek and sigh "bye".

He walks away and his body fades away in the darkness. I make my way to my room and throw myself on the bed as soon as I enter it. I decide to text Lana and ask her where they are. Soon enough, I am informed that they will be coming back any minute. I tell her to come to my room so I can explain her how our hang out went. A little while after, Lana comes and bombards me with her questions.
"The food was great and so was the restaurant itself and the walk in the park." I start off.

"What did you talk about?" she asks with a smirk on her face.

"Mainly family and university." I say.

"Yawn" she answers.

"It was going magnificent until he tried to kiss me." I tell her.

"Oh my God. What?" she is shocked. "But you didn't kiss?" she asks for confirmation.

"Exactly. I want to be friends with him, that's all." I say instead of saying that I didn't want Hayden to be my first kiss.

"Whatever choice you make, I'm on your side." she comforts me.

"Thank you" I say. We talk a little bit more and she leaves after noticing the tiredness on my face.