Heart Stopping

Chapter 18

“Spill, Kiddo.” Grant ruffled my hair and sat down next to me on the couch. Thankfully, he said my parents weren’t too upset with him for picking me up, so they’re allowing me to stay in public school and spend time with Grant. We are currently sitting on his couch drinking hot chocolate, which is our go to heartbreak drink.

“I met a guy on my first day of school, and he’s just absolutely amazing. Or well, he was absolutely amazing until today.” I spat the last part out bitterly.

“What happened?” He took a sip of his drink. A soft look fell onto his face. Hot chocolate also happened to be Mabel’s favorite thing like ever.

“I saw him kissing another girl.” I grimaced as the memory hit me full force.

“Did you ask him why he did it?”

“No, I don’t even know if he saw me. I just got out of there as fast as I could, and called you.” I mumbled.

“Maybe he has a good reason. Maybe, she flung herself at him, and he didn’t have time to stop her. Then, you happened to show up at that exact moment.” Grant raised his eyebrows, and had a ‘you don’t even know’ look on his face.

“It’s not like that. Even if she had just thrown herself at him, he was really into the kiss. Honestly, it looked like he enjoyed it, and I was the last thing on his mind. They were still going at it when I left.”

“Give the kid the benefit of the doubt, Lyn.” I grimaced at his nickname for me. He liked to call me kiddo, or Lyn, because he wanted to be special. He’s the only one who calls me Lyn, and I hate it, but it makes Grant happy.

“I can’t do that. It hurts too much. The damage is already done.”

“Let him explain his self. You don’t want to live the rest of your life regretting not knowing the full truth, and thinking what if.” He set his hot chocolate on the table across from us, and got up. He went over to his fireplace where a picture of Mabel sat. It was the only picture I saw of her, because Grant said the others were too painful to look at.

I remember the picture fondly. When Grant started visiting me, he’d always bring it with him. Mabel sat on his lap, smiling widely as he kissed her cheek. They were dressed up like Ariel and Eric from the little mermaid. It was perfect since Grant already had blue eyes and black hair, and Mabel was the spitting image of Ariel. It was the Halloween before the doctors discovered Mabel’s cancer. He said it was the last time he ever saw Mabel the happiest she could ever be.

“You know what it’s like to lose someone. It feels almost as bad as you felt the day we met.” I let that part out in a whisper. Grant still didn’t like to talk about that day. I didn’t blame him, either, because that was the day the love of his life unwillingly left him.

“Don’t even try to compare the two feelings, Lyn. Things are different between you two. Mabel and I had years together, and it felt like a lifetime. You and that kid have had a week, maybe two.” Grant practically growled at me. Mabel will always be a touchy subject to him.

“You once told me Mabel believed that you couldn’t fall in love based on a timeline.”

“She even went as far as to say that when you fell in love it was fast, and when you realized it, you were in too deep to fall out of it.” Grant let a soft smile fall onto his face, as he looked down at the ground. It was obvious that he was fondly remembering her.

“That’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t think I loved him, but somewhere along the way I must have jumped. Seeing him with that girl made me realize it, and now it’s like I’ve been buried alive. I can barely breathe, and everything is dark.”

“If you really love him, you’ll listen. Otherwise, you didn’t really love him at all.”

“But it hurts.”

“No pain should be able to conquer the love you have.”

“You’re right.” I wiped away a few tears that had escaped my eyes. I felt heartbroken, but Grant knew more about heartbreak than me. He’d lost Mabel and he’d do anything to get her back. If I’ve truly lost Owen, then I should fight for him.

“Just make sure you’re not in love now, because you think you won’t have time later on in life to actually fall in love. Make sure you love that kid, and not the idea of love. Protect yourself, kiddo. That heart was given to you, so you could live on.” Grant had a knowing look in his eyes that made me want to cry.

“I promised you Grant, and I won’t go back on that promise. Mabel didn’t die for nothing. I’ll make sure her death had a good ending. I’m not about to let the last part of her die too.”

“Mabel couldn’t have given her heart to anyone more deserving, Evelyn.” He smiled affectionately at me. I returned the smile.

“I still like to think I got the heart from some girl who lost her life in an accident. I don’t like to think I’m living for a girl whose short life made more of an impact on people than mine ever has.”

“When Mabel’s doctor informed me that Mabel had asked him to give you her heart if she died in time, I knew you were worth it. You two barely spoke, and you still made a bigger impact on her than her own mother.” Grant let out a small chuckle.

“Mabel saved my life, and I have no other way to repay her than to live life to the fullest. ”

“And you saved mine. I think you repaid Mabel already.” Grant winked at me.

“Of course, because I gave you the family you lost when she died.”

“And I wouldn’t of had it any other way.”

We both smiled at each other, but I could still see the sorrow and loss in his eyes. I know I had compared my loss with his, but his loss had been greater. That Halloween Mabel had found out that she was pregnant, so they went to the doctors for a check-up. They wanted to make sure their baby was healthy, that’s when the doctors found the cancer. Grant had lost his child to try and save his love, and then almost a year later, he lost the love of his life. I only lost Owen.

 If Grant had survived that loss, I could survive this one.

A quick update to make up for the 20ish day wait you guys went through for the last chapter. Anyways, how do y'all feel about Evelyn getting Mabel's heart? Sad, right?