The Experience Buddy [Completed]

Chapter 40

"Who were you talking to?" Hero asked.

I hung up the call in a panic and stuttered, "I...I...was...uh...talking to...uh my mother.".

"You know, when you lie, you don't just stammer but your eyebrow twitches too?" He pointed out.

This can't be happening. I couldn't think of anything else to say but the truth and there was no one else around to help cover me. In the end, I spilled the truth about who I was on a call with earlier. One question led to another so I wound up telling Hero exactly what the doctor said back at the hospital instead of the sugar coated version that we tried to sell him.

"How could you of all people? I know you well enough to know that you can't make up a lie on the spot. How long have you been practising?" Hero swept his fringe up with his hand, it was obvious he was trying to suppress his anger but his flaring nostrils said otherwise.

"This is exactly why we didn't want to tell you." I bit the bottom of my lip.

"We? Since when do you identify yourself together with them?" He retorted.

"They are your family! They rushed over the moment they heard you collapsed!" I argued.

"Can't you see- Nevermind." Hero sighed in frustration as he paced back and forth.

"See that they cared?" I wasn't going to give this a rest. At this time, hot tears were welling up in my eyes.

"See that it was all an act!" Hero scoffed. "Yes, I admit that I was overwhelmed when you guys first told me that I have cancer and needed to take a whole bunch of medicine. I was frustrated thinking how I could continue to achieve financial independence from my parents if I am going to have medical bills piling up. But now, it's just full of disappointment that someone like you, could lie without blinking and put up a pretense in front of me for months. And you know at the end of the day, who's the worst? Me! Because I didn't see through you."

"Someone like me?" I choked on my tears. "Someone like me who lied for your sake!"

"Don't say it's all for me anymore! If you really meant well for me, you should have told me the truth from the start so that I get to make my own decisions for my own future. And that I get to prep myself mentally for a change in my life." Hero scowled furiously.

"I'll sleep in the guest room tonight, I don't really want to see you right now." He muttered. With that, he left me alone in the corridor and slammed the door shut. Not just the physical door to the room, but also the door to his heart and everything else.

Because the next morning, he broke up with me.

Since I didn't apply for an extension of the room in the dormitory for summer break, I decided to return home for the rest of the holidays. Although Nat did because Cheryl's gotten an internship at a company that was nearer to school than her home so they decided to stay on campus during the break. Technically our room was available, but I couldn't stop myself from breaking down every single minute. So I thought the further away I was from Hero, the better it would be. Besides, he told me to stay away from him. For now, perhaps, some distance apart would do us good.

Do me some good.

I didn't have to explain to my parents much as they roughly guessed it from the buckets of tears I've cried all day and night ever since my return. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought we made the right decision to lie to Hero.

Perhaps, all good things must come to an end.

Frank and Madison dropped by every day to keep me company. They would suggest activities for us to do to distract my thoughts away from Hero but I just couldn't get him out of my head. Every single second I would be thinking about him. When I closed my eyes, I could see the angry expression he had that night. I could recall vividly his shaking voice and the pain in his eyes when he broke up with me. My heart tightened like as if someone had wrung it like how they would twist a wet cloth.

Nat and Cheryl were nice enough to check in on me by sending me text messages every day, and even call me on some nights. Toby was also kind to send me cute pet videos, in hopes to cheer me up. Even Hugh, always with his relentless teasing and sarcasm, used his own method of sending nonsensical memes to make me laugh. Everyone of them, though, avoided bringing Hero up completely. There were times when I wanted to give in and ask them how he was doing but managed to hold myself back.

I didn't know that a break up could cause such serious damage, I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink, and I couldn't fall asleep unless I tire myself out from crying. Even breathing felt painful.

What was like seconds felt like hours. Days turned into weeks. After summer break was over, it was as if I had endured through years of heartbreak. Dragging my deadweight self back to campus was the thing that I dread a lot. Being back in the same room as Nat, hanging with the gang in person, made it harder to resist the urge of asking any one of them about Hero.

Of course, he no longer hung out with us. Or perhaps, he only wasn't around if I was around.

It was hard not to associate anything with Hero. Even gossips that I overheard down the hallways seem to talk about him.

I was appreciative of the lot of them that they didn't once ask for details about what happened nor did they mention his name at all. Even Davin, who was constantly spazzing about the hot guys, by his definition, in school which included my boyfriend, excluded his name now when he does.

Sorry, ex-boyfriend.

It was the last quarter of the academic year so I decided to focus the last of my energy on what I do best - studying. After all, I lost the love of my life, I can't afford to lose my scholarship at the same time.

I entered my penultimate year with grades that borderline managed to retain my scholarship and a shattered heart. The rest of the group would be in their final year, including Nat. Good thing that she picked the right elective modules in her first year so she could transfer credits for a couple of them, then over the last summer break, she took a couple more bridging courses so now she has caught up and would be able to graduate in the same year as the rest. I felt so proud of her and so excited for all of them although I failed to express it on my exterior.

"Did you hear, Hero and that girl, what was her name? Emelia? Emma? They broke up." Some girl whispered loudly in the toilet. I was in one of the cubicles and daren't leave.

"Yeah I heard the same!" Another girl exclaimed.

"We stand a chance now." A third girl giggled.

I leaned my back on the wall of the cubicle and tears trickled down my face. At this point, I wasn't sure what hurts anymore, losing Hero, seeing him with another girl, him smiling without me by his side. Maybe it was everything to do with him.

Walking on school campus ignited unwanted stares from others. As much as I tried to ignore, I wasn't wired to handle so much attention, especially from strangers. There was only one person's attention that I wanted but I lost it because of a lie.

I couldn't help but overheard some conversations about other girls making attempts to get close to Hero while thinking they now stood a chance. But what caught my ears the most was about Hero going back to his partying days, not only at his place but at nightclubs as well, binge drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

I wanted to scream at those people but they didn't know about his condition. Hero himself should have known better. A million thoughts went through my mind. Did he lose hope?

Has he given up the fight?

Was the breakup affecting him more than I thought even when he was the one who suggested it?

If only I could get my hands on a mind reading device.

Just then, towards the end of my shift at the cafe, I received a call from Nat.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ems, you have...come...!" I could barely hear her with the loud music in her background.

"Nat? I can't hear you." My voice raised subconsciously.

"Hold on!" I could tell she was trying to shout over the deafening sounds at wherever she was. Seconds later, she was somewhere less noisy, and repeated, " Ems, you have to come here right now!"