Page 93 of Romance Languages

“I know.” Amos ran a soothing hand through my hair.

We sat like that for a minute before Aguilar found us. The pain slowly began to subside, and a feeling of gratitude overtook me. Gratitude for everything I got to experience. Gratitude for the strength that would eventually come. Gratitude for the people who would be there with me along the way.

Apparently, the guys had put on movies to entertain their classrooms, but it hadn’t taken long for their students to seep into the halls. Aguilar, seeing my red eyes, asked if I needed to take the rest of the day off. I declined.

I didn’t have Seamus, but I wasn’t alone.

27

SEAMUS

Itold Aguilar I was sick and needed to take the rest of Friday off. My body was a wretched mess of sharp aches and queasiness. Could a broken heart make a person physically sick?

As I left school, I glanced into Julian’s classroom where he was in full French teacher mode. He shot me a disinterested flick of the eyes before returning his attention to his class.

At home, I collapsed on my bed and let streaming services numb my pain. The first show to pop up underShows you might like:

Frasier.

Like the mature, grown-ass adult I was, I threw my pillow at the TV.

I went through the motions the rest of the day, and by the motions, I meant ordering takeout and binge-watching old episodes ofFear Factor.

It sucked to let Julian go, but it was the right thing to do. Who said I wouldn’t do to him what I did to Lauren? Julian was smart and interesting, and I was watching a show where people ate bugs for money. He deserved a real stand-up guy, someone who wouldn’t run the risk of ruining his life. I hoped our time together had given him the confidence to get back on the dating market and find himself Mr. Right. He didn’t have to worry about sexual inexperience or not being attractive to guys. He had experience, and damn was he attractive inside and out.

Doing the right thing was hard, but that was how we became better versions of ourselves. Maybe it wasn’t too different fromFear Factorcontestants chomping on spiders. No challenge, no reward.

Greg charged into my room sometime that night. The hours had faded into one mushy blob of time.

“Make yourself pretty. We’re going out.”

“I don’t really feel like it.”

“Let’s go out. Ethan’s working late. It’s Friday night.”

“It’s okay. I’m good here.” I would let the TV be my friend tonight.

“What happened? Rough day?”

I stared at the TV, which was off. The thought of Julian was a sledgehammer to the heart; Greg quickly picked up on my pain.

“Shit. I’m sorry, dude. What happened?”

“Don’t feel like talking about it.”

Greg sat on the edge of my bed. “Why don’t we get some fresh air? We’ll go out, have a few drinks and a few laughs. You haven’t left your bed since you came home.”

“You don’t know that.” I dug deeper into the comfort of my bed.

“Educated guess. Come on, man.”

“I’m good. Not feeling it.” I threw the covers over my head. I preferred darkness. It matched my current mood.

The floor creaked, which I assumed meant Greg was leaving me in peace. A moment later, the ground shook under me, and I tumbled onto the floor.

“What the fuck!” I yelled. Greg stood over me, mattress in hand. “Did you flip my mattress?”

“Moping does nobody any good.” Greg squatted down to my eye level. He mastered the no-nonsense stare that dads around the world used on their kids. “Get up, get showered, and get dressed. Don’t make me carry you into the bathroom.”

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