Page 80 of Treacherous
Willow says nothing.
Nothing.
With every moment I wait for a response–any word to leave her mouth, the more pieces my heart spits into. Then, Willow does something even worse. She leaves.
No, that’s incorrect. She fucking bolts out of my room, slamming the door behind her.
My limbs ache, no longer able to hold me. I collapse onto the bed, sinking into the comfort of the mattress.
The left side has always been my dedicated position while sleeping, but now, I roll onto the right side. I try to inhale the remaining scent of Willow on my pillow, but there’s barely anything left.
Rivulets descend my face, falling onto the white sheets. The first time I lost the love of my life, I thought I was dying. That was nothing compared to the current ache in my heart. I want it to stop.
How do I make it fucking stop?
I flip over, reaching for my phone on the bedside table. It’s late for a Thursday night, but with Jazmine’s sleeping habits, I’m hopeful she is awake. I need to talk to my best friend.
I click on her contact. It rings and rings.
“Jay, is everything okay?”
My breath catches in my throat, and all the words I want to say are stuck.
“Jay,” Jazmine’s voice breaks. “You’re scaring me, are you okay?”
“Can I come over?” I whisper the words.
“Of course you can,”
I tell Jaz I will be over in ten minutes, packing a backpack of clothes and my phone charger. I make my way down the stairs, going as fast as I can.
I can’t be here any longer. This place is suffocating, especially my bedroom. It has too many memories of Willow that I can’t be around any longer.
Cooper and Aiden–the team’s resident night owls–are sitting on the couch, their gazes fall onto me as I reach the last step.
“Are you okay?” Cooper asks.
God, he’s such a good kid. I don’t know how he ended up with us as friends. I don’t face them–or I can’t. They probably heard every word of Willow ending things with me, which is honestly worse than them seeing me cry.
“I’m going to stay with Jazmine,”
“For the night or longer?” Aiden asks. His tone is laced with worry, which is unusual for him.
I shut my eyes, squeezing them tighter with each second that passes. “I’m not sure." And with that, I leave and don’t look back.
***
Iknock, standing at Jaz’s front door. It swings open immediately. She looks me up and down, focusing on my eyes, which are probably red and puffy.
The two of us say nothing as she guides me to the lounge room. The first thing Jazmine does when I sit down is wrap her arms around my neck and hug me.
It’s the final straw.
Every sob I was holding escapes my throat, and the tears pour down my cheeks. Jaz pulls me closer, hugging me tighter than I thought was possible.
I can’t move–it feels like I lost part of myself. I was right. I could never survive losing Willow.
Jaz and I remain still, my ability to breathe properly finally returns. I lift my head up, looking down at Jazmine’s shirt, which is soaked with my tears. Fucking hell. I never thought I would be in this situation. I’m the one who is meant to help my sister, not the other way round.
