Always Gonna Be You | Ongoing

53| Talks & Reassurance

Kiara:

When we arrived home, I made a beeline for my room, seeking solace in the quietude of my own space. My heart felt heavy, burdened by the pain of betrayal.

A knock was heard on my bedroom door.

"Kie, can I come in?" what seems like my moms voice asked softly.

"Yeah." I said, my voice broke into sobs as Mom entered and took a seat at the edge of my bed.

"Jayden told me what happened. Are you okay?" Mom inquired, her eyes filled with empathy.

"No. I'm so very hurt. The worst hurt I've ever felt," I confessed, tears flowing freely now.

"Mom, why does this hurt more than when Aiden hurt me?" I asked, my voice choked with emotion.

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Grayson:

The moment I stepped into the house, I retreated to the refuge of my room, seeking a brief respite from the tumult of emotions swirling within him.

When Hazel called out to me, I responded with a subdued greeting, my mind preoccupied with the events that had just transpired.

Decided to take a shower. It was meant to cleanse my body, but it did little to ease the weight on my heart.

As the water cascaded over me, I found himself consumed by a mix of guilt, regret, and profound sadness.

The hot water provided a temporary distraction, but the ache in my chest persisted.

Afterward, I sat in the kitchen, staring vacantly out at the floor-to-ceiling windows, lost in the horizon. My mother's voice broke through my reverie, her concern evident as she leaned on the kitchen island.

"You okay? You're acting off," she observed, her maternal instincts picking up on my troubled state.

"I messed up," I confessed, my voice laden with remorse.

Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What did you do?"

"Gemma pushed herself onto me and kissed me, and Kiara ended up seeing it right as she did," I explained, my shame evident in his tone.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I recounted the painful truth to my mom.

The weight of my mistake hung heavy on my shoulders.

She came and wrapped her arms around me.

"Fuck, Mom, what am I gonna do? She was so hurt. You should've seen it. I dont think ive this much hurt in my life until i looked int her eyed," I lamented, my voice cracking with emotion.

Later that evening, I lay on my bed, staring blankly at a nondescript wall, consumed by a mixture of anguish and regret.

My door opened and I lifted my head a bit seeing my mom.

Her presence breaking the silence.

"Hey," she said softly, her eyes filled with empathy.

I managed a sad smile in response to her greeting. "You feeling better?" she asked, her voice gentle.

"No," I replied, his voice barely audible. "It's hard. Why's it so hard? Why is it hard to breathe?" I questioned, my voice filled with anguish.

"I didn't know losing her was going to hurt me this painfully. It's like im drowing," I confessed.

She offered me a sympathetic smile,
acknowledging the depth of his feelings.

"You wanna know why it's hard?" She asked, her finger brushing my strands of hair away.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's hard because you love the literal shit out of that girl," she said smiling, and a small smile made its way on my lips.

"Your sister, want to talk to you." She said.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I'll go call her." She said, leaving my room.

A few moments later, Hazel entered and climbed up onto my bed, curling up in front of me and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's okay, Hazel," I reassured her.

"Will it really be okay, Gray? You didn't mean to do that. It was all that girl's fault. It was a misunderstanding. We can fix this, right? We can get Kiara back," Hazel said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Hazel..." Grayson began, and a tear feel from her eye and I wiped it away with my thumb.

"You can't lose her. I can't lose her. I thought she was going to be with you forever. She was like a sister to me," Hazel lamented, her words striking a chord within me.

"I know, Hazel. I know," I responded.

"You can fix it, right?" Hazel asked, her voice filled with hope.

"Not right now. She wouldn't want to talk to me at the moment," I admitted.

"Okay," Hazel replied softly.

"Come here," I said, pulling Hazel closer as they lay down together.

"I'm going to do everything I can to try to get her back, okay? I'm going to talk to her eventually," I assured her.

"Okay," Hazel said, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

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The following day at school was like navigating a minefield of awkwardness and tension. Everywhere I turned, I could feel the weight of Kiara's absence, her avoidance palpable even from across the crowded hallways.

As I entered the classroom, I scanned the room for any sign of her, but she was nowhere to be found. It was as if she had vanished into thin air, leaving behind a gaping hole in my heart.

Throughout the day, we remained in our own separate groups, the distance between us a painful reminder of the rift that had formed between us. Kiara avoided making eye contact with me, her gaze firmly fixed on her books or her friends, as if I were invisible to her.

During lunch, I found myself sitting with my friends, trying to muster the courage to approach Kiara and talk to her, but the fear of rejection held me back. She sat with her friends, laughter and chatter filling the space between us like an insurmountable barrier.

As the day wore on, the heaviness in my chest only grew, each passing moment amplifying the ache of longing and regret. I longed to bridge the chasm that had formed between us, to apologize and make things right, but I knew that it wouldn't be easy.

By the end of the day, as I watched Kiara gather her things and leave without so much as a glance in my direction, I realized that repairing what had been broken would take time, patience, and a willingness to confront the painful truths that lay between us. But for now, all I could do was hope for a chance to make amends and win back her trust.