The Boy That Saved My Life (Harry Styles Fanfic)

Ch.20

(EMMA'S POV)

Heartbreak (noun) - An intense and overwhelming grief, especially through disappointment in love.

I remembered when I was in forth grade, my teacher assigned the class a feelings project. She would give each student a feeling and we had to make a poster about it, stating the definition and drawing a picture depicting the feeling. I was so excited for the project, being able to let my creative ability out. I hoped I got 'happy' or 'excited', I knew those words perfectly. I felt them every day, in my young nine year old life. I started planning my poster out in my head, thinking about all of the possibilities of how to depict 'happy' in a drawing. I finally decided that I would draw a picture of my cousins and I, playing hide and seek in my backyard on a long summer night. Just thinking about the word 'happy' made me happy. But much to my disappointment, when the teacher came to me, she gave me a feeling that I was very unfamiliar with.

'Heartbreak'

The minute I came home from school that day, I looked up the word in the dictionary. I scanned the definition a dozen times, trying to remember if I have ever felt it before. The concept of heartbreak was so foreign to me, it was almost unimaginable. Eventually, I gave up and walked up to my mom.

"Mommy, have you ever felt heartbreak before?" I had asked her, hoping, praying to get an answer.

She thought for a moment and then finally nodded her head. "Yes, honey. Why do you ask?"

I explained my project to her, and how I was so confused. "What does it feel like, mommy?"

My mother sighed and sat me down. "Emma, let me tell you a little story. When I was a young girl, in high school, there was this new boy in town. Tom Jones. He moved right across the street from me, so we instantly became friends. Not long after, we were in love. I really thought I was going to marry him. One day, he told me that he was moving yet again, but promised that he would call me everyday, and that we would still be in our relationship. He moved, and never called. Not once. I was so hurt, I just couldn't believe he would do that to me. Life went on, and I eventually got over him, although it took quite a while. Then I met your daddy. Only two months before our wedding, I bumped into Tom. He came back, they always come back, but he was too late."

It took me a few moments to process what my mom had just confessed. "Will I feel heartbreak one day?"

Her head slowly nodded.

"How will I know?"

My mom's lips formed into a sad smile. "You'll know it when you feel it. Trust me."

The term had always been in my mind, always waiting to be felt, always wondering if my mom was right. Well now, I finally felt it, I finally understood what my mom was talking about.