Hard Boy ✔️

59

- All I Want; Kodaline -
- Breakaway; Kelly Clarkson -
- traitor; Olivia Rodrigo -
- The Only Reason; 5 Seconds of Summer -
- The Heart Wants What It Wants; Selena Gomez -
- Meltdown; Niall Horan -

Aurora Holland

"There she is!" Logan exclaimed as I descended the stairs to my room, a smile covering my features as he came into my view.

It'd been a few days since we last saw each other, the day that I hung out with him and Alexa. I hadn't talked to anyone much since my conversation with Katherine, simply because I needed a bit of time alone.

I never realized how hard it was going to be to just throw myself out into the friend group again. I thought despite feeling a couple of emotions here and there, that it'd be easy and I'd be able to hang out with them often and act as if nothing happened.

However, that was far from the case.

After Katherine had gotten me to open up a bit more about everything that happened, I began to go back into that state. Not as bad as it was before, but I just simply didn't want to be around anyone. I indulged in my artwork, listening to music, and keeping my phone on Do Not Disturb. I shot out a few texts here and there so my friends didn't get concerned that I was falling back into the state, but overall I really kept to myself.

Well, tried to.

Despite beginning to feel less and less sad and simply just wanting to be alone, Jason was still terrified I was falling deeper into the black hole of depression I'd been in the day that Carter left. The last thing I wanted was for my little brother to witness something like that, and so I swore to myself that never again would I show my sad feelings to Jason no matter how hard it was for me to hide them.

I've never been the best at hiding how I truly feel. I'm constantly showing the emotion I feel on my face, basically radiating whichever emotion I wore that day. But after breaking down in front of Jason and seeing that it basically broke him as well, I vowed that no matter how badly Carter Jackson broke my heart, I'd never let Jason know I was still hurt by it.

He knew, though. He's young, but not naive. He knows I'm hiding it and I can tell by the way he acts and says certain things that he knows, but he's hiding it just as much as I'm hiding my true feelings. He still insists on coming and hanging out with me every other day or so, and although I know he's doing it to make sure I'm not alone in all of this, I can't help but feel appreciative and grateful to have such a smart, compassionate little brother like him.

He's changed a lot since we moved, for sure. Just in ways I'm certain that I've changed as well.

"Do you need any money?" My father asks as I come into view of the living room, and just as I go to respond, Logan beats me to it.

"She'll be fine. All costs are covered, sir."

I glanced from my father to Logan, who sent me a cheery smile. My cheeks burned red as I looked at the boy next to me at my feet, my dirty black Converse much more interesting than they usually are.

Before my father could respond, the front door suddenly flew open.

"Logan! It's always a pleasure to see you!" The sound of my mom's voice suddenly echoed through the house. I glanced over to see her walking through the door, looking just as fancy and well-put-together as ever.

She had a beautiful smile painted on her lips, one I hardly ever saw unless we were around guests or someone she loved greatly. I don't know what it was about Logan Jackson that she liked so much - but it just made me glad she didn't disapprove of me being friends with him the way she had Carter so much.