The Heartwarmer

Chapter 3

Oh, crap.

I wasn't prepared for this.

No, no, no. No.

Take it back!

What do I say what do I do I will I cry I don't know I don't know I don't know

"Uh..." June started.

"So, um, I had this roommate, right? Her name was Layla. She was in the popular crowd, you know? Didn't have an identity of her own. She just did what everyone wanted her to; she wasn't really my type. She used to host these annoying parties every weekend and I almost considered moving out.

"But one day, I came home from my classes and found her half dead; a trail of bleach leaking from her mouth. I didn't really know or even like Layla, but I couldn't let her die, so I took her to the hospital. I guess that was a real eye opener for her, because she stopped hanging out with those poisonous people, and we found more and more common things between us. Soon, living with her turned out to be the best decision of my life. We became closer than sisters; took better care of each other more than our mothers ever could.

"She turned her life completely around. Hell, she even scored higher than me. And "

She paused here to take a deep breath and fail to blink away tears.

"She signed up for sailing lessons for both of us. She promised me that we would travel the whole world together. She gave me, um, this gold locket shaped like a globe, and it was the cutest thing ever. Yeah.

I don't know what happened. I don't know where I went wrong. I just... Don't. But she went on a camping trip one weekend, and just never came back-"

June broke off here. She just couldn't continue. She had gotten to that stage stage of crying where each breath of hers was shaky and hesitant. She covered her face. Luke didn't need to see her ugly crying face.

Awkward didn't even begin to describe what Luke was feeling. He suddenly got very conscious of himself; where should he put his hands? What angle should his frown be set at?

But now her face was covered, so it didn't really matter anymore. Why would she hide her face? He thought. Is she not comfortable enough around me?

Luke didn't know how to react; if he was in his hometown and this happened, he would just get up, leave, and never see that person again. But he and June were the only two people on the island, plus she was crying. He couldn't just up and leave. So he stayed, and just sat there silently.

June was so thankful that Luke wasn't saying anything, even though he was visibly uneasy. She was so glad that he knew how valuable his silence was. Luke was so sensitive, and that made June's heart warm. He understood her.

Luke just didn't understand women. But he needed to pretend like he did, because apparently that's something they like. Being understood. But if they liked it so much, why did they make it so damn hard? Why couldn't June just choose one emotion to feel at a time?

June's tears finally stopped, and her hands came away from her face. Her face was flushed and blotchy, and she kept sniffling.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized with a sad smile.

Luke got flustered. He told her in his mind: don't apologise. Tears are naturally produced in your body; you have every right to let them free when you choose.

"Oh, you don't need to apologise to me." was all he ended up saying.

"So," June continued shakily, "where was I?"