My Record Store Romance

It All Has to Fall Apart Somewhere

Chapter 21; It All Has to Fall Apart Somewhere

This chapter is dedicated to gabriellemarie16, for making me laugh/smile/ laugh some more while reading her comments. So, thank you. The song on the side is Demons by Imagine Dragons, make sure to check it out and answer the question at the end of this chapter!

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-HAILEY'S POINT OF VIEW-

The air in the room felt suddenly different, stuffy with unspoken words and drawn out confusion. Drew's cheeks were a strange shade of white as I finished reading the crumpled letter, feeling the creases around the edges which indicated it had been folded and unfolded multiple times.

I scrunched my nose, not exactly understanding why a few simple words which had no meaning to me had the ability to suck all the life out of Drew.

Maybe I just wasn't able to read between the lines. Could a letter really mean that much to him?

"Drew?" I asked, feeling unsure and uncomfortable, even though everything had felt so right only moments ago. "What's wrong? Who is this from?"

The sound of footsteps upstairs echoed lightly in my ears, but I didn't dare to look away from Drew. My heart quickened as the seconds passed, and he remained completely still.

At that very moment, as he stood there; completely emotionless, I would've given anything to know what was going through his mind. It was always like a guessing game with him, and usually, I was the one always left without the answers.

He took a few more moments of silence, making me even more anxious than before. His hands were supporting him as he leaned on the counter, his feet tightly locked into place. Then out of nowhere, it was like a switch had flipped.

The color returned to his face slowly, then all at once. His dark hair waved as he shook his head back and forth, making it seem like he was trying to get rid of his thoughts. It was as if the more he shook, the more of the things that were trapped inside of his mind would just tumble out and disappear into thin air.

When he finally looked back up at me, it was like no time had passed. The stoic look on his face had disappeared, his eyes strong and concealed, a smile falling onto his lips.

I was still confused.

The words I had recited only a few minutes ago flashed through my mind, making my stomach churn with uneasiness.

Why does it feel like you're not telling me something?

"Nothing. Nobody." He said lightly, the smirk he was forcing already looking weary.

Something was wrong.

Something was within those sentences I didn't see, something bad.

The whirling of my stomach continued as I shifted on my feet, trying to ignore the thoughts that began to surface in my mind, poking at me over and over again until I acknowledged them.

I had told him everything, everything about myself. Down to the very last detail, I was an open book. But how much about Drew did I really know? Other than a few stories and what I had heard from Odie, how much had he actually told me about himself?

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling vulnerable, doubtful. Like I had given out too much of myself, all of my cards on the table, but couldn't even get a simple answer in return.

"Drew," I began again, my voice strained and concerned. "Don't do that. You don't need to do that with me."

The grin twisting with the trace of his lips curved downward, and now he was frowning. His shoulders slumped just the slightest, and it looked like at that moment his thoughts were battling each other, like he was just waiting for something to win so he would know the right thing to say.