Blinded by Limerence

29 | Broken

Morgan

It was a minute before class would end, before the bell would ring and dismiss us.

My eyes were glued to my wristwatch, counting down the seconds instead of listening to our teacher drone on and on about world history—what a bore, am I right? Finally, the clock struck two, and the loud sound rang through classrooms and empty hallways.

Being the last to leave the room, I took a turn for the lockers. I was having literature class next, and I was going to need my copy of The Phantom of the Opera if I wanted to pass the class.

When I finally reached my locker, I put in the code and clicked the lock open. I reached in for my book, but then, I suddenly heard a soft wail, followed by a sniffle.

Strange, I thought as I looked around to see who was crying.

That's when I noticed, wedged between two lockers was Eric, curled up in the tiny, dark space. His knees were pressed against his chest to fit, and his head rested on his crossed arms.

If he wasn't my friend, I would've burst out laughing at how pathetic he looked.

"What the heck, Eric?!" I reacted, alarmed. I reached for him and tugged on his arm, causing him to snap his head in my direction.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks nonstop, and his eyes were red and puffy. He sniffled, "M-Morgan?"

I frowned. "Oh, gosh, Eric, get out of there," I said lowly, pulling him out of the dusty space. He staggered to his feet then fell into my arms, weak from crying. He dropped his head into the crook of my neck.

"What's wrong, E? What happened?" I asked him, rubbing his back soothingly. He pulled away for a second to meet my concerned gaze.

"I must look so pathetic right now," he tried to laugh. He wiped away his tears with the sleeves of his oversized sweater and muttered, "Killian and I are over."

My heart immediately fell into the pit of my stomach. They're over? What the actual fuck?

"What... What happened?" I asked again, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion and worry for the boy.

Eric looked away, his cheeks pale and his eyes lifeless. "He... He found someone else..."

"Oh, Eric," I cried out softly as I watched the boy break before me.

"It... It just sucks, you know? I thought... I thought we had something—" he smiled bitterly "—but no. I was just a phase, a fling, a plaything." He shut his eyes tightly and more tears flowed out his brown eyes. "That's it."

Suddenly, Collin's words rang through my ears: I'm your teacher, and you're my student, and that's it. I felt my heart clench painfully and my stomach twist.

He sighed forlornly before he wept, "I just feel so... broken."

Broken.

I swallowed hard, biting the insides of my cheeks. Unexpectedly and at the same time, expectedly, I was on the verge of tears. "E-Eric..." I whimpered. "I know what you mean... Collin..."

Eric stopped crying momentarily, wiping away his tears with his soaked sleeves. He gave me a knowing smile.

Without another word, I took him into my arms, pulling him into my warm and equally broken embrace.

We didn't say anything else; words weren't enough to express how we both felt. Just being there, in that moment, both of us sobbing like crazy in each other's arms while other students walked past giving us strange looks... It was more than enough.