Heartbreak Hypothesis

n i n e t e e n

As I walked down the fairly busy street to the hostel, I battled with my own mind. But it got an upper hand when I spotted a familiar high ponytail across the street.

I paused in my tracks and squinted. Blinking, I rubbed my eyes with the gist of my free hand and squinted again.

Yhup. That was definitely Daniel.

Leaned against the hood of his shiny black Toyota and grinning at a girl that wasn't me. With her hand squeezing his bicep and a wide smile on her lips. I scoffed in my brain. I had to give it to her though, she was better at seducing Daniel than I was. Wonder why Chanelle didn't give her the contract instead of me. So much for missing me.

I scoffed in my mind.

Turning away from the duo like nothing happened with a dull stabbing ache in my chest that I failed to suppress, I quickened my pace to the hostel. Daniel hadn't seen me-thank goodness for that. It would have been awkward locking gazes with someone who I'd practically ran away from three days ago.

The girls' hostel lobby was not as busy as it normally was, considering this was a Saturday. People were probably in their rooms our out for the weekend. Carol and Cherry had gone out to watch a movie which meant my room was free. And it would stay that way for the next two hours.

Pure bliss, I tell you.

I waved at the new porter at the desk and she waved back. Mrs Smith had taken the weekend off to visit her grandkids and this younger woman had replaced her. Though, I was way friendlier with Mrs Smith, the new porter wasn't too bad. She mostly kept to herself.

A few moments of mounting stairs and unlocking the door later, I was within the four walls of my room. Alone. I let out a breath and dumped everything on me onto my bed, including my phone, and headed straight for the closet.

I changed out of my jeans and tank top into an oversized tee, leaving just my underwear to cover everything else that was important. I stepped out of the closet wrapping up my braids so they stood in a messy bundle on my head. Then I snatched up the remote from Cherry's bed and plopped down onto mine, turning on the TV to reveal a SpongeBob SquarePants scene.

Set in place for my hours of tranquility, I reached for the packets of gummy bears I'd bought and snorted when SpongeBob and Patrick displayed their cute stupidity.

In that moment, nothing in the entirety of America would have prepared me for what came next. And I meant that in the most mind-wracking way possible. When the door knob turned and the door opened by a crack, my lips parted in mild surprise. Cherry and Carol weren't supposed to be back for another one and half hours or so.

But when the door opened fully and I saw Daniel standing there in all his basketball player glory, my jaw downright dropped. And it wasn't just because I'd been caught watching SpongeBob or because I was wearing nothing but a loose tee shirt. No.

Simply because Daniel Brighton was casually walking into my room and shutting the door behind him like he did this everyday.

After shutting the door and casting a single glance around, that familiar hot gaze found its way to my form. In just a matter of seconds, he practically drank me in with his eyes, taking his time to rake over my body with them. Finally, his stare met mine.

"You weren't replying my texts."

As much as I hated to admit it, a silly part of me was excited to see him. However, the other part of me had only one thing in my mind.

I wasn't putting on a bra.

My throat went dry, so when I tried to speak, I ended up coughing to clear it up first. "How are you here?" Eyes wide, grip on the remote tighter than ever and a half chewed gummy bear in between my teeth, I stared at Daniel.