❝AMONG THE MIDST OF THE EMOTIONS RISING
in his soul and trying to regulate his heart rate
and his breathing, paul couldn't help but wish
for one thing: god, i hope i remember this
tomorrow.❞
𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐥...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Twinkling fairy lights gleamed blues and greens above Theo's clouded brown head. She blinked tired hazel eyes and, for the first time in her life, wished she was somewhere besides Moonie's Italian restaurant.
She didn't feel like eating. Contrary to popular belief (due to what she, herself, let on), Theo hated conflicts. She and Paul were so close that, well, it was only natural that they'd fight.
But this — wow — this was different. There was a permanence behind what they'd both said. It stung to remember, but Theo couldn't help but remember.
"Theodora?" the voice that called out to her from across the table was masculine. Entirely too masculine for it to be her mother.
However, it wasn't too masculine for it to be her mother's boyfriend, Brad.
"Huh?" the girl dumbly blinked her eyes and chewed on the straw of her drink.
"Are you okay?"
This is a new development, she thought to herself.
She looked from the lemons floating around in her water and into Brad's brown eyes. He, much like all of her mother's other boyfriends, was often seen and not heard.
It never broke her heart, though. Theo loved her mom, but the men she loved (and who, Theo assumed, loved her) weren't around for long.
It didn't matter much to Theo, but it gutted her mother. She'd never had good luck in her relationships and, as horrible as it was to admit, Theo wished she would give up love altogether.
What if love isn't for everyone?, Theo wondered. What if love is some low-hanging fruit that still manages to be just out of reach?
Paul popped in the back of her mind.
She clenched her fists and, at last, replied to Brad's question. "Nothing."
It was accompanied with a shrug.
Brad took her at face value, but her mother busted in with her ever-so-enchanting eloquence.
"I'm not an idiot, Theodora." Uh oh — a Theodora. she's serious, Theo thought. "I've never seen you so glum and, besides, that garlic bread has been at this table for five minutes and Brad is the only one who has eaten any."
