The Heartbreak Club

10. a heart at peace

The following day was hard.

They'd continued their walk that afternoon, their words thick with the anticipation of what time would bring them. And then, Ashton had dropped Willa home, stepping out of the car to plant a kiss on her forehead. It went unspoken, as if forming words would break whatever spell had been cast over them that afternoon.

That evening, Declan had called a total of three times, exactly an hour separating each attempt. And every time Willa had let it slide to voicemail. Unlike a week ago, it didn't sting. She didn't miss talking to him, or even reminisce in what had been. All she could think about was how her heart had swelled when he'd kissed her back, when the stupidly impulsive risk she'd taken - for reasons she couldn't quite grasp - had ended in something she still couldn't fathom. She really liked Ashton Hartford.

How could her heart hold so much at once? Both heartbreak and the seeds of something new?

And then there was the crushing burden of what was to come.

Aubrey had been quick to pull her aside Tuesday morning. It was becoming a rare sight to see her without Liam, and with the intensity of the kiss still captivating Willa's mind, she couldn't help feeling like a naughty child with something to hide.

"Strategy, Willa," Aubrey said, her voice awfully demanding for someone who was long past being a contender in the game.

"Why do I need a strategy?" Willa asked, deferring the thought of actually conjuring up a plan. Her incentive to win had dropped dramatically when she'd really realized that maybe she didn't actually want it to end.

"Because I'd bet you my college fund that he already has one," she said. "Think! Surely he's done something to give you a reason."

Willa humored her, but even so, Ashton had been the epitome of a good boyfriend. Maybe it was all an act. Now she was thinking about it, the whole way he'd interacted with her seemed so out of character compared to who she thought he was a week ago.

"Nothing," she answered simply, refusing to share her worries.

If it were an act, then who had she been falling for? What would happen tomorrow, would he trick her and end it straight away? Or, if she didn't try and break up with him, would he not break up with her, either? What would happen if they just... stayed together?

"Well, I'll brainstorm and get back to you. We have twenty-four hours." Aubrey blew her a kiss and headed to her next class.

Willa sighed, hugging her books to her chest and navigating through the hallway. She still hadn't seen him, and part of her wondered if what had happened between them was a dream.

Her mind was clouded, flashing between Ashton and Declan and her math assignment that was due by the end of the week. It was hard to concentrate on numbers when she was counting down the hours that she had before one of them could finish it all.

She was starting to really believe she couldn't do it. Even if it was pretend, even if it was for the show. The thought of being alone again was too daunting.

At lunch time, she caught a glimpse of him walking with Ben outside across the lawn. She'd been standing beneath the archway, biting her lip as she debated whether to head inside for lunch or to seek him out instead. But she'd seen him before she'd come to a conclusion, and the Hartford brothers looked deep in conversation. When Ashton caught her eye his expression lifted with a friendly smile and a wave.

Her heart fluttered, and her knees fell weak, and the memories of his lips on hers captured her whole vision. But, she smiled and waved back and left them to it instead.