LOVEME

8. Cold-Hearted

She breathed out, letting a small puff of air blow in front of her as she stamped her feet twice. The snow fell lightly onto her hair as she crossed and uncrossed her arms tightly across her chest. Poor girl; it was thirty degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of a snowfall and she was patiently freezing her ass off, just waiting to be dumped.

I glanced down at my watch; it was two minutes after 4:30, the time we had originally decided to meet. She showed up at 4:21. I showed up at 4:09.

Deciding it was finally time to make an appearance, I stuck my hand in my pockets, breathed out, making my bangs flutter upwards, and stepped to where she was waiting.

"Sorry I'm late," I said lazily as she turned around with a smile she couldn't hide. "I would've been later, but I want to go home quickly so I'm getting this over with now."

"Oh, alright." The smile on her face faltered a bit, but it suddenly perked back up. "That's cool! I can understand."

Liar.

"That's great," I recited in a monotone voice. "Now, I don't like you, so please leave and cry over a tub of ice cream."

She blinked twice. "Um, sorry?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm turning you down," I said slowly, emphasizing the words.

The smile finally dropped from her face. "But . . ."

"Look, Fiona --"

"My name is Sabrina."

"-- Sabrina," I continued with a hard-to-miss roll of my eyes, "I am a very blunt person. I am also quite a rude person. Therefore, I refuse to be here any longer and try to stop you from crying or whatever you're planning to do."

Without looking up to make eye contact with her eyes most likely filling up with tears, I turned around sharply and walked away. 

***

Once in the comfort of my home, I headed straight to my bedroom. I threw myself onto the bed, face up, still wearing my turtleneck and winter coat. My room was the warmest in the house, which meant I was beginning to slowly sweat, but I could still feel the ice around my heart hardening even more.

Ever since they had taken my family, my heart no longer functioned the way it was supposed to. Ever since I last heard my baby sister laugh, a thick layer of ice began to mold its way over my heart. Ever since I last saw my dad give me the look to make me do something, all my emotions shut down, turning me into the rude and blunt person I was today.

When the sweat finally became too overbearing, I sat back up and undid my coat. I threw it onto my chair then pulled my sweater over my head and repeated the action, letting a small lump of silver bounce against my chest. I clutched the swinging ball with my free hand, wanting to yank it off and throw it away, but I knew I couldn't; I had to keep the tracker on me and follow their orders if I wanted my family to remain unharmed.

I let go of the necklace-tracker and closed my eyes, the girl from before suddenly coming into my mind. A frozen heart didn't stop me from thinking she was pretty, and perhaps a waste to let her go, but I felt the ice solidify itself as any minuscule traces of regret and pity washed out of me. It was the best choice for the both of us, anyways.

I stood up from the bed and went to the mirror, fingering the necklace as I glared at its reflection. How ironic the silver ball was in the shape of a heart.

***

This was inspired by: a) a scene from High School King of Savvy, a K-Drama I've fallen for, b) a scene from a new story inspired by [a], and c) the writing competition hosted by  @hannahsue--. I'm probably not going to win, but I thought I'd try anyways.