Heart Strings <3 ~Complete

Heart Strings Chapter Eighteen

‘I’m sorry.’ I said. Silence. ‘Sephy-’

‘Can you explain to me why it matters anyway? Why do you care who I kiss and don’t kiss? It has nothing to do with you.’

I looked down, this was awkward. I was clearly on the Sephy Hate List. ‘I know. I don’t know. I...was just curious and then, I wondered why you’d lied...’

Sephy was silent for a while before I noticed her shoulders were shaking slightly. Once again her head was buried in her hands. Could this all be because of what I said?

‘Sephy...has anything...happened?’ I asked, moving closer to her on the bench cautiously.

‘Nothing I can say to you.’ Sephy had said this under her breath but I’d heard. It hurt. I rubbed at my eyes. Fuck.

I deserved this.

‘I’m really sorry? I was being a dick. For no reason. I need you to talk to me or I can’t help you, can I? I still owe you a drink, remember, from the park...’ I said, trying to lighten the mood up.

Sephy shivered and shook her head vigorously. ‘No.’

That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but I kind of expected it. I wondered if Gina’s technique would work... If I kissed Sephy right now what would she do? Kiss me back... Or slap me... 

My bet was on the latter.

‘Are you catching a bus home?’ I asked her.

‘Yes.’

‘Okay.’

The wind blew at my fingers. They were slowly freezing over, the tips of them reddening. Sephy was rubbing hers together. I did the same.

After ten more minutes of cold torture and endless silence, I sighed. 12 red cars, 6 white, 4 black, 11 silver blue, 4 green... I could barely see some; it was getting incredibly dark, and I was incredibly sad for attempting.

I had to go. My fingers and toes were unbelievably numb. Sephy wasn’t going to talk or forgive me anytime soon. I got up.

‘Um, Sephy, I know you’re pissed with me, but I think you should go home now, it’s cold and dark and you are probably as freezing as I am...’

Still she said nothing or made a move to go. I looked at my watch briefly. It was only eight.

I sat back down. I couldn’t leave her alone...

‘I’m staying here until you go,’ I whispered. ‘If you need to talk, I’m listening; I know something else has happened. I don’t care about the gay kiss thing anymore. I was a dick about that, and I’m sorry. If you want to say something, say it.’

Sephy looked up at me and attempted a smile. It was humourless. Her dry eyes had begun to dampen again.

‘After Nick saw us in the park he beat up my ex-boyfriend.’

I couldn’t speak, unsure if I’d heard right.

‘It is in the papers. He thinks I’m cheating on him with you. Now, Adam apparently loves me, so actually, the whole kiss thing takes me by surprise too Nathan. And then, you, you are just.. You...confuse me.’

My eyes widened. ‘How do I confuse you?’

‘I don’t know, otherwise I wouldn’t be confused would I?’ Sephy cried before getting up abruptly. Another bus had arrived.

Sephy’s phone began to ring. She pulled it out of a small purse she’d been holding and looked at the caller ID. From the way she contorted her face, it wasn’t someone she wanted to talk to. She looked at me for a moment before answering and getting onto the bus.