He Is Broken. // H.S.

26~Wide Eyes

26~Wide Eyes

Everest's POV

"W-What?" Britne chokes out after a very long period of silence. We were all quiet in fact, speechless even. Our eyes are wide and our mouths are agape. The shock just kind of hit us all like a punch to the gut, silencing us while at the same time erasing every thought we could think of. My head is spinning and my stomach twists and turns in tiny knots. I hate that feeling when you want to throw up but you have nothing to throw up. You just feel empty inside. "Please tell me you're joking." She cries, plea laced in her tone.

He only stares down at the table in defeat, as if he were too ashamed to even look up at us. "I'm sorry, guys. I truly am," he says lowly, like he was guilty. My blood then begins to boil and my heart thumps harshly against my ribcage. It's not that I'm angry with Joseph or anything, I'm just... just... ugh, I don't know, I'm just angry! After all the shit I've gone through recently, I now have to go through this? I am beyond upset and far past angry. This is just perfect (notice my sarcastic tone).

I entangle my fingers through my hair, resting my elbows on top of the table. 'This can't be happening' I think to myself, wishing it wasn't, but knowing it is. I then let my eyelids fall shut, a breath I didn't know I was holding in escapes out of my mouth, "So why is it being cancelled exactly?" I ask slowly, my voice wavering a bit.

He sighs, clearing his throat. "The show didn't get enough views. The ratings for the show dropped immensely after the first few episodes. The views began to decrease horrifically with each episode we aired. With Pretty Little Liars getting around 3.2 million views, it wasn't fair to our show since we were only getting around 2.1, 1.7 million views. So, ABC Family then decided not to renew the show." He pauses for a few seconds, then says, "That's why. And I'm so sorry."

"So, you can't do anything about it? Like, you can't make them reconsider their decision er..." Luke trails off, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"We've tried everything in power to make them change their minds, but they've made their decision, and it's final." He explains. "We did everything we could do... but some things just don't work out as planned." Hell that's the truth.

Then there's a small pause. I wonder what everyone is thinking right now.

"So, is that why you wanted us here? To tell us about the cancellation?" Nicole asks just above a whisper without looking up, breaking the tense silence. He simply nods. "Where's Marlene? I wanna speak to Marlene." Marlene King is, or was, the main director/creator of Ravenswood. She was probably the first one to know about this, the first one they notified about it, anyway. That may be the reason Nicole asked for her, so she can hear it again from someone who has known about it longer than any other person, including Joseph.

"She's visiting her mother in Germany," he says sadly. "She isn't doing too well. She's very ill."

I sink my teeth into my lower lip, my hands still knotted in my hair and my eyes still glued together. "So, did we fail?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly. The feeling of failing, especially when you're an actress, is a feeling you don't want to get used to. This was the number one thing I did not want to fail at. And apparently I have. I failed trying to make my friendship with Harry work, and now I failed at this. What's next?

He shakes his head vigorously, straightening his posture from slouching slightly in his seat. "No, no, you guys did not fail," he says with meaning, his expression stone hard. "Do you hear me? You guys did not fail, okay. What happened, happened, and who knows, it might've happened for a reason. You all did great, don't let this defeat you, okay. You all are great actors and actresses, and I can't wait to see what your next big step will be. This is not the end of your acting careers, guys, I hope it isn't anyway because you guys are so talented. It'll take time to heal, but you'll get there. It'll get better, I promise it will."