❝In which two people call up a helpline in order to find someone just as broken as they are. ❞
"Does...does it bother you that my dad's in prison for murder?"
"Well, judging by the fact that I moved away from America to get away from the memory of a...
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It was well into the night by the time that Maddie became acquainted with Isabella. And, by this time, a number of events had occurred, some significantly more surprising than others: things ranging from Elliot's mother sharing as many stories about her boys as she could to Vaughn starting up a ping-pong match against his fiancee after his sporting talents had been insulted one too many times. The guests ranged from relaxed adults to rowdy teenagers and respectful lawyer pals. It was an odd but lively bunch, and the amount of fun they had could not be matched by alcohol.
Maddie had found Isabella sitting down on one of the sofas that had been pushed to the side, out of breath and exhausted after the amount of dancing that she had been previously engaged in. She was incredibly wary of Elliot's ex-girlfriend walking up to sit next to her, and, anticipating a usual high school movie cliche, half expected to hear death threats and blatant jealousy from the girl. Both of the girls had talked and danced with Elliot that night, and his smile was just as big with either one.
But then she told herself to stop being such an idiot. Because that was such an immature outlook on things and was highly ridiculous to even consider. Writing off all ex-girlfriends as evil was just the same as expecting all people behind a gun to be downright evil. From what she had heard of Maddie, she sounded like the loveliest person on earth. Perhaps a little fragile, even. It was just Isabella's nerves predicting the cliche threat session. And Isabella could only blame herself for those nerves, really, because if she had manned up and confessed her feelings to Elliot then she wouldn't feel the need to discriminate every other girl that he had ever been with. Because she would know if he returned her feelings or not, thus erasing the doubt that he could still be in love with someone else.
Gosh, she really wanted to slap herself right now.
Maddie, on the other hand, approached Isabella with a sort of excitement. At first, she would admit to being a little jealous. But she granted her heart the right to be. After all, seeing the boy you love stare after someone else tended to pull at the heartstrings. And she had been close to hating Isabella, but she snapped herself out of it with as much force as she had fallen into the trap. She was judging the girl before she even got to know her just because Elliot liked her in the romantic way that he had never liked her in. So, being the bigger person and deciding it would be easier to move on from a boy when he was completely off limits, she questioned Elliot on his little 'crush' and soon discovered Isabella to be one of the most inspirational people she had ever met. She couldn't believe that she had judged her so quickly before.
God, she really wanted to slap herself right now.
"Hey, Isabella."
"Oh...hey. Maddie, right?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your blog!"
"Seriously? I...I mean...you...you've read it?"
"Of course! It's absolutely amazing. Honestly, it's changed my opinion on things so much."
"Really? That's so...cool. I never would have thought that it would get this big."
"I'm so glad it did though! After what you went through and to pull through in this way? You're an inspiration, honestly."
"...so are you."
"Me?"
"Yeah...I know walking around with a broken heart isn't easy."
"Tell me about it."
The girls laughed.
"Honestly though, to come through a breakup with a guy you love and still be able to look him in the eye...that's...that's pretty brave."
"Not as brave as looking death in the eye."
They paused for a moment, watching Vaughn beat Elliot in a game of ping-pong as his fiancee supported him from the sidelines.
"I don't mind it...you know."
"Mind what?"
"You and Elliot. You actually fit together quite well. You're a...you're a good match."
"Oh, I'm not...we're not..."
"I know, but you should be. He deserves someone like you. He...um...he deserves someone that loves him back."
