WRONG NUMBER // C.L ( #wattys2019 ) EDITING

38

CARSON'S POV
3 weeks.

21 days.

504 hours.

30,240 minutes.

That's how long it had been.

I hadn't seen, talked to, texted, or heard about Brooke for 3 weeks.

It sucked...at first, but, as much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to get used to it. I deleted her number from my contacts, although that wasn't enough to erase her from my memory. I wish it had been.

She broke me.

Brooke broke me in a way I never thought a girl could break me before, which just showed how in love with her I truly was. I honestly thought she could have been the one for me.

"Carson?" A familiar, raspy voice sounded from my bedroom door, a couple knocks following.

"Can I come in?"

I mumbled out a "sure" and, before I knew it, Hayden was sitting on the beanbag that sat on my floor, across from my bed.

"How are you?" He asked. I looked up, my eyes meeting his, then sighed, flopping my face back onto my pillow.

This had become routine. Hayden would come over every morning to make sure I was okay, then Greg would come around noon, with lunch, and eat it with me. Matt would FaceTime me at around 4 o' clock, and we'd chat for about an hour or so, before Rush would come over to make dinner with me.

Yeah, Rush. We made up. Kinda. He was a big help during the whole breakup, so I decided to let him stick around. Plus, he wasn't a bad cook.

"Carson, can I be honest with you?" Hayden's voice shook me from my thoughts.

"Aren't you always."

"I think you should get out of this bed and do something." He said, stretching his feet out in front of him.

"Like what?" I wondered, uninterested. I turned my face so that I now faced him.

"Like, take a shower, because, honestly, you stink and I don't even wanna know when the last time you showered was." He crinkled his nose in disgust, shaking his head.

"Fuck you."

"Or maybe go out? You love going out!"

"You want me to go out after I just broke up with my girlfriend?" I asked incredulously, raising my eyebrows in question.

"Okay, you didn't just break up. It's been a month and- "

"Three weeks," I corrected him.

"Whatever, it's been long enough," he reached behind him to pull his phone out of his pocket and, extending it towards me, added, "And she seems to be doing just fine."

Displayed on his screen was Brooke's instagram account, the most recent post being a picture of her and some guy from two days ago. The caption consisted of a heart emoji.

I was in shock.

How could she have moved on so fast when I was so distraught it felt like my world had fallen apart?

"Carson, I- "

I snatched the phone from his hands, which shut him up. I pressed the comment bubble, typing something up that would surely-

"Stop," Hayden took his phone back.

"Remember you're on my account."

I groaned, slamming my head back down on my bed.

"Do you want to go grab some breakfast?" He asked me at the same time that my stomach growled.

"I lost my apetite after seeing my girlfriend cozying up to another guy,"

"Ex-girlfriend," Hayden felt inclined to add, which, in turn, made me feel inclined to slap him upside the head.

"Ouch. Anyway, you shouldn't let her get to you this way, Carson. You should go out and show her what she's missing!"

"She's not missing much," I sat up, shrugging. I threw the covers off me, scratching the back of my head. I furrowed my eyebrows and continued scratching. My scalp was really itchy for some reason, and I didn't like it at all.

"Ew, bro, seriously when was the last time you washed your hair?"

"I don't know," I squinted my eyes at him, trying to recall the last time I was in the shower.

"Maybe...one, two weeks ago?"

"You're kidding," he looked at me in absolute horror, rising up from the beanbag and holding my shoulders, his eyes looking right into mine.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Wish I was, bro." I looked down at what I was wearing and realized I only had boxers on, so I grabbed a clean shirt, pants, and new boxers, making my way to the bathroom. And, because I just had to, I called back,

"That rhymed!"

"You're lame!" Hayden called back, but I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and quickly turned the knob, making water come out of the shower head. I set it at the perfect temperature for me- not too hot, not too cold- and then looked at myself in the mirror.

How had I let it come to this?

The bags under my eyes were more prominent than ever and I was having a hard time recognizing the person looking back at me.

Was that really me?

I stepped out of my boxers and kicked them off to the side. I got in the shower, the water relaxing my tense shoulders and aching bones.I physically ached.

Damn, this breakup had hit me hard.

I had never felt so weak in my life.

"Hey, Cars?" Hayden's voice broke me from my thoughts yet again. I was so grateful for that bro, he had no idea.

"Yeah?" I yelled out over the noise of the running water.

"I'm gonna grab us some breakfast. Do you want anything specific?"

"Uh..McDonald's?"

"Alright, I'll be back!" He assured me and I listened as his footsteps diminished in volume, signaling that he had walked away.

I threw my head back, letting the water wash over me and get rid of any traces I had left of her.

A/N
one more chapter until the end but don't worry there's an epilogue ;)