The Broken Soundtrack

Track 17: Oceans Between Us

"He cares about you more than you ever know," Laken's words hit all the nerves in my body.

I bit my lip, fighting the urge to yell because I was embarrassed for myself. But I couldn't help it. "If he cares so much, then why did he lie to me? Why did he make me feel special when he's still in love with his ex-girlfriend?"

Laken stared at me, moving a step forward, but suddenly stopped when I started bawling. "I... don't know."

I didn't want anyone to see me like this, especially not in front of his bestfriend. It was humiliating enough that I allowed myself to be fooled by Asher.

"Jam!"

That's him. His voice sounded strange, but spending time with him for almost two months made it easy for me to distinguish it even from all the noise in the background.

"Jam!"

I refused to turn around and face him. I just let him call out to me from a distance. That way, I wouldn't be able to lose myself to the only guy who made me fall in love for the first time.

"Jam, dear! Are you sleeping?"

A few knocks later, my mind was back in the real world. The Script serenaded me in my room as I rubbed the sleep off of my eyes. Stretching my neck, I found my opened Chemistry book on my desk, few paragraphs highlighted in yellow marker. I couldn't believe I fell asleep while studying for our midterms next week.

When my phone buzzed, Aunt Claire's message popped up. "We're having dinner next door. Come down when you're awake."

Great! I just hope Grandma Olive and Grandpa Allan don't call their grandson again. Otherwise, I might just lose my mind.

Standing up, I reached for the remote on my bedside table, turning off the music player. After washing up and changing my clothes, I finally went downstairs and found Aunt Claire on her phone, sitting on the couch. When she noticed my presence, she finally looked up and smiled. "Ready to go?"

I nodded as I walked over to the shoe rack on the corner to grab my slippers. I was about to tuck my phone in my jeans pocket, when it buzzed again. This time, it was from Zander. "Can I look at your notes yesterday?"

Sighing, I put down my phone on the side table, ignoring Aunt Claire's confused look. Zander was the type of student who rarely took down notes in class, but also couldn't store all the information in his head, so he would end up asking me tons of questions about our lectures. I just knew he wouldn't let me have a peaceful study night again.

"You're not taking your phone, hija?"

I shook my head, marching my way out of the door.

#

"It's been a while since we had dinner together," Aunt Claire said as she took another bite of the salad.

"Yeah, I think the last time was when Ash was here."

My mouth stopped chewing the bits of chicken upon hearing Grandma Olive's comment. I knew coming here would only make me remember him more. If only the grandparents knew...

"Well, I have been doing afternoon shifts the past weeks and Jam here has been busy with her assignments," Aunt Claire explained, glancing at me. I just flashed her a small smile, munching on my fried chicken again.

"I see. You've all been busy then. Even Asher hasn't called us since my birthday," Grandpa Allan mentioned, the wrinkles on his forehead appearing.

I suddenly remembered that day Asher casually said he missed me. And that same day, he was back with his ex-girlfriend. Did he actually think I would be all right after that? Was he really that clueless? Or was I just assuming things when he was here?