Chapter thirty-two | Broken Threads

Chapter thirty-two | Broken Threads

"I love you."

The small whisper echoed in my mind, again and again, making my breath hitch.

I shook my head, discarding the stupid thought out of my mind. It was just imagination, a play of my yearning mind.

It was just a dream.

I mean, what else could it be? Eli had no feeling for me beyond platonic, and I was sure of it.

He loved his mystery girl, whom I was yet to encounter.

The thought brought a painful clench in my heart as tears pricked my eyes.

Love sucks. No, correct that, unrequited love sucks.

So, I waved off my delusion, even if my heart ached for me to cling onto that slip of hope.

Pushing up my bed, I rushed to get ready.

It had been two days since Eli showed up at my place unannounced in the middle of the night. It was totally out of character for him.

The fact that he was drunk off his face did nothing to ease my worry.

My stomach churned with guilt as my eyes strayed towards his window.

The curtains were closed as the light patter of rain drummed against the glass. Clouds at a distance, warning of an impending storm.

My limbs were tired as I moved down the stairs. I lacked the enthusiasm to go to school, making a somber mood drown me.

As my eyes fell on the family photograph, I resisted the immediate urge to rip it off the wall.

My sadness doubled as my eyes fell on my dad's smiling face.

It had been a week since I talked to him. Right after he left, he had gotten busy with his work. In moments like this, I hated the absence of any parental figure in my life.

While I yearned for some advice and support, getting it from my sister was out of the question. It had been days since I had seen her.

But the light giggles and smell of alcohol that lingered around her room were enough to let me know of her presence.

I shook my head and averted my eyes. My life was already a turmoil and overthinking about my sister's actions wasn't helping the case.

Skipping breakfast altogether, I made my way outside. I grabbed my car keys on the way and the umbrella just in case.

As I opened the door, the scent of rain slammed my senses. The sky matched the gloom budding in my heart, making me sigh.

Clicking my car open, I ran to the door. Thankfully, the light shower wasn't enough to drown me.

Just a few moments after I buckled in, the passenger's side of the door opened.

Eli settled in the warm car, slightly shaking the water drops off his jacket to reveal his gray and white t-shirt underneath.

I was quick to avert my eyes as my thoughts took an immoral turn.

"Good morning," he greeted with a smile, tilting his towards me.

I hummed in response, pulling out of the driveway.

Lighting lit up the inky sky now and then, but the rain had ceased its dance.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked as the school gates appeared in my vision.

"Yes. So much better than I did yesterday." He concentrated his eyes on his phone screen all the time.

I whispered a meek ok and pushed the car door open. Eyes moved our way, hungry for details.

I wanted to scoff at the attention but settled for a simple eye roll.

The ugly head of jealousy reared its head when many male appreciating eyes moved towards Eli, taking in his form. As Eli rose on the tiers of the school hierarchy, he was gaining more and more female (and some male) admirers.

With some possessiveness rolling off me, I tugged at Eli's elbow.

He didn't say a word, too absorbed in the little screen to care about the attention.

"What are you doing?" I asked once we walked into the hallway. My curiosity got the better of me when I tip-toed and tried to get a glimpse into his phone screen.

"Probably texting the chick that gave him her number at the party. Right, dude?" Aaron walked up behind Eli, startling me.

I almost lost my balance as I landed back on my feet.

"Nah, I threw away her number," Eli responded with a shrug, uncaring of my questioning gaze.

I gave Aaron a nod of acknowledgment before turning around on my steps.

While some part of me felt happy that he discarded the number, my rational mind was quick to remind me of the actual reason.

My eyes scanned the hallway, searching for this mystery girl Eli admired. At some point, I was sure that girl was a mere myth, but Eli's determination was enough to banish the thought.

Don't dream. My mind reminded me.

I was sure Eli was following me behind closely as I made my way towards my locker.

With movements swift, I turned the locks numbers. Taking out my books, I turned around just in time to notice Eli laughing at something Michael said.

There was something wrong about his laughter as ingenuity of his emotions shone through his eyes.

Once again, guilt attacked my mind.

The guilt for pushing Eli into something twisted. While there was nothing wrong with socializing, the constant facade Eli had to carry was tiring him out.

The jovial, simple going and awkward Eli was getting lost somewhere deep inside, and it was all my fault.

As if sensing my gaze, our eyes met, and he cracked a smile. While his face displayed joy, his eye conveyed a different message altogether.

With a sigh, I returned the action and beckoned him towards me. With a swift reply towards Michael and Aaron, Eli was quick to be on my side.

"Yeah?" he questioned, looking at me expectantly.

"Have you seen Navya or Connor?" I asked, motioning towards his locker, where the usual presences were missing.

His brows drew together as he craned his neck to look around for his friends.

"I don't know." He offered a shrug. "I didn't notice them anywhere."

I couldn't resist the urge to give him a long look as disappointment shone through my eyes.

He forgot about them.

He ignored my eyes and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

Our proximity made my heart beat faster as a flush threatened to break across my cheeks. A sudden content took over my mind as his scent filtered through my nose.

I wanted to snuggle deeper in his arms, but that was not possible. At least not here.

The time slipped in the blink of an eye. Soon, I found myself standing in the middle of the bustling lunch room. Voices filled my ears as my nose detected the scent of food.

"Cyn!" A voice exclaimed right near my ear, making me jump.

Fern gave me a guilty smile and hooked her arm around mine. With her steps eager, she tugged me deeper inside the room.

I expected her to drag me to the popular table, something she had been trying for quite some while now. But I was surprised when she stood near the table where Eli sat and nudged me lightly. "Can I sit with you guys?"

Her eyes were hopeful and bright as she waited for me to respond. Before I could say anything, Andrea placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, Fern! Right, Cyn?" Her voice was bubbly.

I lightly hummed in response and scrutinized Fern's expression. Her eyes lit up like we had rewarded her with a million dollars.

My eyes wavered to meet Eli's icy orbs as he stared at the scene with interest.

Meeting my eyes, he gave me an easy-going smile and averted his eyes.

Was Fern the girl? My mind questioned as I took a seat next to Eli.

Navya and Connor were already there, but they weren't talking to Eli.

I couldn't help but notice the glances they shared as another addition took a seat on our table.

The track team had already shifted to our table, with Michael engaging Eli in a conversation.

While Connor did well at hiding his unease, Navya's flickering eyes were an obvious giveaway.

Andrea noticed it too, making her lean closer to her potential girlfriend.

"Are you ok, Navya?" Her voice was shrill enough to cut through the noise on our table.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was on Navya, making her look down at her hands.

"I am fine. Just a bit tired after last night."

Andrea's mouth formed an o of understanding. "Yeah, it was fun last night. Connor can get crazy, right?"

Her giggle made a lazy smile slip on Connor's face.

"I am best at the games. Of course, I will be crazy amazing," he boasted, making laughter break out on the table.

Everyone except Eli laughed.

"What games? Did you guys have a game night yesterday?" he voiced his query, with a pinch of hurt clear in his voice.

"We told you, Eli," I voiced with a barely concealed sad tone. "You forgot about it. I texted you last night before leaving, but you said you were busy."

"Oh," Eli's voice trailed off, getting lost in the slight hum of conversations on our table.

Innocently unaware of the tension between the three friends, Andrea nodded in agreement.

"You rarely spend time with us now. If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you didn't want to spend time with us anymore."