Heartbreak Hypothesis

t h i r t y

Time seemed to go by in a blur.

Mom was discharged since she was mostly okay. However, she still had to see a psychiatrist and work out a rehabilitation plan. I'd spent the past few days helping her get back on her feet. we even cleaned out the house. I, for one, couldn't believe the mess that our old house was. almost as messy as my situation with Daniel.

Cleaning up with Mom had done a less than decent job distracting me from the mess I was currently in with Daniel. And I tried to avoid the mess as much as possible.

According to Ali and Manu, he probably didn't want to talk because he had to process everything. Plus, I had to do some thinking too.

And with everything that had happened, I wasn't so sure Daniel and I were meant to be. He'd never take me back after all I'd put him through.

"Noah?" I blinked twice, meeting Manu and Ali's concerned stares. In the background, the blonde lecturer was pointing to an image on the projector screen. Ali pouted and spoke again. "Are you okay? You've been out of it for moments now."

Manu butted in, "Scratch that. You've been out of it for almost a week now." she lowered her eyebrows and exhaled. "You still haven't spoken to Daniel, have you?"

I cleared my throat and sat up, picking up my pen and feigning focus. "This has nothing to do with Daniel. It's just been stressful helping Mom out."

While Manu rolled her eyes in disbelief, Ali leaned in closer. "How is she, by the way?" She asked.

I shrugged, shaking off the thoughts of Daniel that were beginning to form. I had to come to terms with it. 

Whatever we had... it was over now.

"She's doing okay. We cleared the house out and we've been spending more time together. She's getting much better even."

While Ali smiled at my response, Manu frowned, asking, "And you? How are  you holding up?"

I didn't have the answer to that question.

I was happy that everything was falling into place. My mom and I were finally in a good place, school was going swell, and I had two amazing friends who were currently concerned about my well-being. So far, I'd managed to dodge all Daniel-related things.

Carol and Cherry barely spoke to me in the room. it was awkward, but it was much better than having to talk about everything that had happened. I did notice that they weren't as close to Chanelle as before though. And I stayed away from all basketball matches and team practice sessions. God forbid I bump into Tae or Asher. They probably hated me too--

"That's all for today then." The lecturer said to the class, smiling. "We'll continue with the next chapter on Friday." Almost instantly, students got off their seats and started making their way out of class.

I sighed. "I'm holding up fine," I said, packing up my books and getting up. Ali and Manu followed suit, eyebrows raised. "Daniel and I weren't meant to happen. So, it's going to be easy to walk away from all this." Seeing their concerned faces, I backed up my statement. "I promise, guys. I'm fine."

And I was fine. If I kept telling myself that Daniel was a mistake I shouldn't have made, it'd be much easier to forget everything--I hoped.

But just as soon as I'd built up my resolve, it came crashing down when I spotted Asher making his way into class and scanning his surroundings with a stiff look.

My eyes went round, my heart pounding away like it was overheating. Ali and Manu seemed to notice my change in demeanour because they followed my gaze and spotted Asher just as quickly as I did.