The Tragic Truth
Discussion
Drake walked into the room, crawling onto my bed next to me. I turned my face, burying into Hubert again. I didn’t want him to see me like this. He had already seen me like that too many times to count.
“Why are you here?” I asked weakly, sniffing and talking into Hubert.
“I thought I’d surprise you...make sure you were okay...and obviously you’re not.” He put his hand under my chin and turned my head towards him. I sniffed again.
“Oh, thanks. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to keep hearing people say I look like crap,” I said sarcastically, wiping more tears from my eyes and attempting to wipe off my makeup.
“I mean it, babe. I don’t like to see you like this. I hate seeing you get hurt.” I lowered my eyes so he couldn’t look into them.
“Why do you keep calling me babe...baby girl...?” I muttered. He turned my head again. I had no choice but to look into his aqua-colored eyes. They weren’t blue, but they weren’t green, either.
“Because that’s how I think of you. You’re my baby girl, even if you don’t want to be. I hate seeing you hurt like this...especially because I know the bastard that did this to you. What a coward...” I could tell he momentarily went into a lapse of thought.
The truth was, like I had said before, there was always a little part of me that would love Drake. But I didn’t know how dominant that part of me was ever going to be. I was asking him why he was calling me baby girl, but it didn’t faze me. In fact, I sort of liked it. It was something that felt familiar, something that felt like home.
Drake seemed to be zoning out by staring into my eyes. I didn’t know whether he’d be able to hear me if I said anything. I stared back, realizing that my eyes were probably red and puffy. After a couple seconds, I looked down and noticed that he had placed his hands on my shoulders in a loving sort of way. I placed my left hand on top of his right, staring back up at him. I smiled.
“I missed you.” I whispered. I leaned forward and gave him a big hug. He hugged me back. That was one of the best hugs I had ever had, and I’m not going to forget it.
“I’ve missed you, too,” he responded.
“So what is this?” he asked. I tilted my head.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Well, you just broke up with Kae, and now you’re saying you missed me. What’s up? I thought you said we were just friends.”
“I-” I hesitated. What was it? I mean, I did miss him. A lot. But I thought it was just more of a friend thing. Then, there was that other part of me that longed for what we had before. I was so confused, with a hell of a lot of emotions running around in my head and heart, and I felt like I was about to explode.
“I...” I tried starting again, but words failed me. Drake interrupted.
“Not that I mind you hugging me. It’s just that I’m confused about how you feel.” I looked into his eyes again, contemplating what I should say. Everything felt so intangible, like any second now I would wake up and just realize that I had finally progressed further in the dream. When I failed to say something again, Drake started talking.
“Skye, you want to know something? I’ve dated a couple girls since we broke up. But just a few. And I haven’t been the one to ask any of them out. They’ve always asked me. I just wasn’t ready for someone else, and maybe a couple times I thought I was. But I’ve never felt the same way about any of them than I have with you. I still love you, Skye. You need to know that. I still love you.”
‘I love you too’ was sort of an automated response, but it didn’t come out. I wanted to start crying again. I could feel my throat start to feel funny, and my eyes started tearing up again. Don’t cry again, I thought, you don’t need to cry again. Just stop it. My self-help wasn’t working much. I was almost to breaking point again, and I didn’t want to cry. My attempts weren’t working so well. I put my head into my hands and started silently shedding tears again.
“Babe, come here.” I leaned into him again, resting my head on his shoulders. He wrapped one arm around my back and lifted the other one to my head and started stroking my hair. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding him tight and never wanting to let go. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I reluctantly let go of our embrace and checked to see who it was. The caller ID said ‘Zoe’. I sniffed, and tried to make my voice sound like I hadn’t been crying for almost 30 minutes straight.
“Hello?”
“Hello.” She sounded scared, or possibly panicked.
“Zoe, are you okay?” I asked.
“Skye...it’s...can I come over?”
“Zoe, what’s wrong? I can tell something is up.”
“Skye, I’m pregnant.”
“Why are you here?” I asked weakly, sniffing and talking into Hubert.
“I thought I’d surprise you...make sure you were okay...and obviously you’re not.” He put his hand under my chin and turned my head towards him. I sniffed again.
“Oh, thanks. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to keep hearing people say I look like crap,” I said sarcastically, wiping more tears from my eyes and attempting to wipe off my makeup.
“I mean it, babe. I don’t like to see you like this. I hate seeing you get hurt.” I lowered my eyes so he couldn’t look into them.
“Why do you keep calling me babe...baby girl...?” I muttered. He turned my head again. I had no choice but to look into his aqua-colored eyes. They weren’t blue, but they weren’t green, either.
“Because that’s how I think of you. You’re my baby girl, even if you don’t want to be. I hate seeing you hurt like this...especially because I know the bastard that did this to you. What a coward...” I could tell he momentarily went into a lapse of thought.
The truth was, like I had said before, there was always a little part of me that would love Drake. But I didn’t know how dominant that part of me was ever going to be. I was asking him why he was calling me baby girl, but it didn’t faze me. In fact, I sort of liked it. It was something that felt familiar, something that felt like home.
Drake seemed to be zoning out by staring into my eyes. I didn’t know whether he’d be able to hear me if I said anything. I stared back, realizing that my eyes were probably red and puffy. After a couple seconds, I looked down and noticed that he had placed his hands on my shoulders in a loving sort of way. I placed my left hand on top of his right, staring back up at him. I smiled.
“I missed you.” I whispered. I leaned forward and gave him a big hug. He hugged me back. That was one of the best hugs I had ever had, and I’m not going to forget it.
“I’ve missed you, too,” he responded.
“So what is this?” he asked. I tilted my head.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Well, you just broke up with Kae, and now you’re saying you missed me. What’s up? I thought you said we were just friends.”
“I-” I hesitated. What was it? I mean, I did miss him. A lot. But I thought it was just more of a friend thing. Then, there was that other part of me that longed for what we had before. I was so confused, with a hell of a lot of emotions running around in my head and heart, and I felt like I was about to explode.
“I...” I tried starting again, but words failed me. Drake interrupted.
“Not that I mind you hugging me. It’s just that I’m confused about how you feel.” I looked into his eyes again, contemplating what I should say. Everything felt so intangible, like any second now I would wake up and just realize that I had finally progressed further in the dream. When I failed to say something again, Drake started talking.
“Skye, you want to know something? I’ve dated a couple girls since we broke up. But just a few. And I haven’t been the one to ask any of them out. They’ve always asked me. I just wasn’t ready for someone else, and maybe a couple times I thought I was. But I’ve never felt the same way about any of them than I have with you. I still love you, Skye. You need to know that. I still love you.”
‘I love you too’ was sort of an automated response, but it didn’t come out. I wanted to start crying again. I could feel my throat start to feel funny, and my eyes started tearing up again. Don’t cry again, I thought, you don’t need to cry again. Just stop it. My self-help wasn’t working much. I was almost to breaking point again, and I didn’t want to cry. My attempts weren’t working so well. I put my head into my hands and started silently shedding tears again.
“Babe, come here.” I leaned into him again, resting my head on his shoulders. He wrapped one arm around my back and lifted the other one to my head and started stroking my hair. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding him tight and never wanting to let go. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I reluctantly let go of our embrace and checked to see who it was. The caller ID said ‘Zoe’. I sniffed, and tried to make my voice sound like I hadn’t been crying for almost 30 minutes straight.
“Hello?”
“Hello.” She sounded scared, or possibly panicked.
“Zoe, are you okay?” I asked.
“Skye...it’s...can I come over?”
“Zoe, what’s wrong? I can tell something is up.”
“Skye, I’m pregnant.”