I Hope You Like the Stars I Stole for You

Pruitt’s POV

Sure, we were broken up, but that didn’t mean the ties between us were broken. Vic was missing, and it was all my fault. He had probably gone and done something stupid, and if he’s hurt its all on me. I had already put him in the hospital once today, wasn’t that enough ? And I knew he had problems and took meds, goddamnit I knew that. Even more reason to worry.

Jack, Alex, and I scrambled around the house, throwing on sweatshirts and tennis shoes, gathering flashlights and handing them out. Soon we were all figuring out a game plan in the front yard, shivering from the cold. They tried to ask what had happened, but I was crying so hard that I couldn’t answer. Jack pulled me against him, trying to comfort me and keep warm at once. We decided to split up and search the neighborhood, and the teams went like this- me, Alex, and Mike, then Jaime, Tony, and Jack. Mike lead the way for our group, heading in the direction of the party we had went to that night, which was also the direction that me and Vic had gotten lost in that first day we’d spent together.

It was freezing cold, I was still crying, and I was losing track of time. Alex had ended up having to tell Mike the whole story, much to my dismay. Mike turned to me and said “Pruitt. This isn’t your fault, okay ?” I nodded, but I didn’t really believe that, and I don’t think he did either.

We wandered for hours in the dark, calling Vic’s name, shining our lights in every dark place. We managed to get two towns over by the time three in the morning hit, and still no sign of him. Mike was starting to panic big time, “He’s never done anything like this before, especially not since…the incident a couple of years ago. I don’t know where he would go….why doesn’t he just answer our phone calls so we know he’s safe ? Oh God…” Mike started kicking at a nearby tree, “He’s my brother. We have to find him !” A few tears rolled down his cheek, and it physically pained me to see Mike like this.

We forged on, the night getting colder and darker, even though it was nearing the wee hours of the morning now. I was numb all over and the wind had frozen my tears. “Let’s go look in the other direction,” Alex suggested, and Mike agreed, too tired to protest. We headed back the way we came, as quickly as possible. We walked past the Fuentes house and turned onto my street, walking past my house as well. Mike hadn’t told his parents that Vic was missing; he had been with Jaime and Tony already, so he had told them they were going to meet up with Vic and spend the night somewhere. They went to my house to find me first, and then when I wasn’t there, they figured we were gone together. After all, we had originally started the day together, and we were inseparable. Their last stop was the Gaskarth house to find out where I was, and in turn, where Vic was. So they were obviously surprised when I answered the door with Jack and Alex. That was when they knew something was wrong. The story was spilled, and now here we are.

Started from the bottom, now we here.

We were just passing the high school when Mike’s phone rang, He picked it up at the speed of light. Alex and I stopped dead, straining to hear; maybe it was Vic.

Mike closed the phone and took off running- they found him.

Vic’s POV

Pruitt sat in front of me, pleading with me. The doctor had finally let her see me, and now all she was doing was raving about Alex. It was obvious that she cared about him and awful lot, and admittedly, I was jealous. I didn’t want to share her with anyone else, she was mine first. And only mine.
I grew angrier by the minute, I couldn’t help it. Why did she care so much about him ? Goddamn, if I hadn’t walked out on her that one night they never would have met… How I wished they’d never met…. Suddenly, my own voice burst forth “I wish I’d never met you sometimes, Pruitt.”

I was shocked that I had actually said that. I had thought it, but only for a miniscule second. Of course I didn’t mean that, Pruitt was truly my whole world, and I loved her more than anything else I’ve ever known. Nothing mattered but her. But now, I watched the immense pain in her eyes as she registered what I’d just said.

The pain was nothing compared to what I felt when she looked at me with a cold stare and teary eyes and said “It’s over Vic.”

My whole world crumbled, those were words I’d never thought I’d hear, words that I hoped desperately to NEVER hear. All I could do was stare blankly, I couldn’t even call after her, much less get up and run after her. This is it, this is really it. The end of everything good. My life had been in a slow downward spiral lately, and this took the cake. This was officially the worst day of my entire life, including the night I had almost died.

I had no doubt who she would be with right now, either- Alex. I had let her slip right through my fingers and into his arms, my pushing him away, I had pushed her away too….right to him.
They had some sort of bond that I couldn’t understand, but instead of accepting it, I had let it come between us instead. Now the love of my life just walked out the door, and I had no idea how the Hell I was going to survive.

I couldn’t just beg for her back, I saw in her eyes how badly I had just hurt her, and she wouldn’t forgive me easily. She had done that too many times, when I had let her down. This was one too many times for her, and now it was too late.

Too late, too bad, too little, too late.