The Heart Of Solitude ✔

Chapter 26

Leighton's POV

Last night was the first night that I had fallen asleep at ease. There were no voices in my head, whispering to keep me awake. There was no dreams with Nova, no nothing. The moment my head hit the pillow I fell fast asleep.

Waking up this morning I felt refreshed, and alive. More alive than I had been feeling in awhile. The only thing that was dreadful about the friday morning was school. I had to return to school.

Yesterday at the diner seeing Bexley and Harlow sitting that close together made my mind race with many different thoughts. And I know I had no right, but it had only been couple of days since I had broken up with Bexley officially.

I didn't think she could move on that fast, especially with Harlow, someone I considered my close friend.

After pondering in this morning when I had woken up, I was sure I was overreacting in someway. They were just friends. Nothing more.

Now fast forwarding a couple of hours, I was sitting in my last class of the day, Biology.

My teacher, Mrs. Fran, was going over the rubric for a project that we were required to do for the upcoming end of the semester.

It wasn't until I heard my name being called from the front of the room, that I had realized I was dazed out, staring down at the blank tan desk.

" Leighton" Mrs. Fran called again. I looked up from my desk. My cheeks flushed as I looked up to see nearly everyone in the class eyes on me.

I straightened my back, sitting up straight against the back of my chair. " Yes." I said quickly, trying to recover.

" Are you okay with that?" I looked around nervously. " With what?" I questioned timidly. She sighed shaking her head while a couple of kids in the class chuckled to themselves. " Are you okay with Kian being your partner for the project?"

I looked across the room where Zion was sitting, his eyes on me. " Uh yeah, fine." I said looking back to her.

She nodded. " Good."

After addressing me, she began to address the rest of the class once more which I again ignored.

After the bell signaling the end of the day, everyone rushed out of their seat eagerly to get home. As I walked out of the door, I felt a large hand wrap softly around my upper arm pulling me back. I turned back to see Zion's big brown eyes looking down at me.

" Is your place okay?" I raised an eyebrow. " For what?" He smiled his big white smile. " For working on the project? You know the one we were just assigned?"

I sighed. " Right, sorry. Yeah that's fine."

" Cool. You wanna walk together?"

I nodded. " Sure."

He dropped his hand from my arm as we walked out of the classroom, and towards the front doors of the school.

Pushing open the doors the parking lot of the school was quite empty besides the few stranglers of athletes that stayed for practiced after school.

We walked off of the campus, and onto the sidewalk.

We walked silently for the first couple of minutes until I decided to break the silence. " I thought you were doing football?"

" I was but I showed up late to too many practices. They kicked me off."

" Why were you late?" He looked at me. " I like to smoke before practice and games. It eases me."

I shook my head, while he chuckled at my disapproval.

We continued on for a couple of blocks in complete silence.

It wasn't an awkward silence. It never was with Zion. It was always relaxing, and easy.

He would never force you into small talk if you didn't want to talk. He respected his boundaries. That's what I loved about him.

" I seen you at Beaties yesterday." He said. I nodded. " I know. I remember the intense staring contest we had." He chuckled.

" What you seen wasn't what you think it was." I looked over to him. " I don't care what it was. I have no right to be upset. If they want to date, then all power to them."

" I would understand if you were upset. You guys just broke up, and Harlow and you were the closes out of the group."

" Are you trying to tell me I have something to be upset about?" I teased.

He shook his head. " N-no, I-i just, I don't know if I'm being honest. They've been a lot more buddy buddy since your breakaway from the group, and there have been some instances I would catch them almost flirting but I'm not going to make any assumption."

My heart sank a tad bit. " I'm sure it's nothing." He said reassuringly. I gulped down the lump in my throat. " Yeah, nothing."

We finally arrived at my house.

Walking through the front door and into the empty house, we closed the door behind us and made our way up the stairs to my room.

Zion looked around my room as I sat down my backpack on the ground, and closed my bedroom door.

" Wow. The last time I was here this place was covered in photos." He said remembering the wall of pictures that used to take up my room.

Nova stood up on the ladder as I handed her each picture one by one, while she taped them up to my wall.

" Are you sure you want this entire wall covered in pictures?" I nodded. " yes." I answered for what felt like the millionth time.

She groaned as she took another photo from my hand. She looked down at the photo examining it.

It was a picture of my boyfriend Zion, and I.

" You guys are so cute." She smiled.

I returned the smile. " Thank you."

I took another picture of us in my hand and examined it while she hung up the other. " Do you believe in people meeting their soulmates young?" Nova looked down at me. " I mean it depends really." She shrugged. " Why?"

" I don't know. I just think that he's mine. I really am convinced that he my person."

Nova stepped down off of the ladder, wiping her hands on her jeans.

" I'm not going to give you false hope, but I'm not going to tell you there's no way you could find your soulmate at your age. All i have to say is keep your options open. You're young, there's not reason to be so committed young. Give yourself a chance to live a little before you commit."

" Yeah, there all in that folder over there." I said pointing to a blue folder.

He looked over to the bulging folder, then back at the wall. He walked closer to the wall, looking at the left over pictures.

" You kept up our pictures?" He said pointing to one of ours. I looked to where he was pointing.

" Yeah." I answered.

" Why?"

I shrugged. " I don't know. There was a point in time where we made good memories together, and I wanted to keep them up as a memory of the good days."

If I was being honest, I just lied. I wasn't sure why I didn't take them down. For some reason when I got to them, along with the pictures of Nova and Dallas, I couldn't take them down.

There's was just something about them that made me want to keep them up.

Whether it was he memories, or it was the happiness that I glowed with, I wasn't sure.

XOXO ParisBesties