You Belong With Me

Chapter 48 // Losing Him

Hi, everyone! Sorry it's been so long. Only 3 months 😅. Planning for post secondary, graduation, and studying for exams have kept me very busy lately, but I will always come back to complete what I've started, so don't think that I've ever abandoned my work! I truly love writing and no matter how busy I get, it will always be something on my mind. As always, I hope you enjoy and continue to be patient with me ❤️
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I rubbed at my swollen, tired eyes as I sat up in my bed, unable to sleep any longer.

The thoughts of last night flooded back into my head once again - the Knights winning, Madison flirting with another guy, Logan snapping at me. After that I caught a ride home with my dad, crying as soon as I got to my room.

The more I thought about it, the more I wished I would have gone after him again. Maybe then I could have cleared up his assumptions and we could've moved on, finally able to comfort him.

It could have been so simple.

I turned towards my opened window as if anything had changed, meeting that same closed curtain that separated me from the boy that plagued my mind.

Going after him again after that might have fixed things. But ultimately, if I never went after him in the first place, there would be nothing to fix. But instead I pushed him to snap.

And now I lost my best friend all over again.

I wiped the tear that had just escaped my eye, quickly standing up to get ready for school in an attempt to distract myself.

"Hey, kiddo! You're up earlier than usual," my dad commented, gathering his things as I walked down the stairs, already hearing Avery in the next room watching TV.

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep any longer," I explained with a small laugh, opening the fridge door but not really focusing on anything I saw within it.

"Yup, and the worst part is, it just gets worse as you get older...hang in there, Harp. I'm off to work, see you later!" he called, his voice reaching upstairs to Mom who called back a loud 'bye', now rushing down the stairs to get to work herself.

"Bye, Dad."

"Okay, I'm off too, have a good day at school, girls," my mom started, grabbing her car keys before turning to me. "You. You're telling me what happened last night once I get back from work. Don't think I don't know something's off. Bye."

The garage door shut once more as my gaze drifted down, stopping momentarily.
I had always been pretty open with my parents, but at the mention of telling my mom I had lost yet another person so close to me, created a magnitude of embarrassment that welled up inside of me, increasing my slight nausea.

"Harper, can you tie up my hair for me?" Avery suddenly asked, running into the kitchen with a ponytail holder already in hand.

I let out a sigh, coming to terms with the fact that I wouldn't be able to eat breakfast after all, before grabbing Avery's hair tie and brushing her hair back.

—-

"Hey, have you seen Logan at all today?" I asked Alex who was sitting across from me, her eyes lazily glazing over the pages of her book.

He wasn't on the bus this morning, which was to be expected, but I would have thought that I would've at least seen him somewhere around the school.

She took a minute to think, looking around the cafeteria before finally meeting my gaze.

"No, actually. Were you looking for him?"

"Well, not exactly. I was just wondering if he came to school today or not," I explained, not particularly wanting to see him - afraid of the events from last night that would inevitably come along with it - but missing him nonetheless. I was so painfully aware of his absence.

His words and the sight of his retreating figure replayed in my head like clockwork just to taunt me of the mistake I had made.

"I heard that he was dumped last night after the football game," Alex suddenly said, shrugging. "Maybe that's why he's not here."

"Yeah..." I began absentmindedly, before her words sunk in. "Wait, where did you hear that?!"

"You didn't know? It seems like everyone's talking about it, it's hard not to overhear."

Her attention was turned back towards her book, but my eyes scanned the cafeteria, completely unaware of the gossip carrying around the school.

What did this mean for Logan? Was he okay? Was he aware that everybody knows - and so soon too?

I could only hope that he was somehow okay and not still putting himself down for having hope in Madison.

"I - I have to go...I'll see you tomorrow?" I questioned, quickly packing my things before standing up from my spot at our table.

Her gaze settled back on me as her eyes furrowed.

"The bell hasn't rung yet..." she stated, confused by my abrupt actions.

"Well, I know, but..." I began, trying to think of some sort of excuse, before eventually giving up. "I want to see if I can try finding Logan. I just want to make sure he's alright."

The truth is, even if I do manage to find him, I don't plan on approaching him at all, instead just watching from afar until I see that he's okay.

I don't want to push him any further than I did yesterday and risk making this all worse like I've done in the past with Madison. At least this time I'll get the falling out right.

"Hey Harper," Alex said, catching my attention with a slight nod of her head. "Are you good?"

I felt my body stiffen at her simple question, unsure of how truthful to be in where we're at relationship wise.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at my lack of response, unmoving as she waited.

I sighed, searching the ground for a few seconds before finally meeting her eyes once again.

"Just keep being my friend...please," I replied quietly, desperate to depend on someone other than blood.

Her eyes softened at my words, dropping her upright book flat onto the table.

"I will."