Sɪᴄᴋ⁻⁻Jsᴄʜʟᴀᴛᴛ//Fᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 14

"I love sunsets." I rest my head on Ted's shoulder as we sit on the sand, gazing out into the horizon of a beautiful beach. "These coastal sunsets are beautiful."

"They are." Ted agrees. He turns his head to the side and his breath shudders. 

"Are you cold?" I begin to slip off my jacket when he turns around and shakes his head, eyes closed. His face is contorted in a sad and gut-wrenched ray; like a 5-year-old who asked to take a picture with their favorite superhero and they said no. "Are you okay?"

"Shae and I...we broke up a couple of months ago." He admits. 

"How many months were a couple of months ago?" I question. I grab his hand and hold it in both of mine, massaging my thumb on the top in circles. 

"January." He sighs. "You didn't see Twitter? Everyone was talking about it."

"Ted that's..." I do the math in my head. "That was 8 months ago. I've never downloaded Twitter I'm-" I realize that while my best friend was going through the toughest breakup in his life, I didn't even know about it. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea-"

"Olive, it's fine." He smiles sadly. "It was 8 months ago."

"You should have told me." I pull him into a hug and feel his weight all over my body. "I'm sorry, Teddy. I know how much Shae meant to you."

Ted pulls away and continues to stare into the sunset. The sky becomes a canvas painted with hues of orange, pink, and purple. The waves lap against the shore and the sand glimmers in the light.  "I got emotional because Shae loves sunsets too."

I sling my arm around his shoulder and continue to hold his hand. "Healing takes time. It's okay to get emotional."

"I know it is." He chuckles. "I think I'm over it but sometimes I'll see her online or I'll see someone that looks like her and I realize that I'm not over it."

I nod in agreement, knowing the feeling all too well. "Tell me about it," I mumble. "I'm here for you always."

"Thanks, Olive." 

We spend the next couple of minutes watching as the sun dips into the horizon and for the sky to change into a dark purple and navy as the night comes. In the distance, we see Jack, Ludwig, and Schlatt who decided to go on a walk before approaching us. 

"Did you guys just sit here the entire time?" Ludwig asks. 

"Yeah, they just sit on their ass all day." Schlatt comments. "Especially Olive. Always just sitting."

I make the equivalent facial expression of a question mark. "What are you, my little brother? That was the lamest roast ever."

Schlatt opens and closes his hand to mimic me talking. 

"We should probably get going back to the cottage." Jack nods his head. "I heard the mosquitoes here are the size of your face."

...

"What's going on with you and Ted?" Schlatt asked as we trailed behind the rest of the group. 

"What do you mean?" I ask. 

"You two were all cuddled up by the shore, gazing off into the sunset." He continues. 

"Ted and I have known each other for like, a decade. He's my best friend." I respond nonchalantly. "He told me he and Shaelyn broke up and I had no clue." The guilt attacked my throat so I cleared it. I should've known something was going on when he rejected my proposal to fly him out for New Year's. "I didn't know about it. I'm not super active on social media. I feel horrible for not being there for him."