In Case of Heartbreak

03 | shatter

C H A P T E R 3 | K A T I E

It was just past eight in the morning when my alarm sprung to life, effectively waking me up.

Daylight broke into my room through a crack in the thin curtains as I rolled over and silenced the constant beeping. Letting my head fall back against the pillows, I simply relaxed into the peaceful lull of my surroundings. I could hear the vague sound of birds chirping outside my window, and for a moment, I let my thoughts drift to the previous night.

Soon after Dean had left, the three of us – Holden, Stella and I – had made our way to the car. The two of them had slipped into the back seat while I was behind the wheel, and even as I nudged the volume of the radio up, I could still pick up on their hushed conversation.

Thankfully though, they'd not resorted to PDA in the back seat.

I had to hand it to Dean, because while his matchmaking skills had more than likely been a complete fluke, Stella and Holden had genuinely seemed to hit it off.

Dean.

He'd been an enigma that I couldn't quite work out. He was undeniably attractive, with his dirty blond locks and winning smile, but that had only made my nerves accelerate when Stella had left me alone with him. It was more his easy-going personality, and the way that he just went with the flow of things that got me to loosen up. He shared tiny bits of himself with me, prompting me to do the same, and as the night progressed, everything just felt simple.

It was strange. I wasn't normally that open with people, especially someone I'd just met, but there were moments when I was listening to him talk that the thought of kissing him had crossed my mind. They were fleeting feelings – the kind that floated happily around your head as a means to make you smile. They were only a blossom of what could be, and only time would tell if the feelings would bloom or fall from the stem.

Stretching my arms above my head, I bit my lip as I'd realized I'd fallen asleep in Dean's sweatshirt. He'd insisted that I keep it, and while it was a smooth attempt at getting to see me again, I'd been too tired when I'd climbed up to my bedroom the night before to shrug out of the comfort that it offered.

Getting up for the day, I knew I had almost an hour of spare time before I had to catch the bus to work. I took my time in the shower, letting the refreshing downpour wake me up before pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt from my wardrobe.

Making my way downstairs, the lights were still off, and the only hints at life were the soft snores that both Stella and Holden were making, as they laid asleep on the pull out couch. Thankfully, even with the blankets covering them, I could see that their clothes were still on, which made the situation considerably less awkward on my end.

And while Holden was someone that I truly didn't know, I'd let Stella bring friends over plenty of times before, so this occurrence wasn't far out of the ordinary.

Pouring myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, my stomach grumbled in anticipation. I spent the next half an hour feeling as though time was passing dreadfully slow, and while I scrolled through all the apps on my phone and finished my food, I had yet to hear anything from the pair currently occupying the living room.

As I finished rinsing off the dishes that I'd had piled in the sink the night before, I glanced at the clock, and knew that I had to wake them soon if I wanted them up before I left for work.

Flicking the lights on in the living room, I'd hoped that the action alone would be enough to wake them, but when they barely moved a muscle, I sighed, walking over to the couch. Leaning over, I nudged Stella's shoulder a few times with my hand, pulling back as I noticed her squirming awake.