Cuddle Application

21 - Spooning in the Harry Potter Closet

"Nobody likes to be pelted with 2060 bloody tampons."
~Inga

➳♀♁➳

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap

tap

tap

tap

tap—

"Please stop."

Park's foot instantly stops moving. I shudder in the cold and cross my arms for warmth, a shield against the wind. A lone car drives past the station, it's lights briefly shining on Park's and I's two lone figures, five feet apart on the sidewalk. I sit, thighs pressed against the cool cement. He stands.

Oliver left an hour ago.

"Skylar," he'd pleaded again and again. "Please listen — I never meant to hurt you! I was going to tell you, I swear. I just didn't know how."

His mouth just wouldn't stop moving, the words pouring out like water from a broken hose. My memory dripped with his sentiments.

"Skylar—" he'd begged again, stumbling through the doors of the officer's room like my rejection had somehow weakened him. I'd pressed my face further into Park's chest to stop the noise.

"Sorry—"

When Oliver used my nickname, given so long ago at Fran's when we'd first met, my heart knocked against my ribs.

"Dude," Park finally said, his voice low and full of warning. "Just go."

"I can't," said Oliver. "I need her—"

"You will."

So Oliver left. A kind policeman had offered to drive him back to the cottage to get his car. I don't know the rest.

He's home now, I think. He won't come back.

And I can't tell if I want him to. I remember the things I said, but there's no energy left in my body to regret my statements — no spare fuel for anything except blinking and breathing. Not nearly enough energy to wait for Cora's release. Not nearly enough to face her parents.

None to face Park.

He's tried to talk to me several times since exiting the police station, but I don't have a drop to spare. I'm drenched in words, but they're not mine.

"Park's in love with you."

"This won't be my first night in jail."

"Why did you turn away? Would you turn away again?"

"Skylar Lane, you're going to be my greatest adventure yet."

"Josh is in jail, Sky. Get over it. He was a bum anyway."

"You don't know everything, Skylark. I know more about love than you'd think."

I remember Josh. How much I'd put up with throughout our entire relationship. The cheating. The abuse.

I think about Park. How our soft kisses had made my stomach flutter and my face turn warm. How I'd ignored his love for years, hoping it would go away. How it hadn't.

I think about Oliver. How our kiss hadn't been soft and gentle, but invasive and electrifying. How my stomach flipped when he entered a room. How mad he'd made me when we'd first met. How much he made me laugh.

Three guys, so different you could put them in a room together and they'd each claim their own corner.

"Does anyone else feel like joining Skylar's Broken Heart Club?" I bitterly mumble under my breath.