Burst Finish My Heart: Free de la Hoya x OC | A Beyblade Fanfiction

Chapter 16: Heart

Free stared with blank eyes. "I see," Free replied. His voice sounded empty, hollow, and even devastated as he turned away, floating away like a little, brown leaf. The fallen leaf was brittle and crackly, and he seemed genuinely hurt.

Ferox glared, waiting for Free to return an insult that would make her blood churn.

That was when Free tilted his head toward her. His dark brown eyes were sunken and swollen, and liquid dripped from the corners of his eyes. He blinked and wiped his cheeks with his trembling hand, but the goddamn tears kept on coming.

Free was crying.

Ferox's eyes widened. She had not expected him to react like that when he had just claimed to not care about her. Still, the tears trailed down his face, and making him cry had been so simple and easy that Ferox did not know what to do now.

"Are you crying?" Ferox said dubiously. She could not believe that she had rendered Free to an emotional state and left him whimpering like a brokenhearted child. Ferox wondered if she was seeing things, and she was unsure whether or not to feel guilty since he had been nasty first.

Free shook his head, made sniffling noises, and shut his eyes before reopening them. "No, I'm not," Free said, choked up. "I'm not crying." Free swallowed deeply, and more tears welled up in his eyes. He said bitterly, "My parents abandoned me on the side of the road by this forest. When I was a baby, even my own parents didn't want me. Maybe you're right that I'm disgusting."

Oh fucking shit, Ferox thought, her eyes starting to water.

Free had dearly wronged her, but it slapped her in the face: how profoundly cruel her words must feel in the context of his shitty life. No wonder Ferox had noticed Free's haggard appearance from the moment they met. The golden-haired boy probably avoided social connection and suppressed his emotions at all costs because he feared that if he let anyone in, they would abandon him just like his parents.

Free lugged around an onerous burden, but now that she tripped him, Free had rapidly fallen apart and spilled his insides over her. Ferox felt like it was her responsibility to fix her mess because Free would leave tonight feeling unwanted and repulsive otherwise.

"My parents are gone, too. They died," Ferox said softly. She dipped her head and said, her brown eyes flowing with tears, "I'm sorry. I let my emotions get out of hand."

"Don't lie to me," Free said dully. "You hate me."

"Free..." Ferox said, trailing off. She did not know Free particularly well, so she was juggling a burning potato right now. She said, "I was frustrated, but I don't want to fight you anymore."

She reached out her hand and intertwined her fingers with his ones. They held each other's hands in the dark and felt overwhelmingly helpless and wounded. There was a sense of mutual consolation and endearment in embracing one another as his dark brown eyes peered passionately into her chocolate brown pools.

Free whispered, shyness lacing his voice, "...hug?"

Ferox replied, "Please do."

Free wrapped his arms around Ferox, and the girl sunk into his hug and rested her head against his shoulder. Ferox closed her eyes and sighed, wondering if they could be friends even after exchanging harsh words. It felt natural to be with him, and she could feel his cheek, his breath, and his tears on the nape of her neck. His unkempt, golden hair brushed along her skin.

Ferox had not experienced closeness with another human being in a while, and she had never imagined that it would be with Free de la Hoya. Fate was a peculiar thing.