Love Letters

Chapter 27 - Stories

Today, I made my way to the auditorium in the cold morning and the fact that all my hoodies were in the wash did not help my impending frostbite. I shivered once more and felt my knees buckle from underneath me, but before I could feel the hard ground colliding with my skin, strong arms wrapped around me and I was lifted into Hunter's arms. He placed his leather jacket over my shoulders and carried me bridal style. "I'm fine, put me down." I wriggled in his grip, but he wouldn't let me go. In defeat, I leaned my head on his chest and sighed. His touch sent comforting tingles through my body and the smell of his apple and cinnamon from his jacket gave me an odd sense of protection.

We were going to be rehearsing our duet, which was going to be last, and "the star performance". But, in all honesty, Hunter really was a good partner for the dance; I don't think I would have been able to do it so well without him. We pushed each other harder and harder, and we tested the limits to make each other better. We entered the auditorium and the warmth made me sigh in relief. Hunter set me down in a chair and Ms Valencia came running over. "What's wrong? What happened?" Ms Valencia bombarded Hunter with questions about my overall well being and I managed to roll my eyes softly. I wrapped his jacket tighter around me, savouring the smell and feel of the leather around me.

"She's just cold." He replied. "It's all okay, she just needs a moment." I felt their eyes on me and I reluctantly got up, putting on the purple costume I received yesterday. It was a lavender dress with nude sides, so it looked like the dress didn't cover my sides. I had my golden hair in a half ponytail, mocking how I was going to have it at the performance, and I began my stretching. Hunter changed into his costume, a grey-blue, loose button down shirt, matching his eyes, and navy pants. We made our way to the stage and waited for the music to start.

...

As soon as I got back home, I dropped my stuff and rushed to my room to see how Chloe was doing. I already felt bad about leaving her alone, and I didn't want to leave her alone any longer. I rushed up the stairs, pausing once, when the cold sent an odd shiver down my spine, but I immediately returned to sprinting up the stairs. I entered the room, practically flinging the door off of its hinges, and searched the room for Chloe. I sighed in relief when I saw Chloe in the room, but my heart broke for her still. She had a tub of ice cream in her lap, spooning the vanilla content into her mouth. Her face was tear stained from crying and she looked awful. When she saw me enter, she smiled sadly at me and I smiled back. "How are you?" I asked softly, taking the ice cream from her arms and putting it on the bedside table.
"As good as one can be after they found out that the person they thought they loved loved someone else." She said. I sighed and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked. "Sometimes, it's better to let it out than to keep all of it bottled inside." She stared at me for a few seconds and I could see the emotions battling in her eyes.

"Fine." She agreed. I scooted closer to the headboard, leaning against it and trying to hide my anticipation.

Chloe's POV:

I took a deep breath and began my story. "So, yesterday, we had the dress rehearsal right?" Saffron nodded and I could see that she was trying to hide the anticipation she felt, but her eyes didn't lie. If I wasn't so numb inside, I might have laughed, giggled even. "After our duet, we watched yours and Will asked me to come over after the rehearsal. I could see a sparkle in his eyes, the sparkle he gets when he's got something planned. Not something bad, but just something." I was lost in the thought of Will's perfect blue eyes and his beautiful smile, always making me feel like jelly inside. "Then I went over, of course. And then I walked up the stairs and was about to open the door-" I stopped as tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. Saffron pulled me into a hug and I smiled at my best friend.
"But I heard him talking to another girl." Anger flared in my heart for a second. "He was telling her how much he loved her and how he would do anything to be able to love her forever." I let out a shaky breath and Saffron practically squeezed me to death.

For the rest of the night, we sat on the bed, watching friends and shovelling tubful after tubful of ice cream into our mouths.

A wonderful best friend moment.