Heartache Hotline (Connected #1) | ✔

CONFESSIONS || Final Chapter

| The double slide mentioned later is the picture at the top! x Just for reference haha |

Five minutes have gone by without either of us saying a word. In retrospect, I think he's trying to give me the control over how this conversation goes. Therefore, he's probably waiting for me to start. But all I can do is sip on my iced drink and look out the window.

In all honesty, I'm scared to even glance at Oliver. The instant we locked eyes mere minutes ago when I first turned around, I felt the frost covering my heart melt. As soon as that started happening, I averted my gaze and sat down.

When I find myself wanting to look, I remind myself of what happened a week ago. 

He's not worth it. Why are you here? You're weak!

Closing my eyes, I will my saboteur to go away. I know why I'm here. I'm here to get closure, to listen to his side of the story before I make the journey to move on. In the deepest part of my soul, I know he's not a bad guy. I just have to listen to that without letting him walk all over me.

"Macy?" Oliver's deep, smooth voice graces my ears. Without much thought, my eyes spring open and stare right into his endless pools of hazel. 

Oh God, why did I have to look?

His dark, long eyelashes frame his glossy eyes and it's then that I notice. That I see the unyielding emotions he's trying to hide. The hurt and heartbreak. Both are emotions I know well. Again, without thinking, my hand makes its way across the small table. Heat permeates my fingers when they touch his gently. I almost gasp at the feeling. 

No longer caring about anything else - at least, not when he's looking at me like that, I slip my hand on top of his rougher ones and squeeze. 

"What's wrong?" I whisper softly, reaching across my other hand to join the party. Now with both of my hands gripping his, I gaze into his eyes with an intensity I didn't know I had. When his head starts to shake back and forth, I quickly reassure him, "We can talk about everything else later."

Oliver places his free hand atop both of mine and rubs his thumb across them. The small, simple movement causes my heart to flutter with a million different emotions. 

"I'd rather talk about what happened last weekend and lead into everything else. Is that okay?" His voice is cautious and rattles with nerves. I want to ask why he's nervous but realise that's probably not a good idea. All I do to respond is nod my head, not having anything to say at the moment. I want to hear what he has to say first.

"Alright. Well, Theo came up to visit me - and Ellie too."

"Ellie told me." I nod slowly, wanting to pull my hands away but needing to stay connected to him. The warmth from his touch comforts me in a way I haven't felt since my birthday party. 

"We decided to go out for drinks to catch up and take my mind off of everything that I had going on. The short explanation is that I was a mess and while Theo was ordering us another round, Bianca came up to me." Oliver pauses to draw in a breath, glancing at me. "I don't remember everything that was said but I remember her putting her hand on my arm. She was talking about how much she missed me, that her and Jason broke up because she still loved me. I remember thinking that it felt easy, even comforting, to have her there again when I was feeling so broken." Without real reason, his words hurt and I can't help but pull my hand back into my lap, away from his. He visibly winces but nods dejectedly.

"Sorry, I just can't right now," I resign quietly.

"It's okay, Macy. You don't owe me anything." When I don't respond with anything but a nod, he continues with the story, "For years, she was the one I fell back on when I had a bad day or something knocked me down. Add all that history and habit to my alcohol-induced state, it felt automatic for me to let her touch me and lean on me." He stops again, looking up at me and this time, keeping eye contact warily.