Not a Love Story

Thirty-Seven // Know What's Going On

Oliver Greene

After what felt like hours of crying, I had finally succumbed to my exhaustion and fallen asleep around 3 in the morning. A light knock on my door woke me up, causing me to groan and roll over.

"Oliver? Sweetheart?" I heard my mom say as she opened the door. She sat on the edge of my bed. "How are you doing?" she asked. My heart ached and I was still exhausted. I turned to face her, pulling my blanket up to my chin. I shook my head.

"Not so good." I croaked, my voice raw from crying. She looked at me, worry in her eyes.

"Oh, honey." she whispered. When she said those words, I broke down again. I felt tears well up in my eyes, a sob escaping my lips. She pulled me into a hug. "I know." she whispered.

"It hurts." I sobbed, my chest aching in sadness. She nodded.

"I know. It will get better. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but I promise you it will get better." I cried even harder at those words, hugging her back even tighter.

Once I'd finally calmed down, she left with the promise of coming back with some breakfast. I heard footsteps down the hall and saw Henry walk past my room, stopping when he saw me still in bed.

"What are you doing still in bed?" he asked, slowly walking into my still dark room.

"Didn't sleep so well last night." I responded, wiping a tear off my face. Henry gave me a concerned look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, clearly catching on to something being wrong. I shook my head. He nodded in response. "Okay. Well, if you ever do want to talk, I'm here." he said, sincerity in his voice. I nodded.

"Thanks, Hen." I responded. He nodded and left my room. A few minutes later, my mom came back with a cinnamon roll and a glass of orange juice. She placed them on my nightstand and kissed my forehead.

"I'm going to make some sandwiches for lunch this afternoon. I was thinking we could eat in the garden, what do you think?" she proposed. I nodded, knowing she was trying to get me outside in the fresh air to hopefully lift my spirits. "Wonderful. Enjoy your breakfast and holler if you need anything." I nodded in response. She smiled again and got up, closing the door behind her.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and reached over for the plate. I slowly ate the cinnamon roll, enjoying its warmth. Once I finished eating, I got up and headed to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower to hopefully make me feel a little better.

The hot water relaxed me. When I finally got out of the shower, I took my time putting on a pair of sweatpants and an old green sweatshirt I found lying around my room. I made my way downstairs to see my mom starting to make the sandwiches.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

"Sure. If you could cut those cucumbers over there that'd be great." she responded, gesturing to the cucumbers sitting on a cutting board on the counter. Once we finally finished lunch, we took it out back to the garden. My mom set a bowl of fruit salad and a pitcher of lemonade down while I brought out the sandwiches.

"Is Henry coming?" I asked. My mom shook her head.

"Henry's at a football workout. He'll be back later in the afternoon. I already put his in the fridge." she replied. I nodded, feeling a knot form in my stomach at the mention of football. We quietly sat in the garden and ate. I watched the bees jump from flower to flower and the trees sway in the breeze.

I heard the garage door open, causing my mom to look inside.

"Looks like Henry's back. I'll go grab his plate." she said, getting up and going back inside. Henry looked distraught as he walked inside. He looked around, his eyes stopping when he spotted me. He made a beeline for the door, quickly opening it and standing in front on me.

"I know what's going on." he huffed, slightly out of breath.

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused by his confession. He rolled his eyes.

"Well I don't know exactly what happened, but I know something happened between you and Ben." he elaborated, causing my stomach to drop.

"What?" I asked, quieter this time.

"He was acting weird today. Different. And I heard you come in last night and when I saw you this morning, you just looked kinda the same. Sad, I guess." he said, shrugging.

"Oh." I said, unsure of what else to say. Ben was sad?

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, sitting down. I shook my head.

"Not right now." I said, my voice breaking as I felt tears well in my eyes. Henry nodded, his expression softening. Mom came back outside, a plate in her hand. I quickly wiped my eyes as she greeted Henry and handed him his plate.

"How was the workout?" she asked. Henry quickly glanced at me, likely seeing me bite my lip and take a drink of lemonade to try and swallow the lump in my throat. He shrugged.

"It was fine. Matt didn't work us too hard because we played well on Friday." he said. Mom nodded in response as she took a sip of her lemonade.

We all sat in silence as Henry ate and we all looked out at the garden, admiring the nice day. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Hmm, I wasn't expecting anyone. I'll be right back." my mom said.

"No." I quickly said, shocking myself. "I'll get it." I finished. I wasn't sure why, but I had a feeling what was on the other side of the door was probably for me. My mom nodded, slightly confused, as she sat back down and I went inside.

There was another knock as I approached the door. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as my hand touched the door knob. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Hi, Ollie."