I'm such a stupid girl, I accused myself mentally. Such a stupid idiotic, gullible girl. Why the hell do I have to love him as much as I do? Maybe more importantly, why the hell did he have to love her? My mom had always warned me never to trust boys with my heart. She said they are all heart breakers, but who did not listen? Stupid me, of course.
These were all the thoughts that ran through my head the moment I turned the corner of Raul's little shop and started to Ivan and Dirk's home. What I saw shocked me enough to stop dead in my tracks. Freya smiled and blushed at something Ivan must have said and Ivan pulled Freya into a tight hug. I wanted so hard to believe that what I was seeing was an everyday, one hundred percent friendly hug. That was until Ivan pulled away from Freya and I saw that he has that adorable blushy, embarrassed look upon his devastatingly handsome face. It was at that moment that my heart broke into a million pieces.
The ache in my chest was just awful. It was slow to spread, taking its agonizing time to make sure that all my body felt the pain my heart could not handle alone. The slow journey it took to encompass my whole body took my breath away and tears formed in my eyes. The tears began to fall down my face, stinging my heart and soul like acid rain. A loud sob broke free from my throat and Freya and Ivan jumped in shock and turned to look at me in shock.
"Gretel!" Ivan exclaimed in such a shocked, rushed voice that it made the edges of my broken heart even more jagged and painful.
"Don't..." I whispered brokenly and when Ivan reached out a pleading hand to explain, I broke out of my daze and sprinted away from them.
I ran blindly, tripping and stumbling my way aling the familiar path that now seemed so foreign to me. I could hear the pattern of frantic feet somewhere behind me and by instinct, I knew it was Ivan. Lightning flashed bright in the sky and rain began to pour unforgivingly. I slipped and fell while ascending the steep hill that lead to my home, the rain not on my side tonight. I finally made it though, and as soon as I grasped the handle to my front door, a much larger hand grabbed my wrist frantically.
My sobs grew louder and I just fell to the ground and cried. I realized Ivan was standing over me, his broad chest heaving with irregular breaths. He struggled to let his breathing under control so he could explain what I had seen. I struggle to get my wrist out of his grasp, but he held tight. I decided not to fight him anymore and I just relaxed my arm and cried.
He let go of my wrist and kneeled down in front of me,"Gretel! Look at me! Let me explain!" he yelled at me in a rush. I struggled to rein in the tears but I quickly found that to be a lost cause. With tears still clouding my vision, Ivan grabbed my chin and forced me to look him in the eyes,"What you saw back there was absolutely nothing. Freya was upset and I was just comforting her! When I let her go, she said that she loved me. I told her that I did not feel the same way because there was someone else." he told me in a panic filled voice.
I finally got my tears under control,"Then who do you love?" I questioned him in a sharp voice.
His whole face softened and he smiled at me gently,"You. I love you. Is it not obvious! It has always been you."
he replied in a soft voice.
Tears welled up in my eyes for a whole new reason now,"Really?" I asked him in a quiet, barely audible voice. "Really." he answered back, then he leaned forward and kissed me. I was being kissed in the rain by the man I loved. Maybe I am not such a stupid girl after all.