The next day, Gumball secluded himself in his room, and laid in bed. He told Darwin he wanted to be alone, and Darwin gave him privacy. The day felt ironically slow, like the world was mocking him. He just laid in his bed, thinking about everything, and how bad he felt about it. It felt surreal, like it wasn't real. It felt like it never happened, but it did. He knew it. It pained him knowing it was all too real. He laid there, and around dinner time, he heard a knock on his door.
"Gumball, sweetie? I have no clue if you're awake or not, but I know you haven't eaten anything today, and I just made dinner if you want any." Nicole said, awaiting his response.
"No, thank you for the offer, though. I'm not too hungry at the moment." Gumball said, but his stomach growled, begging for food.
"Are you sure? I made spaghetti, your favourite. You sure you don't want any?" She tempted. Gumball's stomach growled harder than before, and he hesitated. After a minute of silence, he sighed in defeat.
"Alright, you win. I'll be down in a minute."
"Yes! Uh- I mean, okay, I'll have your plate ready." Nicole said, earning a weak chuckle from Gumball.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." She said from behind the door, giddily running downstairs. As Gumball emerged from his bed, he heard his mother cheer "I did it!" followed by clapping from the rest of the family. He chuckled again, not as weak as before, and opened the door. He heard shuffling and movement as he began his descent downstairs. When he made it to the bottom, he found the entire family at the dinner with wide smiles spread across their faces. As he sat down, everyone stared at him. It made him feel uncomfortable. As he took the first bite, everyone gave a sigh of relief.
"What?" He asked with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetie." Nicole said. And with that, everyone began to eat. They started a conversation with each other about their day, but Gumball stayed silent. He just watched them, laughed when they laughed, gasp when they gasped, everything began to feel normal again. When he finished his food, he managed to slip back upstairs without anyone noticing. He shut and locked the door behind him and laid back down, all the bad memories flooding his mind once more.
Throughout the day, Gumball would constantly be checking his phone, always expecting a text from Penny, but it never came. He knew she wouldn't, but he hoped in the back of his mind she would. He considered texting her, but he knew he couldn't do that. She probably didn't want to talk to him. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.
"Gumball? Can I come in now? I don't wanna sleep on the couch." Darwin asked shyly. Gumball opened the door and went right back to bed.
"Thank you." Darwin said, shutting of the lights and getting in his bowl.
"No problem, buddy." Gumball said, softly smiling.
'Tomorrow is another day.' He thought to himself.
The next day, was quiet for the most part. Gumball stayed in bed for most of the morning. That was the plan after all, right? Sleep away your sorrows?
"Gumball, may I come in?" Nicole asked.
"I would rather you not, but you're the boss." He said from beneath his blankets.
"So, how are you feeling?"
"Terrible. I feel like someone tore my heart out and set it on fire." Gumball groaned. Nicole comforted him.
"I'm sorry this happened, sweetie. Maybe she wasn't right for you."
"It was two years, mom! If she wasn't for me, it wouldn't have lasted as long as it did." He yelled. Nicole wasn't fazed.
"What do you think made her do it?" Nicole asked.
"What do you mean? She said she-" he hesitated, but continued. "She said she didn't love me anymore." He said, choking back tears.
"Gumball, no offense to you, but I find that hard to believe. You don't stay with someone for two yeas, and suddenly change your mind." Nicole said, crossing her arms.
"That's what I said! And it's not like our relationship was bad, either. We rarely argued, and we only hung out on the weekends other than school, so it wasn't like I was suffocating her." He explained. Nicole see how worked up he was getting, and it hurt her seeing him like this.
"Well, I think you should get out." Nicole said plainly.
"W-What?" Gumball said, emerging from his blankets, revealing his bloodshot eyes and tear dried face.
"I think you should get out, like go for a walk. Maybe grab some snacks. Enjoy the fresh air.
"But I don't have any money."
"You do now." Handing him a 20$ bill.
"B-But-" she cut him off.
"No more buts, mister. You will go outside and you will like it." Pulling Gumball out of bed and to the outside door. "Be back by dinner." She said, shutting and locking the door behind him. He decided to take her advice and go to the store, since he had no other choice.