INEFABBLE - Short Stories Collection #2

Regrets

"I saw her today," my friend, Neil, announced as he took the only empty seat on our table. Upon hearing his sudden revelation, everyone's ears perked up and they all looked at me. We all knew who Neil saw in wherever.

"Really? How come you bumped into her?" I asked and cautiously took a bite off of my sandwich. There's uneasiness in the air after Neil said that. My friends knew better not to mention anything about her but after hearing what truly happened between us, they made it a habit to tell me that I should learn my lesson by telling me about things regarding her.

But this. This one was new since I knew she'd do everything not to be seen by anyone who knew me.

"She was looking for our professor in a subject," he explained. "Prof. Amanda is apparently their professor, too."

"Did you converse with her?" asked another friend of mine, Jason. "Any mention about our dude right here?"

Neil shook his head, "No, but you know, just from her presence, she's radiating with happiness."

That made me want to smile. She's happy now. Her presence could once again lift anyone's mood now. Just like how she always was. Just like how I knew her to be.

Just then, my phone beeped. I looked at the notification and saw my girlfriend, Ivy, sent me a chat. I opened it and read what it said.

"Do you really have to spend the whole lunch time not talking to me?" the text said. I sighed and kept my phone inside of my pocket again. It felt draining to even see her texts now. The special feeling I felt from her three months ago disappeared suddenly, making me regret my life decisions back then.

I was about to eat my sandwich again when I heard a familiar voice echoed throughout the cafeteria. I looked at the owner of that voice and I got mesmerized again. Her radiant smile showed her true joy from within. The soft yet excited glint in her eyes made me want to just stay by her side again. The long black hair I've always loved to stroke before. The girl I loved and I still love until now. The girl whose heart I broke so many times.

Isabelle.

We were together for almost four years. She ended things when she felt exhausted and I didn't understand why at first. That's when I met Ivy. She was there when Isabelle was away. Me and Ivy's relationship was perfect in the beginning that slowly became like hell at the end. She would always ask me where I was, what I was doing, who was I talking to She held me within her palms. And I didn't like that. We had arguments. Daily. About me losing time for her because of college. About petty and irrelevant stuff.

That made me think that I made the wrong choice that day that I met her. I should've just fixed things with Isabelle.

Me and Isabelle's relationship wasn't the ideal. But it was real. There's love that bind us together no matter how tough life got. We would always find each other. We would always come back to each other's company. She was smart and brilliant. She would always give her best in whatever she would do. She would always tell me she was just trying when in fact her just trying was already the best. She was my definition of beauty and of grace.

Everything Ivy wasn't.

I was in love with the idea of Ivy making me feel special. That made things harder for me to cut my ties with her and come back to Isabelle. I was blinded by how she treated me, by her company, that I forgot to see that Isabelle's was the one I needed and wanted all this time. I was a fool to let Isabelle go.

Now here she was. Beautiful and graceful like her usual self before I broke her. Giving out the smile I longed to see for such a long time. Gleaming like the stars she loved to gaze at during the night broke in. She was my definition of home and peace.

That's why it broke my heart when I saw her smile not directed at me anymore, but at a person I couldn't recognize. Their smiles matched each other, both radiating with glee as I heard them talking and laughing about something. I wanted to smile bitterly, witnessing them looking so in love as they held each other's gazes. I could've sworn that was the same glint Isabelle showed me when she loved me. And now she's giving it to someone else and now I was only part of her background noises.

I should've chosen her.