The Upside of Heartbreak

Sucks to See You Doing Better

Sorry it's a little late everyone, but editing took longer than usual... (mostly because it's first day off after night shift and I am about as intelligent as a zombie right now, so please pardon any spelling/grammar mistakes I might have missed) I think you guys will agree that this one was worth the wait :P Stay safe everyone! Enjoy :D

*The title of the chapter is from the song 'sucks to see you doing better' by Valley (another homegrown Canadian group), and most of the mood was inspired by 'Doing Fine' by Ryan Kinder and Sykamore. Both are great songs that somehow make a story about heartbreak beautifully catchy and oddly upbeat. Valley even using the line, "Could have run a marathon or married a doctor, but instead I'm watching marathons of Harry Potter..." which I just feel sums up the way I do break-ups. Lol*

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Scott had driven around town for a full 45 minutes before heading home again, just trying to calm down. Fuming quietly to himself about what he had just seen. He hadn't seen a car pulling out of the lot, but there could be no mistaking the cause of Astrid's euphoric mood. Of course Scott couldn't be certain that Astrid had actually gone all the way and had sex with that guy. It didn't matter if she hadn't though - it hurt the same either way. Even the most delusional of men couldn't doubt that she had moved on. Tyler had been right after all. Astrid was never coming back.

How could she be so happy so soon when he was still broken? How could she just turn her back on 4 years like it had never even happened? It wasn't that he wanted her to be unhappy. He didn't. He just wanted her to miss him a little more than this. To see her doing fine while he wasn't was like a mule-kick to the gut.

In all honesty, it really was his own fault. Scott knew he had been unintentionally pushing her away for months. Maybe if he had actually tried to accept his mistake and move on - rather than plot and scheme in the hopes of making Astrid jealous - then he might be happy too. It was too late to worry about what ifs now though. He had seen the truth, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

Hungover and grumpy, Scott finally pulled back into the parking garage at his apartment. Storming up to his room and throwing the door open to see Tyler lounging on the couch. His feet up on the coffee table and his stupid pet chicken on his lap. Clearly he was back from his brunch date with the girls. "This building is pet free you know," Scott snapped at his buddy. Desperate to pass a bit of his bad mood off on someone else.

Tyler, to his credit, was as unfazed as ever. His grey-brown eyes squinting at the sunlight coming through the kitchen window as he simply peered up at Scott. Looking distinctly hungover, and nearly as miserable as Scott felt. The chicken giving a low warning croak and ruffling her feathers as she glared at Scott with those beady yellow eyes. As if offended that he would dare shout at her owner like that.

"Can you keep your voice down man," Tyler grimaced as he stroked the chicken's wings to calm it. The bird settling back down to rest on his lap like some sort of disfigured cat. "Besides, the rules just say no cats or dogs. Birds are totally fine."
Scott snorted at that. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they meant a budgie or a parakeet. No sane person would keep poultry as a pet. They'd eat it instead."

Tyler narrowed his eyes more as the chicken made an impressively indignant squawk. "Nobody is going to eat Chicken. Do you hear me," he growled. Hugging the bird against himself protectively. "Nobody!"

"Whatever you say man. Calm down. Just... get a cage for it please," Scott relented. He wasn't really mad at Tyler or the stupid chicken anyways. "So, did you manage to get down some breakfast this morning," he asked lightly. Remembering just how awful his roommate had looked when Scott had left to take Sabrina home this morning, and suddenly feeling just a little bad for yelling at him.