ALL THE LOVE WE LEAVE BEHIND

Chapter 19

Tyler.

I'm not proud of what I did, but after the shit Blair pulled, I wasn't about to sit around and mope over her leaving. If she decided to end it over a text and some rumor then so be it. So, I did what any guy would do. I slept with Charlotte- not while Blair and I were together, but after we broke up.

I went to Charlotte to set things straight, to tell her to stay away from my girlfriend. I told her that helping her out of a situation was one thing, but she was stupid enough to think that I would let her conjure an entire rumor with it- telling people I was in the bathroom stall with her when it was really one of the guys on the football team, was absolutely bogus.

Sure, when I walked in to give her my jacket, I didn't expect to hear that she was fucking another guy- I always thought she still had a thing for me but turns out she didn't- which I was still okay with.

What I wasn't on terms with though, is her manipulating Blair into thinking that something had happened between us, because regardless of my history with Charlotte, cheating wasn't something I was ever on board with.

So, when I found out that Charlotte was whispering absolute shit into people's ears, I couldn't help but intervene and tell her to stop. What I failed to realize is that my girlfriend was stupid enough to fall for Charlotte's tactics, and within seconds of her plan being set into action, I received a text from Blair saying we were done.

Of Course, I wasn't about to run after her. If Blair was naive enough to think I would do such a thing, then maybe she deserved what was coming. I had planned an entire day for her. I wanted her birthday to be

special- I wanted it to be special for us- I wanted us to move forward, but if she was going to be ignorant enough to believe the first words out of someone's mouth, I wasn't about to run the mile and stop her- I wanted to, and I would have- I even called her, but she didn't answer. She acted in a rush, so I merely did the same.

A few minutes after the text sounded, I lost my cool. Here I was defending her- actually fighting with Charlotte to not come between us and there Blair was- telling me it was over?
That was an ego hit I couldn't take, so I let my hormones and the alcohol take control- I slept with Charlotte.

I'll be honest. It was nice and it took my mind off Blair- for a total of a few hours- I went by to see Blair the following morning but found out she wasn't in town. I couldn't believe she ran away without a fucking explanation- but again- I wasn't about to go the extra mile for her. In any case, I was getting a lot more from Charlotte in one night than I had gotten from Blair in months.

Sadly, that wasn't enough. Charlotte was beautiful- but she got so boring after a few days, that I began to miss Blair even when I was with her. Doing things with Charlotte was no longer fun - it was pretentious. I wanted Blair- fuck. I wanted her so much it made me want to throw up.

I wanted to see her in the mornings.I wanted her strawberry scnet to rub off on my clothes like it used to when she hugged me. I wanted the forehead kisses she used to give me every now and then. I wanted her cute texts. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to just fucking be with her- more than that- I wanted to be the one she trusted her innocence with- it's what made her so special. It's what made me want her even more.

I knew I had messed up by touching another girl, seconds after we broke up, but I didn't mean for it to happen- It's just, when she wasn't there, I spun out of control and realized this was bigger than it was.

Still, once I realized the kind of spell Blair had over me, I knew I needed to fix things, so I poured out my feelings in a letter and mailed it to her. The letter contained honesty. Everything I wrote in it was true because it was all a misunderstanding in the beginning, and I did miss her after that. I just left out the part where Charlotte and I got together after Blair left- and I decided that was something I was going to have to keep to myself if I wanted Blair back in my life. I had to. Besides, it was her fault for leaving.

I was ticked off though- raging actually- when I found out that she was living with a man- Dylan. He was her friend, and I knew that, but the thought of them being in the same apartment- was too much for me to handle. Just the image of his hands on her made me want to take the next flight to London- she was mine and I'd make sure of that- so I did just that and hopped on my flight.
I arrived in London and expected a reply from Blair, at least a call, but got neither, which led me to believe she hadn't opened the envelope. That's when I called her and despite her reaction being hostile, I convinced her to give me another chance.

Now, I just needed to make sure I played my cards right- but I was sure that wasn't going to be an arduous task. She loved me, the way I loved her. I just needed to prove to her that this was a set back- and we were both victims in this situation- Charlotte fucked both of us over. As long as I conveyed that message to her, she'd be mine. She had to be.

My mind echoed the last few sentences to my ears, as I flipped over the butter knife that the restaurant had placed, and patiently waited for her to enter. She had promised to arrive at 1pm, and it was now 1:15. I wasn't sure if she had changed her mind, but something told me that that wasn't possible.

Luckily, my intuition proved to be right, as my wait ended pretty quickly.

I got up from my seat, as a petite brunette walked in. Her hair was straightened, her eyes looked as innocent as they always did, her lips had a faint gloss on them, and she looked as beautiful as ever.

She nervously peered around, as she spotted me and smiled, before making her way towards me. That's when I knew that this was going to be perfect. Everything was going to be just as I had planned, and that's the way it was supposed to be, because the two of us were right for each other. I knew it, and I was sure she did too.

"Hi, Tyler." She gulped, as she stood now an inch away from me.

"Hi." I maintained my distance, so as to not startle her, even though the urge to want her in my arms was more intense than it had ever been before.

"Shall we sit?"She asked in a timid voice, as I agreed and held out the chair for her. "Thanks."

"You look beautiful by the way." I complimented, as she shook her head, and nervously bit her lip.

"We need to sort some things out."She exhaled, as I nodded.

"I know, but since we're here for lunch, should I order you something first?"

"Yeah."

She rolled her eyes, as I could tell she was dreary. "Can we start with a bottle of water please?" She requested, as I signaled a waiter to appear at our table.