Black Iris

Take back.

Rose

I didn't go to the cafe to meet Gwen.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my mother and my law team to catch up about the state of my case. I didn't pay attention to half of it, exhausted from my therapy session. By the time they were wrapping up, I was about ready to fall asleep. My mother noticed and told me to go lie down. She would finish off the paperwork. I did as told, collapsing onto my bed and staring at my window. The curtains billowed in the summer breeze, and I felt my eyes drift shut.

The next thing I knew, a car screeched past my window, and I was startled awake. I groggily realised that it was the middle of the night, and someone had tucked me in at some point.

The car drove away, and I shut my eyes, ready to fall back to sleep.

But suddenly, I wasn't tired. And the darkness felt suffocating.

I took a shaky breath and turned on my bedside lamp. The darkness was gone, instantly, yet the unease still didn't settle. So, I reached for my phone.

And there was an unread message sent at 11:47 PM.

From Charlene.

Can we talk? I'm at our spot.

I took a shaky breath and glanced at the time. It was 0:32. I hesitated, then typed a message.

Are you still there?

A moment of stillness. Then, the read receipt. And three dots.

I just started walking home. I can turn around tho

I paused for a moment, waiting for some sign of my parents. But the house was silent. I paused for a moment, second-guessing myself. Then I typed.

I'm leaving now. Will be a few.

Another three dots. Then–

Okay. See you soon.

A wave of nervousness washed over me, but amongst it all, I felt a shred of hope. It felt like it had been forever since Charlie and I had broken up, but it hadn't even been forty-eight hours. Yet, I couldn't help but find myself longing to kiss her again. To feel her warmth on my skin. Let her hold me.

And as I pulled on my shoes, I tried to remind myself of why we had broken up. The hurt, and the shame, every time she pushed my hand away in public. Her, constantly checking the window when we hooked up in either of our cabins, triple-checking no one could see. Charlie, leaning into Adam. Staring up at him with eyes she never looked at me with. The secret glances at him when she didn't think I was watching. His fingers, running over her skin.

She chose him. She chose him.

Except, maybe, she didn't. Maybe she was bringing me to the park to apologise. To tell me that she'd changed her mind. That she'd broken up with Adam and that it was all over. That she had chosen me, after all.

And as I snuck through the house and slipped out the front door, the hope grew, transforming into restless energy, and I found myself running once I hit the path. And as my feet falling on the pavement echoed around the almost-silent suburbia, I let myself dream of Monday, coming back into camp holding hands. Adam scowling as we passed. Everyone finally seeing the two of us together, despite my problems. Seeing me as a person, rather than some messed up psycho, they tried to avoid talking to me at all costs.

I rounded the corner, feeling the excitement bubble inside of me. Charlene was sitting on one of the swings, and I stopped running, and the excitement burnt away almost instantly.