The Badass Nerd

Let you go

Alex Pettyfer as Taylor. Enjoy ♥️

...................

That week passed by in a blur. I have never broken up with anyone before and it drove me crazy just thinking about how Taylor will react. He kept texting me this whole week and I either replied him in one word texts or nothing at all. Being with him feels safe and mature but at this age, I don't want that. When I told my friends what I was going to do, they were all very supportive of my decision. I had a little chat with Emma. I remember what she said.

"You love him right?"
I nodded.
"But you are not in love with him?"
I weakly nodded again.
"But you still care about him."
"I do." I whispered.
"Then set him free. Let him have the chance to meet someone else. You are not happy with him but you are letting him believe you are. That's deceit. You have to let him go for him to find true happiness with someone else."
I nodded very slowly. This is exactly the reason why she is my best friend. She knows what to say and when to say it. I have no idea what a mess I would have been if it wouldn't be for her.

Mark came by a few times in the shop to help me cook. Most of the times I was distracted and I exchanged orders quite a lot. To say that my customers were annoyed would be an understatement. I had to give them free chocolates as compensation. Nevertheless, that whole week was packed with people; some came by to order in, others just wanted to buy gifts for their loved ones. Every once in a while, whenever a couple walked in, I had to put on a forced smile and make sure I don't cry in front of them. Combined with the guilt I had for breaking Taylor's heart and messing up orders and recipes, my days in the bakery were a disaster except for the money I made which is quite good. To say that I cooked bad would be praise. One particular day, I was staring at the pancake for so long, it turned black. Mark caught the smell and rushed inside to find a burning pancake. He immediately threw it out but I didn't even move from my place. He put his hands on my shoulder and jerked me to pull me out of my trance.

"Liv, what is it? You have been so distracted this week. I asked your friends and they aren't telling me anything. What is going on?" He asked half worried half frustrated. He cupped my face and made me look at him.
"I am breaking up Taylor." I simply said.
"About time!" I pushed him away and shoved my elbow on his chest. He made an oomph sound and I smiled a little.
"Look just focus on the cons for dragging this relationship with him. Just focus on how toxic it will be for him." He said after fixing his composure. I nodded and he hugged me. We stayed like that for a minute or two before customers came in.

"I need a favour." He said while I was cooking a better, more eatable pancake.
"Yeah sure. What is it?" I said without looking at him I was too focused on making sure I out the batter in a perfect round shape.
"Can I have Emma's number?" I whipped my head so fast I thought I got a sprain.
"You and Emma?" I asked in utter disbelief.
"You don't have to be so shocked. I am a nice guy." He pouted.
"Doubtful." I said and flipped the pancake. I put chocolate and strawberries crushed on it before putting it out on the plate. I let the chocolate melt and get mixed with strawberries.
"Come on please! She is in my literature class and I kept looking at her instead of focusing on the class. I got detention twice this week because I was asked a question I didn't know the answer of cause I was too focused on your friend." He said the last part in a low voice.
"So you have a crush on Emma?" I asked while putting the batter on the pan for another layer of pancake. When he didn't reply, I looked at him to see him blushing furiously. I put my hand on his cheek and he looked at me hopefully.
"Not happening." I said and flipped the pancake. He groaned and I laughed out loud.
"I am not saying that you should not make your move. You are a nice guy and she is awesome but I feel that you should try talking to her in person first. If she likes you, she will let me know and then I will give you her number." I explained and went out to serve the customer. He smiled at me and I went back to make his chocolate coffee shake.
"But what if she rejects me? How will I pester her until she falls for me?" He asked when I came back. He was still sitting on my work platform.
"If she rejects you, you better stop bothering her or I will kick you in the nuts." I said and smiled sweetly at him. He gave me a pointed look and kept blabbering about how much he liked Emma and he doesn't wanna blow his chance with her.
"Mark, honey, I am not giving you her number. You can say whatever you want. Make a good impression and if she tells me she likes you, you can have her contact info. I will even tell you where she lives. But for now, you won't get anything from my side. Also to be honest, now that you have got two detentions in her favourite class, your chances are pretty slim. She loves literature and classic books and stuff like that and seeing as you got punished twice, she probably believes that you are not interested in the class and by extension, in books." I said and he gaped at me.
"WHAT?" He said and kept looking at me as if he saw a ghost. I chuckled.
"Don't worry. When you make your first move and she tells me she is neutral about you, like she doesn't like you or hate you, I will try to bend things in your favour." At this, he hugged me.
"Can't....breathe.....Let....me....go!!" I said under his suffocating hug. He does that when he is way too happy to express it. When he let me go, I smiled at him. I have to play Cupid now, I thought.