Competition

Chapter 24- Wrong Love

Lou

I left shortly after Y/N walked out. The conversation hadn't gone well and I thought giving her some space for the moment was the right thing to do. I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the meantime because I had planned on coming back to the city a few days later and all of my meetings scheduled were days out.

I couldn't stop thinking about Y/N and all the things that I did wrong with the time that was given to us. From the beginning, I shouldn't have brought her to the loft where she met Debbie. I regretted letting Debbie get under her skin from the start.

I was supposed to protect her from outside obstacles, not bring them on myself, and yet, it was the opposite of what I did. The things I let happen to us. I also regretted telling Debbie that I was leaving for a while. I shouldn't have accepted the job offer although I loved doing it with Y/N at the time.

I guess I could be the reason why we weren't working out. I pondered over the fact that I wasn't the person for Y/N and things would end up this way even if I hadn't let some of the things happen that did.

One thing was for sure, and that was making sure Debbie never gets in between my relationships whether I was with Y/N or not. I wasn't going to let Debbie have her way with me.

Therefore, I headed to the loft where the problems had blossomed from. I walked inside, not knocking or letting Debbie know ahead that I was there. She was sitting in her usual spot, hovering over a computer working out another heist as always. She looked up at me and smirked, "So you came back for me" her smile fed into my anger.

"No, I came here to warn you." My jaw was tense and it honestly hurt having to say these things to my long life best friend. "I don't want you involved in my personal life at all if you can't control yourself." Debbie was right, we could do great things together. We would have been unstoppable, but that was merely a fairy tale drawn up in our heads from our younger years. It was not real anymore.

"We're still friends of course." She furrowed her brows together and down, in a confused manner.

"No, I don't think I can do that." I bit the inside of my cheek. It was painful, knowing all the things we've been through. All the good times and the bad, but I couldn't continue this if I wasn't going to be happy.

"I can behave myself, I promise." She jumped up from her computer and took my hands in hers. Her eyes were large and looking up at me. "Fuck, I'll do anything, but I can't loose you." I watched her hard exterior shatter with her strength. "I've lost too many things Lou. But you were always by my side, every step of the way."

"Deb, you can't just ask for forgiveness each time shit happens." I avoided looking at Debbie. I didn't like seeing her like this, but I knew that if anyone could get to her, it was me.

"I know. I'm sorry Lou. I really am." Her voice cracked and her doe-like eyes were clear and glassy. "I'll be better now. I'll even apologize to Y/N. I can accept that you don't love me. I just can't let go of everything else we have together. Everything I have... that I've done was with you."

"I can't let you get away with this." I couldn't go soft now. "From now on, business only, if you can't handle that, I'm walking out forever. You have to prove to me that you really mean what you say."

"Ok, I'll be professional from now on." I could see her mind coming up with things to say to me, but nothing slipped out of her mouth except "Can I kiss you goodbye?"

I know her intentions were the best, she was saddened and this was an attempt to feel better. But all I said was "No." And I left the building.

It was still early and I had nothing to do, so I grabbed some food and ate at my house. I hated being back home alone. I didn't want to go back to the town house though because it wouldn't feel as it did just a couple of days before.

I had brought the cat home with me when I left the little town and allowed it to adjust to another new surrounding. I had thought of a name and surprisingly it had a reason for it. It was a small detail and I don't think even Y/N could trace it back to its meaning. I got a thin leather strap and sketched its name into it with a knife. Buttercup. It was cute, more than I was willing to admit, but it was the zodiac signs, virgos, flower. It was the time of year that I met Y/N, fell in love with her, and got the cat. It matched perfectly and I didn't mind not sharing the reason because it was still a normal pet's name.

Once I was finished laying out the food and water for Buttercup, I left to take a drive. I didn't know where I was going, but I needed to do something mechanical where I could resist the thoughts trapped in my head.

I rounded the streets and glanced at the shops and each side of the roads. New York was great for distractions and that's what I needed right now. I hadn't thought about Y/N and I wasn't thinking about anything really except for the cement that laid ahead of me.

That was until I saw Y/N standing outside one of the outlets. I pulled over close by and watched her from afar. She was looking into one of the windows at a jacket.

~Authors note: these sadder chapters might take a little longer to write bc I have to make myself sad to get into it lol so I mostly write at night but then I'm also tired so hopefully I don't take too long until the next update