I sit on the sofa, picking at my nails anxiously. I just know he's going to find a way out of this, he's going to give me all these excuses and explanations then promise that we will make it work.
I know it won't work though.
Which is why I need to end it. There's a knock on the door, and I walk over, opening it. Standing on the other side is my soon to be ex-boyfriend, looking just as nervous as I am for this conversation. "Come on in." I say. I step to the side, opening the door wider to let him inside. He walks in, and we move to the living room to talk. "Iris I'm so sorry about last night. I shouldn't have freaked out and demanded that you don't see your friends anymore." He says.
I knew it, he always starts with an apology that means close to nothing because his behavior doesn't change.
"I'm making new friends, you have to accept that." I say. "I know that, as long as they don't ruin you it's okay-".
Wait what?
"Ruin me?" I laugh. "How would they ruin me?". He sighs, and I already know some bull crap is going to come out of his mouth. "They're a bad influence. The drinking and partying is not okay. I'm dating you, not the college party girl that I saw last night." Wow.. I'm glad I know how he feels now. "So you're saying if I chose to drink or something you'd think I was ruined?" I question. "Do you not?" He asks. "Wow.." I almost laugh at how crazy he sounds. "Don't you understand? I can't have a girlfriend who is out at one in the morning in a parking lot with a bunch of drunk guys!" He exclaims.
My mouth drops, coming to the realization that I didn't tell him where I was after the party. "You followed me?" I question, making his eyes go wide and his skin go pale. "Well you didn't really give me a choice-" "What the heck Fred!" I yell. "What is wrong with you?!"
"You're the one hanging out with other guys and going to parties!" He yells back. "What do you want me to do?! Sit home alone all the time while you're at school or studying with your lawyer friends? That's not fair." I shake my head. "You don't trust me, you're stalking me, you're mad with me all the time-".
"Don't do that Iris." He sighs. "I think it's time to break up." I state. He looks at me with hurt in his eyes, and I look down to avoid his gaze. I can't let him talk me out of it this time. "Are you serious?" His voice cracks. "Yes. I am.. Fred we just don't work anymore." I explain. "Wow.. okay then." He stands to his feet. "I guess I'll um.. I'll see you around." I watch as the boy who was once the love of my life, walks out the door, and for the first time ever I truly feel like this is the end of our story. This is the first time I've felt that this is final, that he won't be back in the morning begging for forgiveness.
I sit back on the sofa, letting the hurt flood it's way in, tears leaving my eyes. It doesn't matter how awful he's been, it doesn't matter what he has done wrong, because he was my best friend. I just lost my best friend. And though I know it's for the better, it still hurts. I hear foot steps coming up, and the front door opens. Bree stands in the doorway, school bag in hand. "So it's done?" She asks. "Yes.." I breathe out, wiping my tears away. "You were lucky to have him, you're never going to find love again." She spits and I nod to myself, realizing that of course she's going to take his side, just like everyone else will when they find out. "Get out of my house, Aubrey." I say calmly. The door slams, making me flinch. I just need to give her time to cool off.. everything will be okay. My phone rings and I look down to see "Nicolas S<3" is calling. I sigh, pressing the ignore button and turning it on silent. All I want is to be able to talk to a friend, but I've now come to the realization that I have pushed everyone away for Fred.
Every girl that I was friends with slowly left my life because I was too busy with my boyfriend. I sit in silence, letting myself feel whatever needs to be felt, cry whatever tears need to come out, and deal with it. There's a knock on the door, and I groan, not needing any more problems with my sister or parents. I get up, and walk over to the door to open it. I'm surprised when I see Nick standing there, Matt standing a little bit behind him.
Why would they just show up?
"You didn't answer my calls so I figured you were having a hard time with the break up so here I am". Nick says. "I'm not having a hard time." I mutter. "Darling you're crying." He states. He lets himself inside, shutting the door behind him and Matthew. His arms wrap around me, pulling me into a hug which I can't even be bothered by because he's right, I am upset, and I do need a friend. "You're way too nice", I say, making him giggle. "Am I? I thought I was a perfect balance of nice and mean." He says, and I pull from the hug. "I may not know you all that well, But I'm positive you don't have a mean bone in your body." I comment.
"It's okay I have enough mean bones for the both of us", Matt says. "By the way, I told him it was a bad idea to bring me but he did anyways", he utters. "It'a fine." I say. "Normally I'd bring alcohol, but you don't drink", Nick says. "So what do girls do when they're sad and need to take the load off?" I giggle, knowing he's going to make fun of my answer. "We go to the mall", I say. As I predicted, he lets out a small laugh, while Matt lets out a louder one, but quickly Nick puts his serious face back on. "Then let's go to the mall!" He declares, and my eyes widen. "Right now?" I question. "Right now." He nods. As weird as it seems, I agree, and get in his car to head to the mall. I find a comfort there that I don't find many other places, and I honestly could really use it right now. We pull into the parking lot, and no one is here since it's pretty late. We get out of the car and I unlock the large double doors, stepping inside the mall I've been going to since I've lived here. Matt looks around, his eyes flicking over to me.
We walk around for a few hours and I ended up dragging them both into my favourite shops, buying things here and there. Matthew complained the whole time, so in reply me and Nick continuously told him to deal with it. Politely of course.
After an hour or two we take a seat outside, by the fountain and at first, it was pretty awkward but with Nick there was obviously jokes and conversation.
"What's one thing you haven't done yet?", Nick asks the both of us.
"There's a lot of things I haven't done", I shrug. "That's a good thing. Don't ever let anyone tell you it's not, okay?" Matt says in a serious tone, and I can't help but wonder why Matt would be encouraging of the way I live my life, it's the complete opposite of his.
"Hey guys look!" Nick calls, making our gaze turn towards him. "Is that a piano?", Matt asks, looking up to the platform, once we get back inside. "Yeah why?" I ask. He doesn't answer my question, instead he just walks up to it, and I follow loosely behind him. He takes a seat on the piano bench, and rests his fingers over the keys. Soon a beautiful melody fills my ears, flowing better than anyone I've ever heard play before. Nick appears at my side, and I lift my brow. "He's a music major." He explains. "I was definitely not expecting that.." I admit.
He plays with so much grace and soul, maybe theres more to Matt than what he's shown so far. By the way he plays, I can just tell- there's something wonderful somewhere inside him, I'm just hoping he shows it around me more often.
