Woke

39.)

Kiara:

My mom and I both went to her bathroom to freshen up from all of the crying, before making our way back down the stairs. Edward met us at the foot with a worried look. "Everything okay?"

"It is now." My mom grabbed his hand. He smiled in relief, leading her back towards the guests.

I sighed contently, moving to find my friends. Just as I passed the front door, a staff member opened it. My heart dropped as my boyfriend walked in. Chris looked slightly shocked to see me so quickly, while I was surprised to see him at all. He looked extremely good in his dress clothes, oddly enough the color of his button down matching my blue dress perfectly.

We walked towards each other, nerves eminent. My stomach was churning in anticipation.

We finally reached one another, standing an inch apart. "Hey."

"Hey..." I found myself fiddling with my bracelet with his initials on it. "I didn't think you were coming."

"Neither did I." He honestly said. "But I had to. I made a commitment."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that. "I don't want you to feel forced to be here."

"No... Kiara we need to talk. Now."

Chris' voice was soft, but his eyes told me this was not up for debate. I knew we needed to talk, but I didn't feel ready. I guess a conversation like this was nearly impossible to prepare for, though. I missed my boyfriend, and I knew talking was long overdue. This had to end one way or another.

I nodded. "Let's go upstairs."

He followed me back up the long staircase towards my room. My room also lead out to a balcony, so we went out there. I turned on the fairy lights I'd put around the railing to give us a better vibe. We leaned against the railing, finally facing each other but not really making eye contact.

It was silent for a few minutes, before Chris sighed. "These last few months have been hard."

"Yeah... I'm sorry for being a bitch."

"I wasn't exactly the most supportive boyfriend. I'm sorry too."

I finally looked at him. "We've had arguments before. But we've never gone even 24 hours without addressing it and trying to move on. How has it been months?"

"I mean... I wanted to talk about it, but it seemed like you didn't."

"I didn't know what to say. You already told me your side, and I believe you. So I just need to get over it."

"But you're not communicating that with me." Chris pushed. "So it's hard to have sympathy towards how you feel, when you're not expressing it."

I felt a frown forming on my face. "But why bother even expressing it when it's not gonna change your stance?"

"It's not a stance; it's the truth."

"I know this, Chris. It's just..." I was suddenly having trouble with words. "I don't know."

I could see the frustration on his face, causing my heart to pound. "Seriously? I'm trying to have this conversation with you, and you're giving me nothing."

"I'm trying." I refrained from matching his frustration, so that it wouldn't turn into an argument. "But I just don't know what to say. It's hard to get over how I feel."

"So you don't believe me."

"I... that's not what I'm saying. After the way things have been between us these past couple of months, it's just hard. Cuz I feel like you don't wanna be around me."