The Ghost of You [COMPLETED]

Talk

The next morning, you were sitting at your kitchen island, sipping on a cup of coffee, and texting Kirsty what happened when you left the bar last night. Typing out the last few sentences of your paragraph to her, there was a knock on the door. You put your coffee and your phone down, and headed over, rubbing your tired eyes a little before pulling the door open.

"Brad." You muttered in utter shock, your eyes widening instantly. You looked back into your currently quiet flat, and stepped forward, closing the door a little as he awkwardly smiled at you.

"Hi, I uhh...I wondered if we could talk?" He asked, his voice small, hesitant. Unsure.

"Now isn't a good time actually-"

"Luka! Can I use your shower?" Came a voice from behind you, and Brad instantly frowned, then tried to look over your shoulder.

"Is that.." He started to say, but then he just put a hand on your door and pushed it open, stepping past you as Maggie came out from the bedroom.

"Brad?" She squeaked.

"Maggie what..." He looked at you, then back to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Okay before this becomes anything," You said, stepping between them. "Maggie had nowhere to stay after last night, so I said she could stay here."

"But wh-"

"She had nowhere to go Brad." You reiterated, in a clipped tone that made him shut up. "Now, I told her the stuff that you couldn't tell her, we talked, and while we both agree you've been an asshole-"

"An A-Grade asshole we said." She pointed out, as her arms folded across her chest.

"Right, while you've been an A-Grade asshole," You agreed. "We have started to understand why you've been one."

"What..." He sighed, licking his bottom lip briefly. "I need to talk to you. Both of you."

"Absolutely, but she needs to get ready and figure out what she's doing for the day, and I haven't finished my coffee yet and have a stupidly giant headache, so you are going to have to leave, and come back later to do that." You said, the confidence not unnoticed in your voice. You held his gaze, and then he flicked his eyes over to Maggie, before returning to yours.

"What time later?" He asked you, and you fought a smile at his agreement to your terms.

"I will text you when we are ready."

"Luka this is ridiculous, why can't we just-"

"Because, Bradley," You quipped, making his jaw snap shut as you walked up to him. "You have fucked about with both of us, and therefore, you are no longer in the driving seat. We will let you know when we are ready to hear what you have to say, and after that, we will decide what happens next. Are we clear?"

You watched the muscle in his jaw tense, but you held your ground.

"Fine." He finally answered. "I'll come back later. Today." He added, as though it gave him some control of the situation. He looked back at Maggie one more time, then left your flat.

Once the door closed, Maggie let out a low whistle.

"Okay, you definitely win. I've never been able to get him to listen to me like that." She said, and you smiled back at her.

"Like I said, we dated for a long time." You laughed. "I'm used to handling him. Now, let me get you a towel and some new clothes."

A few hours later, once you and Maggie had both showered and eaten something, and talked a bit more, you texted Brad to come over.

Maggie wanted to talk to him at your place, seeing as the only other place she usually went to round here was Brad's, and she said she wanted you nearby in case you needed to step in.

You knew you wouldn't need to. Brad knew he was in the wrong here, and you knew he'd be wracked with guilt about the whole situation. He'd made a mistake (or a few), but he wasn't a bad person.

So when you opened the door, and saw his puppy dog eyes as he handed over two sets of flowers, you offered him a comforting smile, before gesturing to the lounge where Maggie was sat on your sofa.

You left them to it, staying in your bedroom and watching some Netflix on your laptop while they talked. You never heard any shouting, and from your conversation last night and this morning, Maggie gave you the impression that she was open to hearing Brad's explanations. You hoped that was the case, although you wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't, because at the end of the day, she was cheated on and that would leave a bitter taste in anyone's mouth.

A couple of hours later, there was a knock on your bedroom door, then it opened as Maggie walked in.

"Hey, I'm heading off now. Just wanted to say thank you and say bye." She said with a small smile. You hopped off your bed and gave her a hug.

"No problem. I hope you and him are okay."

"Well...we're not getting back together." She laughed as she let you go. "But I don't feel like shouting at him anymore."

"That's good progress." You grinned. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, thanks Luka. You're pretty cool for someone that slept with my boyfriend." She winked.

"Well it won't happen again, I can make sure of that." You chuckled as you waved her out of your bedroom.

Then you took a deep breath in. It was your turn to talk now.

You walked out of your room, hearing the front door shut, and walked to the lounge. Brad was leaning back on the sofa, his hands over his face, his chest slowly moving as he breathed deeply.

"Sounds like it went okay?" You asked, making him look over at you, dropping his hands. He cleared his throat, and reached for his glass of water on the coffee table.

"Yeah. Yeah she...well she didn't yell like she did last night, and I think we actually ...agreed by the end." He mused, putting his glass down. "I guess it's our turn."

"We can talk tomorrow if you want-"

"No," He interrupted, standing up and walking over to you. "No, I need to talk to you now. We have left a lot of things unfinished in our lives, and I'm not making that mistake again."

The way he looked at you was overwhelming. His eyes boring into yours, full of hope and apology, and you found yourself nodding. You turned to the kitchen, opening your fridge and grabbing a can of Coke. You needed something in your hands to occupy your nerves while you did this.

Following him back over to the sofa, you sat on opposite ends, took a sip on your drink, then placed it on the coffee table next to his glass.

You both stared at each other for a few seconds. You swallowed. Then you saw his mouth part ever so slightly.

Here we go, you thought.