No One Else (Asa Butterfield)

Sixteen

No.

I felt his hand tap my shoulder. He was expecting me to turn around and I sat there completely frozen.

"Excuse me-" He came closer to me. I kept ignoring him. Chills rushed through my veins and down my back. 

"Maya, are you using this chair?" He pointed at the seat next to hers at our table. 

"No. Take it." She replies, avoiding eye contact with him.

Miles and I lock eyes for five seconds until I become too nervous and look away. Maya lets out a sigh. 

"What's that guy's problem? He didn't even come up to you to say hi or to apologize. Take that as a sign." 

"Why should he? We're broken up. No longer dating. He is no longer my boyfriend." I made it as clear as possible for her-while still a bit in denial. I grab another drink and chug it. Maya yanks the now empty glass out of my hand and slams it on the table. 

"Go talk to him, Samara."

"What?" 

"You heard me. Go talk to Miles. Tell him how you feel." I knew when Maya was serious when she would look me dead in the eye and start blinking rapidly. She grabs my hand from the seat and motions me towards him. "You've been an absolute wreck lately. He's right there. Go tell him something."

"Maya. Leave it alone. I can't do it." I head back to my seat. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My body felt ice cold, but I could still feel sweat building up on my forehead. As much as I wanted to talk to him, there was no point. He had already moved on. I'd look like a desperate fool, and I am absolutely not going to embarrass myself tonight.

I got up and grabbed my purse. "I'm going home." Maya grabbed my arm.

 "You're not going to let that sleazy dumpster rat of a man ruin your night. Stay, Samara. Let's just enjoy ourselves tonight."

"I'm not going to talk to Miles. I have nothing t-"

"Look." Maya let go of my arm and watched it fall to my side. "Do what will make you happy. I was just trying to help. I know you didn't get the closure that you needed, you didn't deserve to go through that." 

I knew I deserved better. Every girl in my situation knows that she deserved better. I grabbed my purse and I walked out. Maya came rushing from behind. 

"Samara where are you going?" She called out.

"Home. Remember? I'm calling it a night. I appreciate you being here for me and trying to take me out but I really can't do this right now." 

Maya let out a sigh. "Get in my car." 

"But you don't plan on leaving yet." I insisted. 

"You think I'm going back in by myself?" 

"Look, I really want to be alone right now. I'm perfectly capable of finding my own ride and heading home." I was fine with paying for an Uber, only for tonight though. 

Maya stared me down hard for a good minute. "Text me when you're home." She stepped into her car and drove off. 

I looked out into the distance and zoned out. The twinkling lights of the city made me zone out for a few minutes. I ordered my ride and waited outside until they got there. 

Five minutes away. I moved away from the street and went over by the entrance. I heard two people walking out, mumbling to each other. Miles. I quickly turned away and leaned against the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of him and praying that he does not do the same. When he walked out, he was not alone. He was with a girl who I had never seen before. 

My heart sank to the bottom. I placed my arms over my stomach as I felt it turn. Was Miles dating around? 

I checked my phone to ensure Miles still had his location on. I watched them walk away as they disappeared into the parking lot. 

I headed to my parking garage as soon as I got home and opened up Miles' location. He wasn't home. He was headed towards City Square- again, but with a different girl this time. Is he taking every girl there on a first date? Was I a City Square experiment that just happened to work out for him?

I drove as quickly as I could without getting pulled over. The streets were empty anyways, and I was too focused on catching up to Miles and this mystery girl to check my speed. 

City Square and Martina's held a special place in my heart ever since Miles took me there. To see him take random girls he's barely met really broke me. I hadn't planned on taking anyone there after Miles, and it was clear we weren't on the same page with that. Flashbacks of our time there kept running through my mind, making it hard to focus on driving. Luckily, I was only two minutes away from them. 

I park and grabbled my hat from the back seat and tucked my hair in as much as I could. I swapped out my jackets and walked out. His location kept moving as he was walking and he was headed straight for Martina's. I hated them for being open so late. 

"How may I help you?" The hostess greeted me at the front. The restaurant was pretty empty. There were two couples and a family of 4 having dinner. I watched them as they scarfed down their pizzas and pastas. 

"I'd like a table in the far corner please." 

"Right this way." I followed the hostess as I watched Miles being seated. Luckily, he couldn't see me from where he was sitting, but I had a great view. The waiter placed a glass with ice as I watched him pour cold water into it. I hid my face behind the large, red menus, slowly peeking from the side to check on Miles and his mystery woman. I watched them as they laughed at some joke Miles made. The girl gradually grew closer to him the more she laughed, and he was letting her. 

I knew this girl was really liking Miles because she was laughing at his jokes and everyone knows Miles is one of the most unfunny men out there. After our first date together, my face was hurting from pretending to laugh at his almost-jokes the entire night and I told myself that once I won him over, my face muscles were taking a long break. 

The waiter came over to my table, startling me at first. "Ma'am, what can I get for you?"

"I'll have an order of spring rolls, please." Delicious. I couldn't get my eyes off of those two.

I angrily chomped on my spring rolls, watching them slurp hot and sour soup and struggle scooping rice with their chopsticks. Miles was keeping his cool as much as he could, but he was a nervous wreck- I know a nervous Miles when I see one. 

I gave up and called it a night after watching them walk into the movie theater together after their dinner date. Not because I was afraid of getting caught, but because I did not want to spend $20 on a ticket for a movie I had no interest in seeing. Plus, If I saw Miles or the mystery girl making any moves on each other I would go ballistic inside of that movie theater. 

Miles got home two hours after I did. I realized he was moving on at a much, much faster pace than I had ever expected. I'm still at the starting line while he is sprinting out of my life. I understood that I wasn't his girlfriend anymore and I had to watch him move on with other girls from behind the shadows. The Miles that belonged to only me now was a product of the dating sea, waiting to be reeled in by someone who is not me. 

In a time of trials and tribulations, I still found that I was so grateful about one thing: Miles still had his location on.