The sun was rising. Sunlight shone through Mavericks blinds and I sat up from the bed and looked outside. The sunrise was beautiful, but I felt so horribly guilty. I was nearly sick to my stomach. I sat back down and breathed deeply. Last night was so intense. I cried so much I could feel my eyes still being puffy.
"Cel?" Maverick says as he walks into the room, his posture was slouched and his eyes were dark and low from lack of sleep.
"Hey." I said with a light smile.
"Awe, there's that smile." He say on the bed and caressed my cheek gently. We smiled lightly and looked into each others eyes. He kisses my lips softly. I touch the back of his head and bury my fingers in his hair.
"You must be so tired." I whisper against his lips. Maverick had been downstairs most of the night cleaning up the mess Chase had left, holding me and calming me down from crying, and making sure that Chase wasn't coming back.
"I'll sleep. But I need to know you're okay first." He says, rubbing his thumb against my cheek. I nod, our foreheads touching.
"I'm okay. Sleep." I tell him. He nods and crawls into the bed. He curls up and immediately begins to lightly snore. I giggle very quietly to myself before standing up. I barely slept either but I wasn't feeling like going to sleep. I walk to his bathroom and look in the mirror. My face was really swollen from not only crying but also from getting no sleep. I turn on the cold water, splashing my face over and over until I noticed some improvements. When I was satisfied I dried off my face and went back to his room and just stood in the door frame and watched him. Not in a creepy way, just to admire him. He was so calm, and I was happy to see him resting. I decided to take a walk around his apartment just to look around.
I went to the living room and stood there for a minute just looking. He had tidied up pretty nicely. No evidence of Chase ever being here, but my memories forced me to see everything play out again just as they had the night before. I sigh and continue to look around.
I enter the kitchen for some food and see a pink scrunchie on the counter right next to a glittery lip gloss. It made me feel uneasy seeing those items so I slid them into a drawer and closed it. I reached into the fridge and grabbed a yogurt cup. As I ate it I walked into the living room, looking around I notice more girly items. A silver bracelet under the entertainment center beneath the TV, eyelash glue right next to a pair or lashes. I begin to feel my stomach flip and I run to the bathroom, bending over the toilet and gag. My body tries to vomit but for some reason I don't. I look up at the sink and see her pink toothbrush next to his grey one.
"I can't do this." I say to myself and go into Maverick's room. I pick up my clothes from the floor and put them back on, I put my hair up and in my rush I hit the corner of his desk on my hip, making me yelp.
"Huh? What happened?" He says groggily, sitting up and scratching his head.
"N-nothing. Go back to sleep." I say picking up the last of my things and hurrying out his bedroom door.
"Wait! Where are you going?" He grabs my arm holding me back. I turn and see his panicked expression.
"I-I don't think I can do this. I have to go." I tell him seriously, looking in his eyes.
"Why? Please Cel, last night was crazy I know but we can get through it. Let's just talk." He begs, but I look away and find it difficult to look back at him again.
"It's not just that. I keep seeing...I keep seeing Haileys things. It's like they're hidden all over the place, haunting me. Making me feel sick for what I've done." I tell him, looking down at the ground. He lets go of me and I hear him let out a sharp breath.
"Shit. Look breaking up with her at the party last night was a spontaneous thing, I didn't think to get her stuff out of here before bringing you I'm sorry. I'll get them out now." He walks past me and starts going to different rooms taking her things and throwing them in a plastic bag.
"Mav.." I try to get his attention but he was too focused fetching her things.
"Maverick. Mav look at me. Look!" I shout. He stops and give me his attention.
"What we've done... is wrong, we broke Chase and Hailey's hearts. I can't stand to do this any longer." I say, sounding defeated. He drops the bag and goes to me with a desperate look.
"Please. Don't you want me as much as I want you?" He asks, rubbing my arms gently.
"Of course." I began to cry. He swiped my cheeks delicately with with his thumb.
"Then stay. Look we are meant for each other, the circumstances are bad, I know. But I-I..." He stammers and struggles to get his sentence together.
"I love you, Celeste." He gets out. It caught me by surprise, immediately I wanted to say it back but it didn't feel right. All these conflicting emotions going through me couldn't let me think straight.
"I have to go." I say softly. His face drops and he begins to tear up. As if I had just planted a knife into his heart, he grabs his chest. I walk away and to the front door, standing there a minute before opening the door and walking out.
All I had on was the clothes I wore to Tyler's place. I walked in the chilly morning weather as the cloudy sky gloomed over me. As I walked nearly forty minutes to Chases and I's apartment, I felt an intense feeling of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. I didn't want to see Chase but I also couldn't stand to be at Maverick's place any longer, it was physically taking a toll on me. Which hurt me so much to admit. Maverick seemed to perfect to me. He damn near is if it wasn't for the fact that we cheated on our partners to be together. I miss him already but I need to clear my head. It was so difficult to though thinking about what he said before I left. I wonder if he really meant it.
I get to my apartment building and take in a deep breath as I walk inside. I step of the elevator and walk down the hall to and to the front door. I pull out my keys from my purse and slowly open it. I cautiously walk in and quietly close the door, not wanted to alarm Chase I was here. Though, as I walk around more and more, I realize he wasn't even there. He was no where to be found. This worried me, I really hope he's okay. I get our shared room and threw my items on the ground. As soon as I lay on the bed I just cried. I ruined things with Chase and possibly with Maverick. He probably thinks I'm an indecisive mistake by now. I put my phone on silent and tuck it under my side as I laid there sobbing quietly into my pillow. The blinds in the room were shut and the apartment was quiet, the dimness in the room swallows me. I begin to cry less as my exhaustion makes my eyelids heavier and heavier. Next thing I new I had cried myself to sleep.
Apparently I had slept for a long time. I woke up and immediately checked my phone. I had left Maverick's at around 9 am and it is now 2 pm. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. A wave of nerves washed over me as I think what if Chase is here. I step out the bedroom door and hear foot steps out in the living room. I take a deep breath and look out at the room, to my surprise it wasn't Chase. It was actually Tyler. He had a black duffle bag in one hand and was putting stuff in it.
"Hi?" I say, catching his attention. He turns to look at me.
"Oh. Hey. Don't mind me Chase gave me the key to grab some of his stuff. I'm almost done." He says as he keeps filling the bag.
"Where is Chase?" I ask stepping a little closer.
"My place. Has been since last night. He said he came here this morning but seen you here sleeping and said he couldn't stay here." He shrugs. I feel my face get warm with embarrassment as I just know Chase has been trash talking me to Tyler about all this.
"Hey." He says, softly. "Relax. I'm not judging or anything. I don't really care about this I'm just helping out a friend."
I nod and timidly smile. "Okay, I'll let you get back to it then." I tell him and walk back to the bedroom. I was so nervous about seeing Chase but now I'd just like to talk to him. To apologize and explain myself, not that it would make anything better but it would give us both closure. I sit on the bed for a few minutes when I finally decide to open up my phone and check for more than just the time. There were texts from Chase and Maverick. Chase had been spamming me on the night of Tyler's party. Loads of texts messages and several missed calls. But Maverick sent me one big text from this morning, it read
"Cel I know you're scared but I need to come back to my place I'm sorry I said I loved you I just wanted you stay. Please don't take it too seriously just forget I said it. If chase is there with you and you need help PLEASE CALL ME."
I sat my head back on the bed frame. I felt stuck. I don't know what to do. I can either talk to Chase at Tyler's or go back to Maverick's.
"Okay. I got everything I think, I'm leaving." I hear Tyler saying from the living room. I take a deep breath and stand.
"Wait, Tyler? Do you mind taking me to your place? I think I want to talk with Chase." I ask. He kinda looks away nervously.
"Oh I don't know if that's a good idea. He was pretty clear he didn't want to see you."
"But I just wanna talk that's all."
"Sorry, Cel." He says and begins to leave.
