The Last Time

Prologue

Carlson

I shouldn't have let her do this. She can't hurt people like this again and act like this isn't affecting everyone around her. This hurts... watching her continue these habits even though she knows what this will do to her..... Matt what the fuck did you do to make her betray you like this. And why did I let myself get hooked right into this?

I take a long sigh, my gaze on the floor of her bedroom. Alice's bedroom, a place I've been warned not to go to alone. For the past ten minutes, she's been sitting on the other side of the bed, with her arms wrapped around her stomach, the grip so tight I don't know if she can breathe. I look back over at her, seeing if she's still holding herself tight.

Her grip is still as tight as it was before, if not even tighter. Her stomach grumbles, but Alice does not react. Her focus is on her wrists as she moves her arms from around herself so she can start to apply concealer to cover up the scars she's been re-cutting over the past few years. She doesn't let them heal, always cutting them back up. Her head turns so she can look over at me, some of her jet-black hair falls onto her face, although she's too busy looking at me to notice or react. Her expression is numb, her lips are parted slightly and her eyebrows tense, knowing she shouldn't have done what she just did. She looks like she's on the verge of tears, and all her energy is being used to keep the emotions shoved down.

I look back at her, not saying a word to her. She knows I shouldn't have been here, and we shouldn't have done this to Matt. No matter how much of a dick he is, he's still her boyfriend. I don't know what to say to Alice... because I know what we just did will single-handedly destroy any chance of fixing their relationship. Once Matt finds out, they'll break up, and I'll be the main cause of it.

I don't think I will be able to live with myself.