Housemates

My Worst Nightmare

Aaron

Chase, grabs my arm and pulls me away from the crowd, leading us to an empty hallway.

"Are you crazy?" Chase exclaims, clearly annoyed. I am assuming he found out.

"What do you want?" I ask, a bit defensive.

"Why did you break up with Aria? What the hell happened?" He demands, his frustration evident.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. I just decided to rip the bandage off," I reply, trying to justify my actions.

"Did you guys have a fight?" He probes further.

What is he trying to get out of this?

"No," I respond curtly.

"Did she cheat on you?" He continues his line of questioning.

"No," I answer, feeling a bit exasperated.

"Did you cheat on her?" Chase asks, leaving no stone unturned.

"No, of course not," I assert firmly.

"Then it wasn't going to happen soon. You're just afraid," Chase states matter-of-factly.

"I'm not afraid," I retort, looking away from him.
"Yes, you are. I don't understand why you always do this, man," Chase says, frustration evident in his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I reply, trying to deflect his observation.

"Every time you are happy for some reason you sabotage it for yourself." Chase continues, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"I don't- no- it's better this way. She deserves better- She's leaving in a few months, and I don't want her to resent me if we stay together," I explain, trying to justify my decision, knowing that thats only half the truth.

"Yeah, because obviously that's exactly who Arianne is- Are you even hearing yourself? You're being ridiculous," Chase argues, clearly disagreeing with my reasoning.

"I know what this is all about," he starts.

"No, you don't," I retort, challenging his assumption.

"Yeah, I do. It's about protecting yourself from getting hurt,"
"You aren't afraid she's going to resent you- you're scared she was going to leave you first."

Chase's words hit too close to home. I am left speechless not knowing what to say. He worded how I felt perfectly. When Dylan approached me that day he triggered something in me. I have only told Aria a small part of how my family really is and who I am when she isn't around. She was surprisingly very understanding, but thats only because I told her what I wanted her to know.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her that on top of my mom being verbally abusive- she was also a cheater- and I let it slide. How was she going to be able to look me in the eyes? Not telling my dad wasn't even as close to being as hard it is to telling Aria.

And it won't even affect her.

If she found out I was keeping all this and more how would she be able to trust me? Or what if its all too much for her and she doesn't even want to be with me anymore?
So yes, I did break up with her because I was scared she was going to end up doing it first.

And do I regret it?
So
Freaking
Much.

Arianne
*Three weeks later*

Pillows are being thrown at me in an attempt to wake me up. I groggily opened my eyes as Lana shook me awake. Sunlight streamed through the window, making me realize that I might have slept well into the afternoon.