Rid Of Him For Good (A Reylo Story)

Chapter Three

CHAPTER 3

Poe marched into his office, slamming the door behind him. He flopped down in his chair, all of his energy seemingly gone from the eventful morning. "Why him, Rey?" He grumbled under his breath, his voice stinging with betrayal and hurt. "Why out of all the people in the galaxy? It just had to be him, didn't it?" He buried his face in his hands, feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. He didn't know how long he sulked with his eyes squeezed shut, but when he opened them again, the sun had nearly set, bathing his office in a warm, orange glow.

A knock at the door interrupted him, and he turned away, looking instead at the last rays of sunshine floating through his window. "Not now, Finn!" Poe shouted, not bothering to look up. But the door opened anyway, and Rey slowly peeked her head in. Poe groaned and turned his head, avoiding eye contact. "Take a seat, I guess. There's nothing I can do to stop you. Not like you can catch bullets now or whatever." His words dripped with sarcasm and resentment.

Rey timidly settled herself in the seat across from Poe, her eyes cast downward. Then, like she didn't know what else to do, she picked up a pen sitting on the desk and nervously fiddled with it. The silence between them was thick with tension and unspoken words.

Poe's mind raced with thoughts of betrayal and hurt. How could she do this to him? How could she choose Kylo, of all people, over the Resistance? He felt like he'd been blind to her deception, like she'd been playing him all along. The thought made his stomach turn.

The silence stretched out, heavy with unspoken accusations and hurt feelings. Poe's anger and resentment simmered just below the surface, waiting to erupt. He couldn't believe the person he thought he knew had turned out to be a traitor.

"So..." Began Rey quietly.

"So." Responded Poe curtly. Rey seemed to curl back even further into her chair. His eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the pen in Rey's hand as if it were a ticking time bomb. He couldn't believe she was sitting in his office, calmly fidgeting with his pen, after what had just happened.

"Why, Rey?" he asked again, his voice laced with venom. "Why did you have to be the one to stab me in the back? I thought we were a team, a family. I trusted you with my life, and this is how you repay me?"

Rey's eyes dropped, her fingers tightening around the pen as if it was a lifeline. "Poe, please... I can explain..."

But Poe wasn't having it. He slammed his fist on the desk, making Rey jump. "Explain? You think you can explain away what you've done? You've broken my trust, Rey. Something I do not give so freely as Finn or Leia."

The silence that followed was oppressive, heavy with the weight of Poe's anger and hurt. He couldn't bear to look at Rey, couldn't bear to think that he had been so blind to her deception.

Rey's voice was barely audible when she spoke again. "Poe, I... I never meant to hurt you. I swear it."

"Yeah, well.. you did!" Poe spat. "If you hadn't-"

"We can be gone by tomorrow morning." Interrupted Rey, sadness in her voice. Poe finally looked up at her. "I mean, if that's what you want. We've been considering some of the less inhabited outer-rim planets as places to live. None of them are quite perfect, but I'm sure we could make one of them work within the next week-"

Poe tiredly waves his hands in front of Rey, cutting her off. "No, Rey! That's not what I want at all!" He said, his voice cracked with emotion, his words tumbling out in a rush. "That's exactly what I don't want! I don't want to lose you to him! We have all been through so much together to put a stop to the First Order. To him! This moment right here is what we worked so hard for. Making the galaxy a better place together and putting these new laws into place the way we envisioned them. I thought it would be the three of us together. You, me, and Finn. Our team, back together again and helping people in need. I just-" Poe's voice broke off, his words hanging in the air as he struggled to contain his emotions. He looked away, his eyes welling up with tears, his throat constricting. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Rey; of their friendship and partnership being torn apart by her feelings for him.