Broken Promises || Chris Evans

18

Chris was in his apartment, a place he'd always shared with Delilah. The silence echoed through the rooms, accentuating his loneliness. He sat on the edge of their bed, staring blankly at the floor. The memories of their life together seemed to mock him from every corner, a constant reminder of what he had lost. His mind was a storm of regret, anger, and sorrow. He relived every argument, every fight, every hurtful word. He berated himself for being so stupid, so careless, so damn stubborn. He clutched at the sheets, the fabric soft against his fingers, just like her hair. He wanted to call her, to apologize, to beg for forgiveness. But he knew it was too late. She had walked out that door, and he didn't think she would ever come back. The realization made his chest ache with a pain that was both physical and emotional.

There was a sudden buzz to his phone, breaking the oppressive silence. Chris picked up the phone and saw a text from Scarlett, one of their mutual best friends. The message was short, to the point. 'How are you holding up? And don't say fine.' Chris snorted at her bluntness. Scarlett had always been the no-nonsense one in their group, the one who would call you out on your bullshit. She had a way of cutting through the crap with brutal honesty.

He considered for a moment how to respond. Should he lie and say he was fine, like he had been doing for the past few days, or should he tell her the truth, that he was drowning in a sea of guilt and regret? In the end, his exhaustion won. He didn't have the energy to put up a facade, not with her. He typed out a reply. 'Not fine. I've f*cked up, Scar. Big time.'

The reply came almost immediately. Scarlett never wasted time. 'I know. I saw Delilah at Lily's house yesterday. She looks awful.' Chris's stomach twisted at her words. The thought of Delilah looking hurt and broken because of him was like a knife twisting in his gut. He knew he was the one responsible for her pain, and it was eating him alive. 'Did she say anything?' he texted back, afraid of the answer. 'Just that you guys aren't doing great.' The response was terse, but that was just how Scarlett was. They'd known each other long enough to understand each other's communication styles. 'She said she's staying with Lily for a while.''And Emily tried coming by to see her. Delilah punched her in the face after yelling at her for being a home wrecker between you two.' She added

Chris winced at the thought of Delilah's fist connecting with Emily's face. Delilah wasn't usually violent. The fact that she had resorted to physical violence was a clear sign of just how much his infidelity had hurt her. 'She did what?' he texted back, shocked. He had known Delilah would be hurt, maybe even angry at him and Emily, but he had never thought she would react violently. 'Yeah,' Scarlett's reply came. 'Lily had to pull her off of Emily. The girl was bleeding a bit.'  There was a pause before she sent another message. 'You really hurt her, Chris.'

As he read the text, a wave of shame washed over him. He had hurt the one person who had always been there for him, who had loved him unconditionally. And for what? A stupid fling that meant nothing to him? A pathetic attempt to escape from the mundanity of their life together? He slumped down onto the bed, guilt eating away at him. The reality of what he had done was sinking in with full force. He had thrown away everything he had with Delilah for a moment of stupidity, and now he was left with the shattered pieces of their relationship. The silence was overwhelming, his own thoughts echoing in his head. It was Scarlett who broke him out of his stupor. 'You need to fix this, Chris.' She typed bluntly. 'You owe her that much at least.' Her words echoed in his head. Fix this. He knew he needed to do something, to try to salvage the relationship he had so carelessly destroyed. But he didn't know where to start, how to even begin to repair the damage he had caused.