Valerie's Guide To Postponing a Breakup

Diane

Luckily, the taxi manages to get me all the way there this time. After around ten minutes of huffing and drumming my fingers impatiently on the window, I arrive. Stepping out, I straighten my glasses and smooth my hair down, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever it is I might find in there. Right now, I want everything to go smoothly.

Which is ironic, really, since the reason I set out is to prove that my boyfriend is a liar.

I open the door a bit more violently than I originally intended, and this time, even the smell of delicious pastries can't calm my nerves and agitation. Every heartbeat just feels like the ticking of a time bomb.

I stop in my tracks when I enter, glancing around. Everything looks the same as when I came in a few days ago. And surprisingly—but quite relievingly, too—Leo doesn't seem to be here at all. Maybe I was overreacting.

Typical Valerie, blowing everything out of proportion.

I glance around again, and all of a sudden I catch sight of the girl from my last visit.

That is my signal to turn around and leave.

But then, without warning, our eyes lock, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I stand my ground. I narrow my eyes into a glare, and she stares right back at me with her icy blue eyes—clearly she remembers me. I scowl at her, and for a fleeting second, I see her confident demeanour falter. Something I can't quite place flashes through her eyes—panic? Fear? I'm not sure. My brow furrows with confusion as I frown. She disappears behind a door marked 'Staff only'.

She looked nervous upon seeing me—so then what's going on?

I clench my hands into fists, my nails digging into a palm as I steel myself, and walk forward. This is about my boyfriend. And I'm not going to sit around and wait to see if he's lying to me—I'm going to find out for myself. I know I should know better than just completely and utterly disregarding the sign on the door, but right now, it feels like something I've got to do.

Looking over my shoulder to make sure everyone else is occupied with their own business, I half run and half jog up to the door that I saw that fake blonde go through, and with my heart racing and my palms sweaty, I push it open.

"Hi," I start, walking in. "I'm looking for the bathroom. Is this the right..." I trail off because there's already a conversation happening. And it doesn't take a Sherlock of a detective to see who's involved.

My heart goes boom.

"No," the fake blonde is saying, her hands splayed outwards as though it'll keep who she's conversing with rooted to the spot. "You can't go out there—do you want her to start getting ideas?" Leo opens his mouth to argue, but then looks up and sees me. His eyes widen, and for a moment as he stares at me for a few seconds, surprised, he looks like an animal under sudden attack. His body tenses up before relaxing again, his shoulders slumping slightly as he averts his gaze. "Too late," he mumbles, blowing out his breath.

"What are you doing here?" I splutter, surprised that I can even find my words when all of my thoughts are running around in circles. Seeing that girl and Leo in the same work uniform is enough to make me want to hurl a thousand times over. She whirls around to face me, her eyes wide with surprise. "What are you doing here?" she counters, jabbing an accusing finger in my direction. "You can't just come in here!"

"Look, Val." Leo looks up at me, his eyes pleading with me. "I just needed some extra money, so Diane over here—" "Diane?!" I interrupt, my voice rising shrilly. "Let me finish," Leo says, desperation creeping into his tone. "Fine," I say, exhaling shakily. "Tell me, Leo, what the hell is your business with Diane?" "She pulled some strings and got me a job here," Leo continues, but as he says it, he seems to trip over his own words.