Ayla Pezzino thought she had it all. A successful career as a marketing executive in New York City, a new man by her side, and a fresh start after the heartbreak that shattered her world six years ago. But when she receives the devastating news that...
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The walk to my car from Ayla's felt like a walk of victory. A crowd of roars and raves happening in my head, like I just made a game-winning buzzer beater shot. Getting her to agree to meet me at Cole's felt like my biggest win of the decade, aside from making her my girlfriend during our college years, this felt almost as big. All I was able to muster out of her was a depressing "fine," but a win is a win for me.
Sage had told me that Ayla had been seeing some guy named McKenzie a little over a year ago when I asked how she was doing during one of our catch up days. I had driven into West Hartford from Bridgeport at 9am to spend the day with her. She was my best friend, so I didn't mind being up early on my days off. Once a month we both took time out of our busy schedules to get coffee or lunch, hang out at her house, and just chill like we used to. It used to be the three of us a couple of years ago. Me, Sage, and Ayla. Inseparable, an attached at the hip trio but then it was just me and Sage. I'm sure Ayla and Sage had their own routine and probably did it more frequently than Sage and I did, but these days were ours. That night over Chinese takeout from Golden Star while sitting on her couch, I asked her how Ayla was doing. It had been almost four years since we broke up. Correction: since she left me, giving me no indication that she was planning on breaking up with me. Several more Sage and Seth days occurred between now and them. I didn't always explicitly ask about Ayla, but I wondered about her. I'd be lying if I said I didn't check up on Ayla now and then from a distance. I know I shouldn't and I shouldn't care because of the way things ended, but I did. No matter what happened, I wondered about her when I should really hate her for what she did to me. I always visited her Instagram page when Sage tagged her in a story or a post. Sage and Ayla posing in Times Square, at New York Fashion Week, polaroids of them on Christmas and New Years Eve, girls trip photos in the Bahamas. I saw it all vicariously through Sage. I knew that her and McKenzie were still together, which added a whole other risk to asking. I had a feeling that her new relationship contributed to the hesitance she had in agreeing to grab a drink with me.
Through Instagram I also saw the progression of her relationship with McKenzie and all of the things that they did together. We had been broken up for a while and I expected her to move on, just as I did, tried to, but it bothered me seeing her in Europe with another man. That should have been us posing on Mediterranean beaches, in front of the Eiffel Tower, and markets in Amsterdam.
The countless arguments about Europe forced their way into my brain during my drive to Cole's. For months I had begged Ayla to go to Europe with me after graduation and she wouldn't budge. I know she was in a completely different place after graduation than she is now, but it didn't give me any solace. I went to Europe, she stayed here in the States, and that was the end of us.
"What aren't you understanding Seth? I can't fucking go! I'm not going!" Ayla shouted at me from across our apartment.
