I'll Be Seeing You

Seventeen.

"Hey," she said again, stepping toward me.

"Hi." I replied curtly, grabbing my bags and heading for the door.

"Wait. Can we talk?" she asked, blocking my path.

"What do you want, Kasey?"

"I miss you."

"I'm not doing this. I need to go."

"Why? Gotta report back to your boyfriend?"

I stopped and turned to her, irritation flaring. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you seriously gonna stand there and pretend you and Mark aren't together?"

"No, I'm not pretending. We are together. And I'm happier than I've ever been. But I don't 'report' to anyone. I'm a grown-ass woman."

"Ouch. That hurt," she said with a smirk. "But I guess I was right all along."

My blood started to boil. "No, you weren't. Mark doesn't fight with me over every little thing. He doesn't accuse me of cheating, doesn't lie to me, doesn't make me feel like I'm always walking on eggshells. And just so we're clear—I wasn't with him when you and I were together. I never cheated on you. I never snuck around behind your back. That was all your paranoia."

She rolled her eyes. "I find that hard to believe."

"And I don't give two shits what you believe." I stepped forward, but she still didn't move. "Now, get out of my way."

"It was never real for you, was it?"

I let out a bitter laugh and dropped my bags beside me, leaning against the wall. "It was real. Every damn word I said, I meant it. My feelings for you were real, Kasey. Genuine."

"Then how the hell did you move on so fast?"

I sighed. She wasn't going to budge until she got her piece—or I gave her mine. "Because Mark was there from the beginning. He saved me from the worst moments of my life. And yeah, you were right about one thing—he loved me the whole time. But I didn't see it back then. I was too caught up in everything else. Through all the chaos with Chris, with you, through everything—he was there. Steady. Patient. And when it all fell apart, he was the one who helped me put the pieces back together. So yeah, being with him? It came easy."

She looked away for a moment, then back at me. "Are you in love with him?"

"Yes. Very much so."

Her voice was quieter now. Vulnerable. "Do you still love me?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, Kasey. Those feelings don't just disappear overnight."

"Do you love me the way you love him?"

"Jesus, Kasey..." I shook my head. "You and Mark are nothing alike. You're two completely different people. What we had was real—I'll never deny that. But it's over now. I love him with all my heart. And yes, I was in love with you once. But that doesn't change where we are now."

"It does matter, Alyssa. We didn't go through all of that for nothing."

"You lied to me, Kasey. You cheated—with your ex. You shattered every bit of trust we had. Our relationship wasn't what I thought it was."

"It wasn't all a lie," she insisted. "Yeah, I screwed up in the beginning. I admit that. But I never slept with her again after that. Yeah, she stayed over when we were fighting, but nothing happened. I don't even feelings for her anymore. She's gone, and so are those feelings."