A Different Form of Art

Chapter Fifteen

Liam POV

I stood, frozen in time. I couldn't believe what I had seen with my own eyes, Bradley kissing that slut. With the messy red lipstick and low top, I couldn't believe him. When he looked over and saw me, I saw his face full of apology and regret, but I couldn't, I just couldn't. Why would he do something like this? What had I done to deserve this? I dashed inside, and locked the door behind me.

"Liam!" I heard him shout. I could feel my knees getting wobbly, and my vision got black spots in it. My ears started ringing and it felt as if I were underwater. I tried to hold the wall to stabilize myself, but I still collapsed.

"Liam!" I heard Bradley shout again, or was I imagining it? He seemed closer this time, yet I couldn't hear him as well. That was the last thing I remember before I hit the cold floor.

It kept playing over and over in my head, Bradley and that woman kissing. Except I saw him kissing her back, did that really happen? He looked right at me, and kissed her again. It was as if he was doing it just to hurt me. Would he really do that? Was I that bad of a person, that he would so blatantly try to hurt me?

I woke up with a searing headache and the picture of that woman kissing Bradley plastered into my mind. I never thought he would do that to me, I thought he really loved me. At least I loved him. I should've listened to his apology at least, maybe it wasn't his fault. Now it was too late, he defiantly hated me now. I shut him out, wouldn't even listen. Dammit Liam, you screwed up. I probably wouldn't ever get another chance with someone as great as Bradley, he was perfect.

Now that I think about it, rationally, he wouldn't have kissed her. Unless he's the best actor I've ever met, he actually cared about me. And I basically called him a liar without saying anything, I slammed the door in his face, never even let him apologize. What an idiot I was, I was wrong. Hopefully he'd give me another chance.

I walked into the back room, I was thirsty and I always had a water bottle back here just in case. I thought about going home, but decided to just stay here for the night, I would be fine. What about food though? I wasn't really hungry, and I had been planning on going to dinner at Bradley's tonight. The more I thought about it, the sadder I became. I started crying, and once I got started, I couldn't stop.

All night, I cried just thinking about Bradley. I loved him so much, he was so perfect, why would he do something like this? I cried until I passed out again.

I dreamt of the kiss again, except this time, I saw it as the woman kissing Bradley, not the other way around. I saw it as Bradley being held against his will, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was forced to watch it. I ran across the street, and tried to pull them apart, but it were as if their lips were glued together, they were stuck. It played over and over, Bradley and the woman kissing, I couldn't make it stop.

I awoke in a cold sweat. Shaking, I stood up and grabbed my tear-stained jacket from under me and put it on. Moonlight shone through the window, creating shadows on the floor. I opened the window to get some fresh air. It was a warm night, so I left the window open. I could see the stars. One in particular stood out to me, it shone brighter than the rest. Goodnight, Bradley, my perfect shining star, I thought.

My eyelids felt heavy, I was still tired, so I walked back across the room and lay in the moonlight, before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

There was a terrible scratching sound, like cat-claws on a chalkboard. I couldn't make out what the noise was, I awoke and walked into the main part of the shop, nothing was there. Weird. I then noticed that the sound was fainter, it must have been coming from the back room. Was someone trying to break in? I thought. Yikes, I didn't want to deal with that.

I heard the window slide open. My heartbeat sped up, I was about to phone the police when I realized my phone was in the other room. Smart, Liam. I heard feet hit the ground, my eyes caught on the sight of my watering can. It was metal, and if I swung it hard enough, I would probably have time to grab my phone and run before they could hurt me.

Three, two, one! I said in my head, and ran into the room, can in hand and stopped in my tracks.

"Bradley?"