"Baby?" The girl with hopeful eyes looks up at her boyfriend from his lap.
"Yeah?" The boy mindlessly twirls her hair, knowing that it causes her head to swim with a blissful feeling.
"I love you, R. I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I think I truly do love you." The girl looks at his eyes, which are dilated on the tv. His jaw is clenched, his muscles are tense, and his eyes can't be ripped from the screen.
"R?"
"What?" The blood rush seems to be flowing directly to his head, considering his face is the color of his boiling blood.
The girl lifts her head up so they're both level, looking each other in the eyes.
"Did you not hear me? I love you."
"Stop saying that," the boy seethes.
"Why? It's true, R."
"No, it's fucking not, M."
"How the hell would you know?" The girl raises her tone slightly, noticing how much his attitude towards this situation is pissing her off.
"You don't know what love is."
"Oh, but you do?"
"Don't talk to me like that!" He screams loud enough for her to jump back to the other side of the couch.
"Who the fuck are you? Because you're not the boy I fell in love with right now," the girl says with the fear hiding behind her words.
The boy realizes what he's done, his face draining of the boiling blood he once had. He notices his only escape is to flee, so he darts for the door.
"R, wait," the girl says softly as she walks towards him.
"Stay away from me," he growls, the anger suddenly back.
"R," she sighs.
"Stay. Away."
"I love you."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He screams again, loud enough for the neighbors to call the police.
"Why? Why the hell don't I love you? Just explain me that!"
"Because you're not her!" He screams, loud enough for the tears that are rolling down his face to stop and linger, burning his cheeks.
"I- I'm what?"
"You're not her! You can't love me! You're not fucking her!" The boy falls to the floor, sobbing into his hands.
The girl doesn't know what to do. He's never let his guard down like this, especially over an ex?
"A- are you saying I'm not good enough?"
"I miss her, M. I miss her so much," he sobs, choking on his own whimpers.
The girl finally breaks to her knees, more hurt that the love of her life is broken than he fact that he just told her she will never be as good as this girl before.
"She's the only one that can love someone like me. And now she's gone," he cries, finally finding comfort in her chest.
Now she understands.
"Sh, baby, it's going to be okay. Everything will be okay."
"I just miss her so much. Why did she leave me? I thought she loved me. If she loved me, sh would've stayed! I loved her!"
"I know, baby," she coos, "I'm sure she loved you too."
"I miss her, M. I just want my mom back," the boy sobs. So, this is it, after everything they've been through and he kept a solid rock face, this is the thing that truly broke him.
She knew her love was broken, but now, his barricade is broken too, and she wonders if she'll be able to handle him like this.
