Phenomenal

39 ~ One Last Chance

Clarissa didn't go straight home after leaving her father. She sat in a café until late afternoon – without even realising it – her thoughts on one thing.

Where did she break up with Brett.

She had never thought the place would be so important if she ever came to breaking up with Brett. The first and only other boyfriend she'd had, the location hadn't been that important. It had been at school, in a quiet corner away from the other students where they talked it out and agreed that they both wanted to end things before they started collage.

But he had been a sweet guy. She hadn't been wary of his reactions. She had been able to accurately predict his reaction to the conversation.

When she and Brett had started dating, Clarissa had thought she would be able to predict his reaction. She had originally thought he would sit down and talk it out like a mature adult.

She no longer thought that.

Now she didn't know.

Now he was volatile and thus the location mattered.

In public, it was simply too public. It was almost certain that someone would step in if things went south but it was just not the place for a private conversation.

Anywhere at her university posed the same problem, too public and she felt most comfortable in her buildings but she was too well known in her department to want to risk a scene.

His place was out of the question, there was no way she could do something risky like break up on his home ground where he felt more comfortable there than anywhere else.

Her place was an option of course because there would be people around but they still weren't in the immediate area. And there was the fact that no one close to her was around. Charlotte and Adam were away for the day to see Adam's parents and wouldn't be back until late evening.

Jacob was out for the day with some of the guys and they could be staying out until late.

And Damien was at work. She didn't know when he was coming home. If he had been next door at the time it would have been a different matter. But he wasn't and knowing that shook her confidence more than she cared to admit.

Eventually she went home.

She hadn't realised it had got so late until someone mentioned the time to their friend in a really, really loud voice on the other side of the café.

She was going to wait for Charlotte to get home. She wanted the support and to discuss things with a friend. She wanted Charlotte's opinion on where a suitable place might be because she couldn't decide.

As it turned out however, Brett decided for her.

When she got home, stepped out of the lift and walked to her door, she looked up from pulling her keys from her bag and froze. Her stomach turned cold, her face turned hot, her adrenaline went through the roof and her limbs failed her, rooting her in place as she looked at Brett.

He was dressed in a suit and trench coat, his briefcase down by his feet as he stood with his arm folded on the balcony, looking out over the courtyard where a couple of girls were greeting each other.

"Do you know how many times I've been trying to call you today?" Brett asked slowly, looking at her, his eyes dark and annoyed, his tone cold.

Clarissa blinked and her limb-lock realised her. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, clicking it on. Thirty-six missed calls from Brett, ten texts of varying attitudes, from worried to outright pissed.