Broken Record

Chapter One-Flash Backs

Broken Record

Chapter 1 – Flash Backs

12 months, 3 days ago:

I was at home, on my laptop, looking through Instagram. I clicked on my boyfriend’s profile, and waited for the page to load. When it did, I saw a few pictures of him with a brunette girl I didn’t know, with captions saying: Hangin’ with my gf <3

I sucked in a breath, shocked and surprised. I knew that Parker had a reputation for cheating, but I thought he had changed. I opened up a new tab and went to my Facebook, and sent him a PM. I’m so mad at you right now. You’re just a stupid, dumb, cheater. I typed, and sent it.

11 months, 29 days ago:

I was at a party, dancing with my friends, when I got a text. There’s something you should see, come upstairs. I read, putting my phone back into my purse, and trudged upstairs. I turned a corner, and saw my boyfriend, Parker Trilf, with a pretty redhead, kissing. I walked over and slapped him, and went home to eat ice cream and bawl my eyes out.

9 months, 16 days ago:

I was sitting on the couch, watching Glee when the phone rang, and I went to go get it.

“Hey Parker… So, are we still on for our date at Gustavo’s on Friday?” A girl asked. I hung up abruptly. This was the third time he had cheated.

7 months, 9 days ago:

I hurried through the hallway of the apartment complex and jammed my key into the door, unlocking it. I held a wrapped up gift behind my back, it was for Parker’s birthday present, a brand-spanking-new Xbox, the one he always wanted. I pushed my way through the door, excitement coursing through my veins.

“Honey, look what I got you!” I exclaimed, walking into the living room, only to be infuriated at what I saw. Parker was on the couch, kissing a pretty blonde girl that I didn’t know. When he saw me in the door way, he jumped away from the girl, pushing her to the ground.

“H-hey, babe!” he said awkwardly, running his hand through his hair.

“What the heck!? I keep coming back to you, and you keep cheating! Well, I can’t take this any longer. Goodbye!” I screeched, walking out the door, taking his present with me. I expected him to follow me, but when I looked back, he was back to kissing the unknown blonde girl. What a jerk.

Present day:

I sat in my bedroom, watching Shaun of The Dead on my laptop, with a huge bowl of popcorn in my lap. It was Sunday morning, and I had stayed up all night, watching movies. My hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and I wore my glasses and pajamas. All of a sudden, a knock sounded at my door. I paused the movie and rushed downstairs, and pulled open the door. Standing in front of me was a huge surprise.

It was Parker. He held flowers and chocolates, and wore an apologetic smile.

“Hi.” He said, looking at me expectantly.

“Uhm… Hi…” I said to him, shifting uncomfortably. “Would you like to come in?”

He responded by coming inside, closing the door behind him.

“I’ve, well… I’ve missed you,” He said, trying to break the awkwardness. “I’ve been a total jerk, and I’m sorry. I came here for your forgiveness, and I don’t blame you if you don’t want to forgive me.” He said, a hopeful look in his eyes. I wanted so badly to push him out through the door, to slap him and shriek at him for even daring to come here. But the look in his eyes was just so genuine… my protective stance softened, and I cleared my throat.

“It’s a lot to forgive…” I started, “But maybe I could try…”

“Oh, thank you so much!” He exclaimed, leaning forward to hug me.

“Stop right there,” I said, putting my hand up. “I said I would try, not that I did. You really hurt me; I can’t just forgive and forget.”

“Aw, come on, Masie,” he said softly, using his nickname for me. His face saddened, and his eyes got bigger and more apologetic, like a puppy that’s done something wrong and feels guilty. I wanted to scream at him, but I also wanted to hug him. I struggled with myself, and decided to lift my chin up and give him the silent treatment.

“Oh, don’t treat me like this, c’mon, you know you don’t hate me.” He pleaded.

“How do you know for sure I don’t hate you?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“I just… Um…” He stammered, looking for words. “You’re right. I’m a pig, a jerk, and a fool. I shouldn’t have come here. I’ll go and leave you alone now.”

He got up to leave, and though I hated myself for it, and even though he was a huge jerk, I wanted him to stay. Even after all he had done, I still wanted that jerk to stay.

“Wait,” I said, stopping him. “I half forgive you. It’ll take a while for me to forgive you fully, but for now I half forgive you.”

“Yay!” He exclaimed, his expression like a kid who’s just been told they’re going to Disney World for the first time. I half smiled at him, not knowing what to do next. He walked over to me, and before I could stop him, he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, inhaling the scent of his Axe cologne.

“Ugh, you still wear that strong cologne!” I chuckle, stepping back from him.

“Hey, what can I say? Old habits die hard.” He chuckled back. I smiled at him, but all I could think about was how it took a while for his cheating habits to stop, that is if they even have stopped.

“So how’ve you been?” I asked, sitting down on my couch.

“I’ve been good; it took me a while of stalking your social network accounts to find you, though.” He laughed, sitting next to me.

“I’ve been good too, I’m just dog-tired from staying up all night watching movies.” I said, yawning.

“Oh, do you want to sleep? I’ll stop bothering you if you want a nice long nap,” he offered.

“I’m okay, you don’t have to leave.” I told him, smiling.

After about an hour of catching up later, he left to go to his new job, because he decided to move here. I went back upstairs and started watching Shaun of The Dead again, wondering what possessed him to come back, asking for forgiveness. I cringed at myself, realizing what I had just done. I had set myself up for disappointment, again. He would ask me to be his girlfriend, and me being the romantic, naïve girl that I am, would oblige. Then he’d cheat on me again, and I’d keep forgiving him, stuck like a broken record, until I could finally break free. I plunged my face into my pillow, and cried out in anguish. I heard the ringtone of my phone, and picked it up, looking at the text I had just received.

Hey, I wanna talk 2 u some more; wanna meet up at The Crimson Café tomorrow at noon?

It was a text from Parker. My heart thudded in my chest, and unthinkingly, I touched the reply button, and tapped a message back to him.

Would love to, can’t wait! J

With a fateful tap, I sent it to him, only to realize that I had just made a huge mistake. I tried to think of a way to come up with an excuse to say that I actually couldn’t go, but I knew it was futile.

Gr8, c u later masie! J

He replied, sealing my fate.

 Whether I liked it or not, I was going to just have to suck it up and meet him at the café tomorrow. Oh well, I should’ve known I was doomed from the moment he came.

A/N: Whoa, that was 1,348 words, I’m impressed with myself! This was the 1st chapter, so I hope you’ll stay tuned for the next one!

If you liked this chapter, show your support by voting and leaving a comment! If you didn’t, tell me why in the comments, I appreciate constructive criticism. ^-^

-This chapter was written by @KewlKat77