Into The Ring (Phenomenal: 2)

12 ~ Six Degrees of Separation

Clarissa stared at him for a moment, not sure she had actually heard what she thought she had heard. She couldn't have heard right because it was such a stupid thing to have heard.

"Huh?" she finally managed to say.

"I'm willing to take you back," Brett repeated, walking forwards, "You clearly needed a break, you were getting really wound up by the end of last year and you're looking much better since coming home so I'm willing to pick up where we left off and—"

"Stop," Clarissa said, staring at him, "Just... just stop. Are you mad? Do you have any idea of the position you are in compared to me? I was the one who ended our relationship. I choose whether I take you back or not. You do not get a say."

"Of course I get a say, Clarissa," Brett snapped, "You and I both know a break up is ridiculous for our positions and—"

"Ohhhh," Clarissa said, a smile forming as she settled back in her armchair, grinning at him, "Oh I know what's going on."

Brett glared at her.

"This is about your father, isn't it?" she said, tilting her head to the side, "You're scared of your Daddy. What did he do? Threaten you with a disinheritance?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Brett growled, his voice low and warning.

"Oh I do," Clarissa said, "My father threatened me with the same thing when I told him I was ending our relationship. He was not happy at all... until I told him you left bruises on me."

"Oh it wasn't like I fucking beat you!" Brett snarled and Clarissa raised an eyebrow at him, her hand tightening on the phone that was still channelling the conversation through to Damien. "I lost my temper once or twice. You didn't end up in hospital."

"Once was too much and you did it again and again," Clarissa said, her voice low, "Maybe your mind-set will never permit you to understand exactly what you've done or the type of man you are. But my mind-set tells me, quite clearly, that you are not the type of man I should be in a relationship with."

"Because you think I'm violent? You're dating a goddamn boxer!"

"I'm not dating him. And his profession is not an indicator of violent tendencies. Just as yours is not – yet you were violent. You threw a mug of boiling coffee at me."

"I was angry! You were breaking up with me!"

"It's not a excuse, Brett!" Clarissa snarled, storming to her feet, staring at him, "You can't behave like that, whatever you might be thinking or feeling! You can't with me. So you can't have me back. I won't have you back. You don't deserve me. Face your father like a man like I faced mind like woman. Show some backbone and if the worst comes of it, it's your father's loss. With you gone, he has no children left. Use what leverage you have, that's what makes survivors of businessmen and women."

She stormed past him, her hands planting on his chest as she shoved him aside, heading for the doors.

"You don't suit computer science," he muttered.

"What?" Clarissa bit back, looking at him, her hand on the door handle.

"You're better off in business," he said, "If you work on it, you'll be ruthless."

"I don't care about being ruthless," Clarissa said, "I just care about doing what's best for me. I'm not a ruthless person, whatever you might think. Maybe you say that because you think I'm leaving you to the mercy of your family but it is not my job to look after you and sacrifice my life so your father doesn't get mad."

She pulled open the door then paused.

"I don't think you're a bad person, Brett," she said, her voice softening as she looked at him, "I think you're just scared. And that's fine, you'll face that fear eventually, I'm sure. And if you do, you can date someone who really wants to be with you. That's not me though, I'm moving on – way on. We can be friends, Brett but that's it. You're on your own from here on out, just as I am."

"How'd you do it?"

Clarissa stopped again and once again looked back.

Brett sank into the chair she had vacated, staring at the floor, his hands trembling even while clasped together.

"Do what?" she asked.

"How do you... act so tough? Why aren't you heartbroken?"

"I was," Clarissa said.

He looked up and she slowly released the door handle and turned back to him, looking at her phone before ending the call. She then walked back to him and sat down in the chair on the other side of the fireplace.

"It broke my heart. Not the break up; that was just a means to an end by that time. What broke my heart was the man you had become because you weren't the man I first dated. That hurt me, because of what I had lost. That broke my heart but... it didn't change the situation I was in... so I took my friends' advice and... ended it. It wasn't about acting tough, it was just dealing with it."

"Doesn't seem fair that you moved on so quickly," Brett muttered.

"I haven't really moved on, Brett," she said, making him look at her, "You were a major part of my life for a year. But regardless, I have no intention of going back. You'll get to this stage as well; I'm just a few steps ahead of you because I simply fell out of love. While you, well I don't know if you ever even loved me."

"I did," Brett muttered, looking down, "I still do but... damn, I don't want to end up like my brother."

"Maybe you should see your brother more often," Clarissa said, "You may find he's not as unhappy in his life as you think."

He glanced at her and she got to her feet.

"Right, I'm heading back to the join the party," she said, adjusting her shawl and slipping her phone into her bag, "I haven't enjoyed one of these nights in a while and I hear the main entertainment tonight is one of the big name violinists so I don't want to miss that. I'll see you later, yeah?"

Brett looked at the floor for a while, then finally nodded.

"See you later," he said.

She walked out and closed the door behind her, returning to the hall and the people who were pretending to not be interested in the on-goings of the room she'd just left.

Looking around, Damien waved to her and she smiled as she walked back to him, Samantha and Paul – Lucinda having disappeared.

"Well, you seem to be doing just fine," Damien said with a smile.

She laughed slightly. "My heart is pounding but I'm doing just fine," she said, sliding an arm around his waist as he draped an arm across her shoulders.

"Girlie, you kicked his ass," Samantha said, laughing.

"Oh great, nice to know you were all listening," Clarissa said, blushing.

"I tried to stop them but they stole the phone," Damien said.

"You didn't put it on loud speaker, did you?" Clarissa asked, eyes widening, looking around.

"No, of course not, we're not that bad," Paul said. "We just stood really – awkwardly – close to listen."

"Nice, subtle," Clarissa said, rolling her eyes.

"As ever," he said, grinning.

"So now what?" Samantha asked.

"Now we get back to the evening and enjoy this charity event like we're supposed to," Clarissa said, "Swan about, donate money, make nice with rivals, the usual."

"The usual it is then" Samantha said, smiling. 

~~~~

Music By: Six Degrees of Separations by The Script