The Experiment © [Completed]

Chapter 57 - Hurt

Dei walked into their penthouse unit early that evening and found the living room dark. It was almost 7 in the evening and she had just come home from work.

She waited for RJ at her workstation for about 30 minutes after her shift ended, but then Ken walked by and told her that RJ actually went home early. She had checked her phone to see if she missed a call or text from RJ because he definitely did not advise her that he'd be going home early.

She softly knocked on RJ's door before coming in and saw him sitting quietly by the window with a beer can in his hand. She noticed that there were three more empty cans beside him on the floor.

"Babe?" she called.

He didn't respond.

She walked towards him and touched his shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked softly. "Ken told me you weren't feeling well and had to go home early. Why didn't you tell me?"

RJ let out a huge sigh. "It's funny, Dei... You've questioned me a lot about cheating and about my loyalty, when it turns out you're the one who can't be trusted."

Dei removed her hand from his shoulder, greatly surprised by his words. "What are you talking about?"

"I know about you and James," he said stiffly, his eyes still staring out the window.

"What about me and James?" Dei asked, confused. "What's going on, RJ?"

"I don't know, you tell me." he said coldly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied. "You and James have already talked, right?"

RJ flipped his phone, which Dei just realized he was actually holding. He was still not looking at her. "We have. But you're so cunning, Dei. Who knows if you just did that to sidetrack me?"

"What? Would you at least look at me, RJ!" she said, her voice sharp.

RJ turned to look at her and she was surprised at how devastated he looked. His eyes and nose were red like he had been crying for a while and there was a bit of anger starting to brew inside his eyes while he looked at her.

"You puzzle me, Dei. You act all innocent and naive one moment, and then the next you're up in my face being aggressive as fuck," he said.

"Is this still about the game?" Dei asked incredulously.

"And it's interesting how easy it was for you to almost bare yourself in front of a dozen guys just to get what you want. You're no different than Christine, to be honest," he said, his eyes now colder.

Dei flinched, absolutely hurt by his words.

"But you're smart, because you played me well," he said bitterly.

Dei took a step back from him, confused and hurt. "Can you at least tell me where this is coming from?"

RJ pulled the video from his phone and played it before handing it to Dei.

She watched it and almost wanted to laugh and choke RJ at the same time. "You're getting so worked up because of this?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "You do know this was taken the day we met up with Lily and Stef right? They arrived an hour late so James and I had to wait in this coffee shop."

"Are you always that sweet? I see you have a song for him too. Is it the same song you dedicated to me?" he asked, his eyes watching her face.

Dei squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. "It was your song, RJ. The song you wrote. I made him listen to it," she said, her patience dwindling.

RJ paused for a moment as he thought about what she said, but then his expression clouded again almost immediately. "How do you explain the kiss, then?"

"What kiss?" she asked and RJ just raised his eyebrows at her.

Dei fast forwarded the video until she got to the part RJ was talking about. She realized that from the angle the video was taken, one could assume that James was kissing her on the lips when in fact he only kissed her cheek and whispered at her to take care.

"Where did this even come from?" she asked, but then realized the answer almost at once.

RJ wasn't done yet. "So why did you do it, Dei? Did you enjoy playing with the fuckboy? I bet you were too proud of yourself because of how much you've changed me," he said bitterly. "Or was it a bold move for a career boost?"

Dei slapped him hard. "How dare you," she said coldly. "After everything, RJ? After all that I've given you? So much for trusting each other, huh?"

RJ gazed at her with shock, and for a moment he looked like he had finally come back to his senses but he didn't speak.

"If you only asked me about this first instead of letting your stupid ex poison your brain, you would know that James and I had been talking about you nonstop at the coffee shop. You would know that I was actually so proud while letting him listen to your song. If you asked me first, you would know that there had never been a kiss like the one you're implying. And that he didn't only hug me, but he hugged Stef and Lily too. We're friends for crying out loud! You see these girls? They're Stef and Lily!" she exclaimed, pointing at the two girls on the video standing about a foot away from her and James.

RJ bit his lip.

"Now it dawns on me how people were so right about saying we've been moving too fast," Dei said sorely, "that a month wasn't sufficient for us to know each other well enough... because right now I realize that I don't know you at all, RJ." she said angrily, turning away before her tears started falling.

"Dei, wait," RJ said, grabbing her hand.

"Let go of me." she whispered, not wanting him to hear the strain in her voice as a wave of tears started coming.

"I'm sorry," he said, letting go of her hand.

Dei shook her head and left. RJ's heart sank when he heard the front door shut loudly.