The Things I Love About You (Completed)

C h a p t e r N i n e

Angrily, I kick a rock in front of me as hard as I can and watch it fly through the air before smacking into a lamp post. I take out my phone and, out of stupid hope, try calling Scott again. My anger melts away when the line clicks and I hear, "Hi."

"Scott." I breathe in complete relief.

"That's my name. Glad you know it."

"Where are you?"

"Some hotel. I'm on my way home. Are you there yet?"

"Yeah. We left early." There is an awkward silence, something I have not experienced with him since we were eight years old. "Uh, I just went to visit Travis." Wrong thing to say. I tell myself, shaking my head as I wonder how I could be stupid enough to say that.

"That's good." He sounds so cold, so distant. It breaks my heart.

"I almost punched him in the head." I hear a small chuckle and smile at the sound.

"Why?"

"I told him what happened, between you and me, I mean."

"Everything?"

"Yeah, everything."

"What did he say?"

"He apologized for breaking us up."

"It wasn't only his fault. It's your too." Any flicker of a smile I had is gone.

"I-I know. I found out something, though."

"What?"

"He wasn't drunk. At all. He knew that I thought he was you, but he didn't stop me." I can practically feel his anger rising. And then the line goes silent. I slowly slide the phone away from my ear and back into my pocket. A few minutes later, Todrick shows up at my side.

"What was that, Mitch?! That's your best friend, up there! He was unconscious for two days, and that's how you greet him? By getting ready to punch him?"

"He hurt me, too, Toddy. Not in the same way, but he hurt me more than you could ever imagine." After a few seconds of silence, I say, "Where's Allie?"

"He's upstairs with Travis still."

"I need to talk to him."

"Well, come on, then."

"I can't go back up there. If I see Travis again, I'm not gonna be able to handle myself. Can you send him down? Tell him it's urgent." Todrick sighs and nods, pulling me into a hug.

"You're lucky you're my best friend, or we would be having some problems right now."

"I know. Thank you." He starts to walk back in, but I call, "By the way, how's Kevy?" He breaks into a grin.

"Wonderful. I'll send Alex down."

****

Alex and I sit in his car as I vent to him. His expression remains indifferent through the whole story as I explain my relationship with Scott and why it ended.

"How did you work through your problems with Jake?" I ask, desperate for a solution.

"That's not really relevant. We weren't in a relationship."

"Oh, right. You're straight."

"Yep." I wait in contemplating silence while he answers his ringing phone. With no warning, he starts to drive out of the parking lot.

****

"What are you doing?" I ask Alex as we drive down our street.

"Helping you." He comes to a screeching halt in the driveway and says, "Get out and go inside before he leaves." My eyes widen in understanding and I sprint into the house as quickly as I possibly can.

"Scott?" I call, slamming the door to attract his attention. I hear slow footsteps above me and run up the stairs. "Are you here?"

"Yes." I cringe at how cold his tone is.

"Can we talk before you run off again?" I hear a slam from the end of the hall and go to his bedroom doorway, blocking his exit. He doesn't look at me, and my heart breaks.

"About what?"

"Is there any hope for us?"

"How can there be? You broke my trust."

"I know. I know, and you have no idea how much I regret it."

"You should have thought of that before you kissed him." My stomach drops, realizing he doesn't know the extent of what happened.

"I know." I say, deciding not to tell him that part yet. "Scott, I love you." He doesn't respond. "I know. You hate me." I lower my watering gaze.

"That's the worst part. I still love you. But you clearly don't love me as much I as I thought you did because you kissed another man while I was gone. All I could think of that night was that I wasn't with you to celebrate being together on New Year's. For the first time in years, I didn't get to spend the last moments of the year with you, and it crushed me. I didn't think that you would be celebrating differently."

"I didn't know what I was doing. I thought it was you. The only reason I slept with him in the first place-" I stop, realizing what I just said as he straightens and finally turns to look at me. There is a coldness I have never seen in his eyes, making them look like they are made of ice.

"What did you just say?" he says, a terrifying calmness in his voice.

"I-I slept with him."

"You told me I was your first. On Christmas...did it mean nothing to you? You let me believe that I was your first. Not only did you let me believe it, but you told me that yourself. I must mean absolutely nothing to you. You know what, Mitch," I shrink into myself as he gets close to my face. "I was stupid to ever believe that I meant something to you. Now get out of my way." Feeling completely broken, I step feebly out of the way and he pushes past me, his shoulder slamming against my chest as he goes. I wait until I hear the front door slam hard to let tears fall from my eyes.

****

For what feels like forever, I lay in my bed buried deep under the covers. At some point I start crying so hard that there are hiccups mixed in with it. Even when my breath starts to feel muffled and difficult, I do not move from under the blankets. After what I can guess is a few hours, my breath starts to get weak and I am unable to cry anymore. My lungs are burning for fresh air, but I still do not move. I want to die under here. My head starts to swim and my body feels like it is made of jelly. I barely register the sound of my bedroom door opening and footsteps before I black out.