The Girl That Changed Everything

Ten

Stacey sat awkwardly on the couch in my living room. She wasn't the fidgety type, but I noticed she hadn't kept still since she got here. After placing a glass of water on the coffee table in front of us, I sat down, turning so that I faced her. A few tense, silent minutes passed by before she looked at me. "I've been thinking a lot lately," she started, "about us and how we were, what we did just how close we were." Her voice was just above a whisper as she spoke and I had to stare at her lips to know exactly what she was saying. "I miss you Ciara."

"I miss you too." The words were out of my mouth before I could think to stop them. The look on Stacey's face was of pure shock and disbelief, and I'm sure mine matched hers.

"Really? You do?" Her voice was trembling and I could see a slight glow of hope in her eyes. I didn't know what to do or what to say. I wasn't even aware that I had felt that way. This wasn't good.

"Kylie is a nice girl, she's beautiful too. I can see why you like her." Stacey was quiet, looking down at her hands as she spoke. "I know that I told you I love you, and I do, but I can see that she makes you happy. I see the smile she puts on your face when you're together and the sparkle in your eyes when you look at her. I noticed all of that and I was jealous. I wanted to be the one you looked at like that." Her voice shook and when she looked at me there were tears in her eyes. "Stacey..." I started, but she held up her hand, interrupting me. "I realized how big of a mistake it was to do what I did too late and now all I see when you look at me is pain and heartbreak. I took advantage of you and it's my greatest regret." Tears were spilling from her eyes and I gently wiped them away as she whispered an apology. Then, pulling her into a hug, I held her as she cried.

~+~+~+~+~

Stacey had been sleeping in my arms for three hours now and I didn't know if I should wake her. She'd cried for a while and I hadn't let her go since. I felt bad, but she did cheat on me. A couple minutes passed and my phone rang, waking Stacey. As I reached over to grab it, whoever had been calling was forwarded to my voicemail. I leaned back to find Stacey sitting up staring at me.

"I know you still care, but I'm letting you go so you can be happy without worrying about me."

She got up and left, leaving me there sitting on the couch, staring after her, wondering if she was going to come back.