Quest for Harmony

(Ch 13)

I stopped abruptly and took a closer look. Yes, President Bitchington was kissing Ben. And what's worse? Ben was kissing back.

I had a million questions swimming in my head.

Why?

How long had they been together?

Who suggested the cheating?

I pushed these to the side and convinced myself to play it cool. He wasn't worth it.

I strode up behind Ben, unclasped the necklace he had given me and tapped him on the shoulder. He pulled away from the kiss and looked up at me. His jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. There was no mistaking that it was Ben cheating on me. I grabbed his hand and opened it so it faced palm-up. I dropped the necklace into his palm and then pushed past him.

"Dana. Let me explain," he yelled.

I left without a word and that was it. In those few, mere seconds, we were through.

I wish he knew what he lost.

As soon as I was out of the pool complex, I ran. With tears streaming down my face, I ran. My vision was blurry but that didn't stop me.

I knew this was Brittany's revenge on me. I wasn't stupid. But what annoyed me, what made my blood boil was that Ben let her. He let Brittany kiss him. He was so disloyal, so dishonest that he let her.

And was he sorry that he kissed her? Or was he sorry that he got caught?

I ran up the many flights of stairs until I found the number I was looking for. I banged on the door with all my might, praying that Matt woke up as early as Josie. With tears still covering face, the door opened.

"Fucking Hell! Dana! What happened?"

Instead of answering him, I just hugged Matt, burying my head into his shoulder. He pulled me inside, onto his lounge.

I love Matt. I really do. He gives the best hugs and advice.

Dana Newman's guide to cheating.

Phase 1: Denial.

"It wasn't him. Ben didn't kiss her,"

"What?"

Phase 2: Depression.

"He chose her over me! He hates me! What did I do, Matt?"

"What?"

Phase 3: Aggression.

"That little shit! He deserves to die! Dash knows a guy that can take care of him,"

"Dana! Seriously! What are you talking about?"

Phase 4: Acceptance.

"It was him. He kissed her,"

"Dana, stop. What happened?"

"I saw Ben kissing Brittany," I explained.

"Oh Dana," Matt was sympathetic and hugged me even tighter.

"It's not like the movies," I sniffled. "Snow White told me to wait and my prince will come; Cinderella's man loved her so much he went door knocking with a shoe; and what happened to True Love's First Kiss? They say you know when he's the one but I just... I don't know."

"It's not like the movies Dana, but sometimes, just sometimes, the stars will align and you'll find your prince. He's out there. He'll come for you, just wait. You haven't found him yet but you will. And guess what?"

"What?"

"I bet you'll even have a fairy tale ending," Matt wiped tears away from my face.

I was controlling my crying now and took a deep breath.

"Matt, do you know that you're the best cheerer-upper I know?"

"I'm pretty good, aren't I?" he laughed.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Did you do the homework for English?" Matt asked.

"As if!"

"Teacher'll be pissed," he warned.

"I don't think I'll go to school today. I'll ditch and see Mum at the hospital," I explained.

"Fair enough. Just call me if you need one of my amazing pep-talks!" He joked.

"I really am lucky to have you," I stood up and kissed Matt on the cheek.

"Yes, you are," he laughed and blushed a little.

•••

"Dana and Jake Newman to see Rachael Newman," I told the hospital receptionist.

I told Jake I was coming to see Mum and he decided to join me, seeing as he had nothing else to do.

"You can go through. I'm sorry for your loss," the receptionist replied.

"Our loss?" Jake asked her.

"You'd better see for yourself," she explained.

My heartbeat quickened and I was fairly sure it was going to break out of my chest any moment now. I walked down the pristine hallway with Jake at my side. I could tell we were thinking the same thing:

Please be alive, Mum.

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Authors Note:

» I'm getting good at the cliffhangers, huh?

»Any Team Ben people jumped ships? Will there be a new loooove interest for Dana? What's Ben's excuse?

X

Katie.

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