EPHEMERAL - Short Stories Collection #1

You're The Stupid One

'You'll be alright, Chel.'

'He doesn't know what he just lost.'

'He doesn't deserve you.'

Chel sighed as she scrolled down the messages she received from a group chat, telling her that her ex, Darwin, was not worth her tears.

Darwin and Chel broke up just a few months ago on a fine February day. Their friends noticed and were curious why they did. Chel and Darwin were inseparable and lasted for a year by the time they ended it. They were one of the most talked about couple of their batch and they were also the one expected to last for a few years.

Well, they didn't. They failed their expectations.

They broke up because of Chel's desperate longing to feel loved by Darwin. He wasn't the "lovey-dovey" type, she knew that. But she couldn't help it. She decided to voice out her feelings to him. But unlike any other arguments they've had, it ended with Darwin saying they are over.

Chel went down the stairs and grabbed her bag. She saw her mom preparing breakfast for her and her siblings. Her mom saw her walking out of the door and called out, "Chel, come on and eat breakfast before you go to school." She faced her mom and faked another smile, the very same fake smile she had given everyone ever since the day she and Darwin broke up. "I'm alright, mom. I'm still full from last night's dinner," Chel answered and quickly went outside to avoid anymore pleas from her mom.

She walked towards school, looking down while getting lost in thought. She thought about the past months they've been together. Did she missed something? Did she do anything wrong? Why would he break up with her like that? Sure, she was the jealous type of girl, but it's because she loved him so much that she was afraid to lose him. And of course, she only voiced out her feelings to let him know she was hurting too, and she wanted to feel his love. It all seemed to be one-sided now that she thought about it.

Tears began forming on the corner of her eyes as she continued to walk. Suddenly, somebody yanked her hand. She snapped back to reality and saw her childhood best friend, Kia, looking very concerned about her, which was new to her.

"You okay, Rachel? You've been out of it on the past few days," Kia said as both of them continued to walk towards school. Chel ignored her and walked silently while looking down. Kia, on the other hand, was wishing Chel could finally voice out her feelings to her childhood best friend. She knew Chel since birth. They shared secrets and stuffs they wouldn't tell anybody besides themselves but things changed. Kia may be a joker most of the time, but when it comes to serious situations regarding her friends and family, her joker side seem to vanish into thin air.

Both of them walked silently towards their school, not bothering to know whether they were already late or not.

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"She's stupid," Chel heard Darwin said. "She's the one who fell hard and now she's blaming me she got hurt," he continued. Chel ignored her friends for the whole period. And there she was now. Silently listening to how Darwin talk about how she falls in love with people easily.

"Chel? Are you alright?" a soft female voice asked. Chel looked up and saw one of her best friends, Shirley. Chel nodded and faked a smile but quickly frowned when Shirley gave her a don't lie to me I'm a future psychologist look. Chel sighed and dragged her outside of the classroom, slamming the door at the process.

She dragged her towards the girls' bathroom. When they got there, she locked the door and began breaking down for the very first time. Shirley hugged her and whispered sweet nothings. "It was all one-sided," Chel choked out. "I was the only one loving in our relationship."

Shirley quietly listened as Chel continued to rant, "I was there when his mother brought him down. I was the one who gave him efforts on our anniversary. I was the only one who freaking loved him even if he was teased into being a gay by our classmates!"

"And now he's talking shit about me. Telling everyone how stupid I could be when I fall in love. Bragging how brilliant he is to let me go, how he was happy to finally be free from my grasp. He's doing that to make me feel even worst because he knows I'm still crying for him. I so badly want him back, he knew. He even knew I'd die just to get him back," Chel cried out.

"I thought he would also cry for me when we split up. I thought he'd chat me back and tell me to start over again because he couldn't afford to lose me. I thought he couldn't take it without me asking him if he was okay, if he had eaten already, if he needed something for class. Turns out, it's the other way around. He was normal. Like nothing had happened, like I didn't even existed in his life. Like he didn't lose that person who loved him for the way he is. How cold and numb could he get?!"

Shirley sighed and stroked Chel's hair. "What a shame. He doesn't know your worth. You deserve someone better, the one who can give you so much more than what you can give. Cheer up, okay? It's useless to cry over someone who didn't even waste a minute to love you. What's worth crying for is the one who give you much much more than what you can give. And Darwin isn't that person," Shirley said. "Besides, he's the stupid one here. He let go of someone who loves him for who he really is despite the rumors and the things people say about him."

Chel smiled sadly as she hugged Shirley one last time before washing her face and walked back to class.

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Six months later, Chel was feeling better. She moved on from him but she knew deep in her heart that she still loved him but she remembered what Shirley's words to her. Now, she wouldn't waste a second on someone who didn't bother wasting their time to love her back.

"It's useless to cry over someone who didn't even waste a minute to love you."

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