Speak Now

TEN

"Where did you go last night?" Selena questioned entering the living room.

"I felt sick so I went for a walk." Demi replied.  After her talk with Macy she walked all the way back to the apartment recalling coping mechanisms she learned in therapy.

She sat on the couch in sweatpants and a hoodie. She was trying to concentrate on an episode of The Bachelor but her mind kept wondering.

"Well you missed out on a chocolate fountain, expensive champagne, and there was a photo booth." Selena pulled out her phone and leaned up against the back of the couch. She swiped through her camera roll showing her the photos.

Demi pushed the phone away and stood up. "I'm glad you had fun with Nick last night."

"You don't sound glad?" She pointed out.

"Yeah because my best friend's ditched me to make goo goo eyes at each other all night. Do you know how hard it was for me to see Joe, let alone see him with her?" Her voice echoed off the walls of the apartment.

"I'm sorry I wasn't thinking." Selena frowned.

Demi sighed, collapsing back onto the couch. "I know you were thinking about Nick." She teased.

Her lips quivered as she debated whether or not to tell Selena that she had thought about self harming again. Her brown eyes watched as Selena turned to go back to her room.

"Wait,"

"Yeah." Selena turned around.

The redhead looked down at her nails and inhaled.

"I thought about cutting myself last night," Uttering those words felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She couldn't lie to her best friend, lies had gotten in the way of their friendship before and she wasn't going to let that happen again.

"That's why I left the party, I couldn't stand listening to Joe sing that song when he couldn't even be that understanding with me." She welcomed the tears that left her eyes.

Selena walked over to Demi and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, I should've checked in with you, I should've been there."

"It's okay, you're here now."

"Thank you for telling me Dems," Selena dried her eyes. "Did the walk help? Did you hold ice cubes like your therapist said?"

"Yes I did and it worked. If I feel like that again I'll tell you right away."

"Good." Selena breathed a sigh of relief.

They laid on the couch wrapped in each other arms for a while, in silence. Words weren't needed, Demi knew that Selena had her back and she was grateful to have a friend who cared as much as she did. Light snores filled her ear, she moved Selena's arms from around her waist not wanting to wake her. Tip toeing into the guest bedroom she changed into a pair of jeans before leaving the apartment. She decided to visit one of her favorite spots before they left town tomorrow morning.

-

Demi walked inside The Grind, the local coffee shop and stood in line. She walked up to the counter and placed her order. "A machai latte please."

"You got it." The male barista smiled writing down her order.

Demi fished out her debit card and paid for the drink. She tapped her nails on the counter as she waited. Her fingers eagerly wrapped around the cup when it was placed in front of her. She flashed a smile at the barista before turning to grab a straw. The redhead nearly spit out her drink when she spotted Joe at a nearby table.

He was hunched over typing furiously on his laptop while taking gulps of the drink that sat next to him. A textbook and notebook paper were splayed on the table.

She took a deep breath and began to walk towards the exit. Seeing Joe happy with Stella left her feeling angry and jealous. Her heart felt like it had been torn open last night and if she took another look at Joe she was sure it'd splinter beyond repair.

"Demi." Joe called out.

She internally groaned for not walking towards the door fast enough, she spun on her heel and walked towards him. Hearing him say her name opened up wounds that refused to heal.

"Hey." She smiled wide at him.

"Have a seat! We didn't get to talk much last night." He said.

"Yeah well you and Stella seemed pretty busy." She replied.

Joe saved the paper he was working on and closed his laptop. He scratched the back of neck unsure of what to say to her. Every time he thought of words to say they didn't make it past his lips.

"I didn't see Taylor last night. I thought you too were cool." Demi notes.

"I sent her an invite. Maybe she was busy." He shrugged.

Demi lowered her voice. "Does Stella know?"

"Know what?" Joe asked furrowing his brows.

"That we dated. That I'm your ex-girlfriend."

"No."

"Why not?"

"If I'm being honest I didn't think you were going to show up last night."

Demi sighed. "Neither was I but I did."

"Thank you for coming. I missed you. I miss how things used to be between us." He admitted.

"You mean how things were before we broke up." She took another sip of her drink and gritted her teeth. The anger she felt last night came rushing back.

Joe paled. "Yeah things were good back then."

"Maybe for you." She said snidely.

"What?"

"Forget it. I should leave you to your paper." Demi stood up from the table with her drink in hand.

"Wait, um my parents want you and Selena to come to dinner tonight. It'll be like old times." Joe said.

"Maybe afterwards we could meet up and talk about everything." He needed to talk to her alone without anybody distracting them. The conversation was long overdue and he has to tell her his side of things before she left town.

"I'll think about it."

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This chapter took literal months for me to complete. I won't keep you waiting for three more months to read another chapter either. Comment & Vote pls.