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Chapter 21: The ring is mine.

Ivory

Declan's supposed to be picking me up after work like he always does. It's been two weeks since Declan said he loved me. He has been the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. I wouldn't have anything else to compare it to but from what I have read, he's an amazing boyfriend.

Every time we go out to dinner he won't let me pay, he just lets me leave really good tips. We always go to Books For Days. Zack is always working, he helps me find books I would like. All of the books he picks I love.

I'm sitting on the front steps reading one of the books. I'm reading the book that Declan bought me on our first date. I have read over 5 times. I could say what the book says word for word without looking at the pages.

My shift ended 10 minutes ago. Declan's late, he's never late. He's always early. He's always the only bold colored car in the whole parking lot. I start to get worried and text him.

To Declan

Babe, where are you?

I hit send. It says it has been delivered and read. He always text back fast but he didn't this time. It's weird but it's fine. He probably got stuck helping his dad. I will wait.

He finally gets here. He doesn't get out of the car to open the door. I just shake the thought away and get a car. He usually gives me a kiss when I get the car. I open the door and hop in.

"Hey," I say and lean over to give him a kiss. Did he back away from me? Maybe I just imagined it. Could I imagine something like that, though?

"Is something wrong?" I ask him trying to keep my voice study.

"I need to talk to you," The voice he is using something I've never heard from him before. It's a voice he's never spoken to me before.

"Okay? What about?" My heart is pounding. With the look on his face and the tone of his voice somethings wrong. I go over the last 24 hours in my head, nothing seems out of the ordinary. I start messing with the ring on my finger.

"There's no good way to put this but I think us getting together it was a mistake," My heart stops. He's not even looking at me. He's looking straight ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are white.

"What?" Thinking I mess heard him.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore," his voice is even colder.

"What, why?" I know I sound so basic right now. I sound like a girl who's getting dumped and who is heartbroken. Who's only been a relationship for a few weeks but I thought me and Declan were different. I thought we were something that could be forever or as long as forever would let us.

"What do you mean 'why', Ivory? You won't even say you love me. I've tried everything. I paid for your dinners, I've open the door for you, even got you a freaking ring and you still won't say it back to me. The ring says 'I love you' on it. So tell me, how I'm supposed to love you when you don't feel the same," he snaps at me. He's never talk to me like this before, he's never yelled at me.

"You of all people should know how my life is and how I work. I thought you understood me. I thought you got it. So now that you're saying that you want to break up. Four hours ago we were making out in your car, you wouldn't get off of me! So you're either lying to me or you've been pretending this whole entire time!"

"Who said I wasn't?" I gasped that. He turns to look at me. The look on his face is pure coldness. There's no emotion, there's no love in his eyes. The earth that are his eyes no longer wants me there.