Love Triangle (Wilkinson vs. Gilinsky)

16. Broken

SHAY'S POV

I take a deep breath and open the door.

"Jack! I-" I stop. My stomach drops.

I see Leigh's lips pressed against Jack's with her arms around his neck.

I feel my heart shatter into a billion pieces. I see my ex boyfriend in Florida. I see him blatantly kissing his ex girlfriend. It's happening again. I feel my eyes swell up with tears aching to stream down my face. I kick my shoes off and sprint down the hall. I hear a faint shout of my name but I'm already gone.

My mouth quivers once and the tears flood down my face, racing to reach the bottom. I turn left and see Katie sitting on JJ's lap in the corner of my eye. The music is loud; it drowns out my sobs and no one notices me slip into the dark night. I stumble aimlessly until I find my car. Katie will have to find another ride home.

I clumsily unlock the drivers seat and slip in. Turning my knuckles white, I grasp tightly onto the steering wheel as the horrifying image inevitably replays in my head. The tears won't stop falling. I should've known better. How did I convince myself to believe he actually loved me? Why did you fall in love with him? Why does this keep happening?

My breathing is heavy. I can't breathe out of my nose. My vision is blurred by the copious amount of tears still waiting to drop. Still, I drive down the highway, crying to myself softly and wondering what the fuck is wrong with me.

I think about Jack. I think about every time he told me loved me. Every time he kissed my forehead and held my hand. The more I think about it, the heavier and louder I weep.

The familiar pain returns. I have flashbacks to merely six months ago when I saw the look of shock and guilt flashing across my ex's face as I caught him cheating on me with his ex. I see Jack with his eyes closed, cheating on me with the same girl who cheated on him. I shake my head at the irony and wipe my nose.

I subconsciously drive home. I don't remember taking my exit and turning into my driveway, but my body does the work for me. My mind is preoccupied and I can't think straight. I muster as much dignity as I can before walking into my house.

I try to muffle my incessant sobs with my hand, but I catch Daisy's attention as I step upstairs. She looks towards my direction and follows behind, "Shay? Are you okay?" She rushes after me.

I walk into my room and start to urgently strip off my stupid dress. I can't believe I fucking dressed up for that asshole. I sniffle my nose violently as Daisy rushes into my room.

I'm struggling to get my dress off and Daisy walks over to me. She pulls the dress over my head and looks me in the face. She looks at my puffy and swollen eyes and pulls me in tightly. I instantly begin to swell up in tears and choke out, "I recognized her from her pictures. It was Leigh. Jack cheated on me with Leigh. Just like in Florida. It's happening again." I begin to cry uncontrollably into my sister's shoulder. She rubs my back softly and strokes my hair.

"What's wrong with me, Daisy? Why does this always fucking happen to me?" I say between gasps. I pull away and fall into my bed. I curl my legs up into a ball and I cry into my pillow. Daisy sits down on the bed next to me and continues to softly rub my back, just like she did all those nights in Florida.

"Shay, there's nothing wrong with you. Jack loves you." Daisy says quietly after awhile.

I sit up and look at her hysterically. "Are you kidding me? Jack doesn't love me. I was just his fucking placeholder for Leigh. He loves her. He was just using me. And I fucking fell for it. Again."

Daisy doesn't say anything else for the rest of the night. She sits next to me and rubs my back for hours until I stop crying. My sobs become softer and lighter as I run out of tears.