AT LAST, I COULD BREATHE | billy hargrove

other lover.

chapter song: Without Me - Halsey

other lover.

The last few weeks were so emotionally draining, I thought I was going to die, no joke. I'd finally been getting back into the swing of things when John crossed my mind. The only solution to my problems with him would be to face-to-face solve them or just to break up. And I'm a little ashamed to say at this point I was more ready for the latter.

"Ma?"

"Yes, dear?" My mother answered from down the hall. I walked down to greet her.

"Do you think I'd be able to go visit John this weekend as long as I'm back by Monday?" I asked her, a childlike, hopeful expression on my face, hoping I would sell it.

She pondered my question for a moment. "Do his parents approve and have an extra room for you?"

I nodded my head yes to my mother's question and she pursed her lips. "Well, alright, Bernadette. Be careful, please."

"I will, Mum, and thank you!!" I squealed and hugged her. She broke into a huge, dimpled grin that I wished I got the gene for.

I bolted up the stairs and lugged out a small suitcase I'd used for moving. From bras to shampoo, I began to pack everything I would need for the two days I'd spend at the Davis residence if John and I were able to sort things out. I was in the middle of picking out which pairs of underwear I figured John would favor when I heard a tapping noise on my window.

The blinds were closed but I could hear the window open from the outside, and I almost screamed when none other than Billy Hargrove popped his head through the opening in my curtains with a huge smile. I immediately started shaking my head and attempting to get my breathing back to normal as he slipped into my room with ease.

"Fuck you," I said with a fake pout. He, on the other hand, was still cracking the hell up.

"Oh, doll, if only you would. If only you would," he replied, finally calming himself down. His electric-blue eyes landed on the open suitcase on my bed and he gestured to it. "Where are we going?"

"Funny," I mocked, taking one of my favorite lace bras from his grasp while he ogled at it.

"Visiting the boyfriend?" Billy sneered.

I shot him a glare. "Actually, yes, I'm visiting John this weekend, if you must know."

He rolled his eyes and completely stretched across my bed, his leg on a pile of my clothes I needed to fold and put in the suitcase. I sighed and pushed his surprisingly heavy leg over. "Move, you big bitch."

He sat up and looked me in the eye. "Why are you visiting him?"

"Because he's my boyfriend and I miss his company, Billy."

"You have me," he countered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His eyes told me he was almost hurt.

I sighed, looking down as I folded a shirt. "Billy, I'm not going over this again with you—"

"I don't get how you can love someone who you never see, that blows my fucking mind, Bo—"

I looked back up at him and threw the shirt down into the pile frustratedly. I didn't want to tell him that I was going to sit John down and talk about the future because the distance was really hurting our relationship and it's already caused so many problems. I need to figure out what we're doing moving forward because honestly, it just feels like we're wasting each other's time. Billy couldn't know that yet, though. "Please don't make me get into this with you again. I hate fighting with you, please don't make me."