The Test of Time

88 ~ March

Sitting in the window seat of the apartment I stare out at the bustling city below, watching the flurries of crowds rushing to get where they need to go.

Becky is out, having decided as soon as she woke up that it was gym day. Sounds commendable, right? Becky's 'gym day' is any day that she fancies having a gym body. And by gym body I mean a man's gym body. She'll be back in three hours, having done the deed in the gym changing rooms, feeling perfectly happy with herself.

I've done nothing but work and eat since mine and Brett's argument last week. I spent the weekend with Elle, Alex and Danny, only returning early Monday morning and heading straight into work. Becky and I had a movie night on the Wednesday, an obvious attempt from her to cheer me up. I'm not sure why, I'm totally fine.

What happened between Brett and I is for the best. We started getting closer again, started acting like nothing ever went wrong between us, when everything about us was always damaged. We can't forget the absolute disaster that we bring to each other's life every time we try to be friends.

There's only so many times that the good can overshadow the bad.

Reaching for my phone I unlock it and click onto the News, having already exhausted social media for the day. Nothing catches my eye, the ridiculous clickbait headlines that the press come up with, consistently leading to me avoiding them all. My finger barely leaves the screen as I keep scrolling, further and further down, the subject's becoming less and less relevant.

A sudden flash of familiarity makes me stop, shooting upright in my seat as my eyes widen at the picture of Brett, his arm around a recognizable brunette. Clicking on the photo I open the article, sucking in a breath at the headline.

WINTERS IS TAKEN: Retired football millionaire and cheerleader sweetheart reunite at Charity Gala.

Lacey Turner. The girl who dominated the majority of news articles about Brett last year, constantly giving interviews about their future, their love, the gifts he'd buy her, the way his family loved her. It was hard for me then, it's hard for me now.

I guess he really did mean it when he said he was done.

A sudden knock from the front door makes me jump, my phone dropping onto the seat with a clatter, my eyes having been glued to the image of Brett's arms resting on Lacey's back. Quickly exiting the News I lock my phone before making my way over to the door.

Running my hand through my hair I grimace at the sight of the tracksuit clad girl in the mirror before grabbing onto the handle and yanking it open.

My mouth nearly drops open at the sight of the well polished brunette on the other side, her bright blue eyes sparkling, her hands clutching numerous shopping bags.

"Alice!"

"Congratulations girl!" She grins.

"What?"

"Brett told me." She shrugs, walking past and entering my messy apartment.

"Oh!"

"He found out I was coming here and I'm supposed to tell you that all of this is from me." She snorts, dumping the bags onto the kitchen counter. "But he gave it to me to bring." Alice reveals and I raise an eyebrow, glancing inside the first bag. I lift the first pot out, staring at it in curiosity.

"Frozen yoghurt?"

"Something about it being an ice cream substitute?" Alice explains, somewhat confused.

"Oh!" I exclaim, my eyes widening in realization. I can't deny how thoughtful this is.

"Care to explain why the two of you aren't talking? And why my brother is walking around with a face like a slapped ass?" She mutters, slouching down onto the stool beside the counter.