Pieces of Me

Chapter Nineteen

Logan

I don't mean to blurt it out in anger, but I do.

She's triggered me. Pushed and pushed and pushed. The text messages, they just kept rolling in. Words, demands, insults.

"Answer me", "Fuck you", "I deserve better.."

All from Bridget. These half sentences, phrases, they fill my home screen, causing my anger to bubble up and over the edge.

My back is still stinging from the latest episode with my dad. Needless to say my tolerance for Bridget's bullshit is at an all time low. The tipping point, which pushes me right over the edge, was when she called me for the 14th time.

"I do everything thing in this relationship and you don't give a shit," she'd screamed when I'd finally answered her call.

Fuck off you lying....

I don't know why it suddenly now matters that she's cheated on me, considering I've pretty much known the entire time. But it does, and I'm so mad I can't breathe properly.
Now, my phone is switched off beside me and my fingers aggressively attack the label of the beer bottle in my hand, shredding it into tiny, infinite pieces.

Picking up the bottle I down the rest of the liquid in one gulp before placing it back down beside five of its empty friends.
I'm not proud of it, but I had yelled back at Bridget. As soon as the words.. those words had left my mouth, about Ally's text, I'd wanted to get them back. Stuff them back down.
It was Bridget's eerie silence that really had thrown me. The girl's not had a silent moment in her life.

I didn't mean to tell her, I honestly didn't.
I don't know who I feel worse for. Me, Ally, or in a weird way, Bridget.

All I know is I need to tell Ally that Bridget knows.
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I drive over to the campus, praying I don't run into any police. I'm not drunk, but there's no way that five beers won't put me over the limit. I pull sloppily into the car park. Stopping on top of the white line, I jump out immediately.

I make my way towards the English buildings, hoping to see her leaving a journalism lecture. It's a long shot, but it's all I have. I could message her, but I don't have the words. I'm hoping I'll find them when I see her.
It's then I spot her walking away from the campus medical centre area.
I walk faster towards her. Her dark brown eyes only see me when I'm pretty much beside her. She takes me in, blinking in confusion.
There are dark bags beneath her red rimmed eyes, and a smudge of what looks like mascara, on her cheek. She keeps wiping her face with the sleeve of her oversized hoodie, trying to remove the evidence. There's no makeup on her face anymore, and she so looks broken - yet so innocent and sweet. If circumstances weren't, well...what they are - I'd tell her just that.

Suddenly she turns and heads back the other way. I follow her instantly.

"Logan just go away," she mumbles. Her face is completely void of emotion. Not sadness. Not anger. Nothing. Blank.

I have a bad feeling in my gut.

"Listen I'm sorry for telling..."

A dry laugh fall from her lips, "that's my line."

I can actually feel my forehead crinkle.

"You don't need to be sorry...please don't be."

She ignores me, walking faster.

"Ally stop!" I commands sharply. "Please," I add as an afterthought. She continues to ignore me. "Please don't tell me you're sorry, you are the only one who had the decency to tell me the truth."

Finally she halts, looking to me. Her eyes lack their normal beauty. I take her silence as a good thing though. At least she's not yelling liked I'd envisioned on the way over. Then again yelling would be better than this.

"Of everyone in this situation you are the last of us who should feel shit," I continue.

She rolls her eyes. God she is stubborn. In our few interactions she's managed to make me say all these things I don't want to. Feel all these things I don't want to. And make me crazier than Bridget ever has.

"Ally. I already knew. Okay! I hoped it would stop and it didn't."

My voice is raised now and she eyes me wearily, exhaustion and sadness take over her features.

"I can't do this right now Logan, I really can't."