𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

05

E R I C

I blinked my eyes several times to see if the imaginary figure would disappear like she always do. Unlike the previous encounters, she looks real, too real to be an imagination. Time stopped and the silence was deafening.

I stared at her stunned face, her hands halted halfway to her waist, her lips slightly parted and her brown eyes unmoving. Her face just as pretty as the first day I saw her, her flawless, light caramel skin glistening dark room, her mahogany brown curls longer than I remember. The hurricane within my soul and the flames in my heart started to burn me slowly, for the first time in eight years. My brain flooded with the memories of our times together and I made no move to stop them this time. My chest ached in a way like it has never done. She was real.

"Jupiter. . ." I started to say with a grin as I took a step forward. But everything rushed back inside me, my relationship with my beautiful girlfriend and the life we're currently building. I let my hand down, the yearning replaced by anger. I clenched my jaw when I saw the tears streaming down her face.

Jupiter.

For eight years, I've brought myself to think I've lost the sound of her voice and the touch of her skin. I tried to bury her in the depths of my past and forcefully claimed back my heart for someone more deserving. I mentally kicked myself for getting carried away and forgetting the beautiful things Amy has given to me. It took me eight years to get over her and give myself a second chance at love. Life was pulling me forward into the unknown and erasing my painful past.

All the beautiful things I had with Jupiter was nothing but a silhouette of my past. I fell for her harder than a slip on ice and I've given my heart and trusted her with it, only for her to crush it with all the might she possess. Mom always says the pain dulls with time and that things will get better. I agree with that, especially when the person causing the pain is unworthy of. Every recollection of her would race towards me like a slap in the face, drenching me in a cold sadness.

She is in the past! You have a better life now!

My conscience would always scold me but my heart says otherwise. Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I concentrated on the short figure before me. "What the fuck are you doing here?! How did you find me? If you're here to apologise and get back with me, then you're doomed."

The sadness in her eyes was replaced by a cold, sinister glint, reminding me of the fiery Jupiter. She carelessly wiped her tears with the back of her hands and turned her red eyes on me. "I should be asking you the same question. What are you doing in my apartment? Oh, you heard I came back and decided to pay me a visit? To give me a piece of your own mind?"

That was the last strike.

"Excuse me but this apartment rightfully belongs to me! Jupiter," I stepped forward and she took a step back, her eyes glued to my feet. I let out a cackle and raise a questioning brow at her. "Don't try to play games with me. It might have being eight years but I know who you are and what you're capable of doing. What are you doing here?" I folded my arms and wait for her response.

"Yes, it has being eight years but I've changed over the course of time. No, I'm not here for you. This is my apartment and I have every right to call the security to come get you. I'm a stranger to you, not the naive girlfriend you used to have, it's not okay to talk to me like that." Just as she was about to call the security, Amy appeared on the doorway.

Her eyes looked tired but lit up when she caught a glimpse of me. Immediately, she threw her bag away and practically skipped towards me. It was obvious she didn't notice Jupiter and went ahead to wrap her arms tightly around my neck, her forehead against mine. I didn't react immediately because it feels weird to hug another girl in front of the girl I once loved. But this girl is my fiancée, my soon to be wife. She's my future and the centre of my world.