Deal With It

forty nine

Chapter 49

The sun shone directly on my face as I sat on a bench outside. My eyes were squinting and I had tried to move around but there was no escaping its bright rays today. Unusual, since the rain was unstoppable throughout the whole night. Then again, this was England, and calling our weather bipolar was probably the biggest understatement of the century. Or at least very close to it.

As I waited outside the court, I shook my leg uncontrollably, bunching my dress up in my hand. Straight after I gave my testimony, I raced out. The nerves and anticipation I felt just being out here was immense, in there it would be unbearable. Every time I began to feel confident, a ton of doubt and uncertainty would bury me beneath itself and when I'd finally climb back to the top, the cycle would be repeated.  Every so often I would muster up some courage and walk up to the doors, planning to join Tyler inside. Clearly it didn't work since I was still sat out here. My only option now was to hope and pray that things would work out.

I buried my head in my hands, trying to block out any thoughts and focus on the silence but was distracted by a commotion from somewhere nearby. I looked up and glanced in all directions, seeing, to my right, a number of people forming a crowd, their cameras clicking and urgent questions flying about. At first, I was confused. Then I realised that in our small town, a story like this was gold.

Rarely was there anything of interest happening here, and if there was, it would typically be kept discreet. This particular case, however, was the topic on everyone's tongues. How did I not know this would happen?

I stood up, mentally preparinng myself to ignore the nosy townspeople rather than venting my frustration out on them in angry outbursts. I was on my tiptoes, trying to spot someone I knew but despite both Tyler and Daniel's heights, they were lost amidst everyone else. "Arissa?" A familiar voice called from behind me. Turning around, I was met by the last person I expected, or wanted, to see. "How are you?" He asked, digging his hands into his pockets. His appearance hadn't changed at all; similar clothing, no facial hair, and hair which was neatly gelled back. Perhaps too gelled.

"Better than I was six months ago," I remarked. It was actually seven but who was counting? He looked down, knowing it was around the time we broke up, around the time I caught him cheating on me. "How is Millicent?" I said sourly, trying but failing to hide the hurt I still felt. After all, she was a friend I truly trusted.

"I don't know, we ended it a while ago," he surprised me by saying. "I'm so sorry about everything, Arissa. My biggest mistake was hurting you, letting you leave."

"Save it, Jason," I laughed, holding up my hands. "You should go," I told him, knowing Tyler would be joining me any minute, hopefully in a pleasant mood. He scanned the area, licking his lips as he rocked back and forth on his heels. It was obvious he had something more to say. "What is it?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said, confusing me. I think he noticed because he decided to elaborate. "I mean, since Tyler and you are no longer together."

"What? Who told you that?"

"Nobody," he shrugged. "I just thought you and Daniel were..."

"What? Why would you think that? Tyler and I are very much together and Daniel is just a friend," I crossed my arms moodily. I bet he wished it was true but he wouldn't have that satisfaction.

"That's not what it looked like to me. Do you kiss all your friends?" he raised an eyebrow. That's when I realised. He had seen us that day. And as I looked up at him, his face became amused as he put the pieces together. "You cheated on him," he said with an exaggerated gasp, looking completely in shock. "Little Arissa cheated on big bad Tyler," he laughed wildly. "And he obviously doesn't know or he'd definitely have left you."