When Confidence Collides

Chapter 1: Fake friends

I had spent all afternoon, making a special effort in my appearance for mine and my boyfriend, Justin's, one-year anniversary.

I sang along to song that was playing on max volume from the speaker in my room as I finished off my hair and makeup, ensuring that I looked perfect. I slipped into my beige, velvet, fitted dress that accentuated my curves, resting just above my mid-thigh, being held up by thin spaghetti straps and put on my matching beige high heels. I had bought this outfit specifically for tonight, not for the reason one might suspect.

Looking in the mirror for the final time, I was reminded of my suspicions.

Justin had been acting weird recently. Not necessarily distant but always on his phone, giving me short replies, almost as if he had lost interest, however, I had also noticed the interaction between Leah (one of my roommates) and Justin shift. They had been spending a lot of time together recently, with and without me. I would invite Justin round and find him sitting on Leah's bed talking to her about something.

It was obvious what is and has been going on and I am not going to stand for it anymore. I don't deserve to be played like that.

I smacked my lips together one last time after applying a nude gloss before turning on my heel and exiting the front door, ready for what the night was going to bring.

I climbed into the back seat of the taxi Justin had organised for me and made my way over to the restaurant.

During the quiet car ride, I was able to think through and plan what I wanted to say to the cheating scumbag when the time came. I glanced down at my red nails and mentally talked myself up, I needed as much courage as I could get because I knew that it was not going to be easy.

I thanked the taxi driver and slid out of the vehicle and marched towards the restaurant.

I stood in the door of the restaurant and scanned over the many heads seated. I spotted Justin and went to walk over to our table when I was stopped in my tracks. I watched as Justin placed his hand on Leah's thigh under the table, Leah sitting where I was supposed to be. She blushed as he leaned over the table, whispered something in her ear. He pulled back and kissed her. He flipping kissed her.

Seeing them leaning over the candle-lit table, at my favourite restaurant, sucking faces lit a fire inside me. In that moment, I hoped her long golden-brown hair would catch light to one of the candles.

"And he's the one with trust issues," I scoffed at the thought and took myself home before I said something out loud that I would have regretted.

I took a slow walk home, eventually taking off my shoes and holding them in my hand, the repetitive clicking sound of my heels against the concrete grinding on my last nerve. The coolness of the ice-cold concrete under my feet and the stillness of the night sky and overall darkness calmed me down. I am not usually able to go on night walks as I am cautious of the strange people that lurk around at night, but tonight, I needed this.

Once I got back home, I changed into my fluffy cow print pjs and tried to relax however, my mind had other plans. All the emotions I had let build up inside over the last few months started spewing out like a shaken-up bottle of cola. Anger, frustration and hurt but most of all, disappointment.

I held back tears of not sadness but pure irritation that were threatening to spill.

A tightness in my chest began to form. I began pacing back and forth desperately trying to get rid of the extremely uncomfortable feeling.

I knew something had been going on with the two of them when Leah would always be talking to him, laughing, looking all giddy when she usually never even acknowledged him. The thought of it made me mentally throw-up. Not to mention the abundance of texts from him I would see on her phone but seeing it and thinking it are two different things.