One Time Thing [Wattys 2021 Shortlist] ✔️

Chapter 37: Pieces

So, two more chapters after this one and this book is done! I'm gonna make it in time for The Wattys so yay, again, sorry for spamming you with updates! And thanks for your support, all the comments and votes, it means so much to me! ❤️

MIA

Mia picked up some stuff from Jeff's apartment while he was at work. Waiting for him at Henrietta's was torturous. Maybe because she's been waiting for an hour, due to not wanting to stay in that apartment. She would have to come pick up the rest of the stuff, eventually.

Sitting there, she began imagining all the things that were going to be different after this conversation. Her days and nights would become different. Christa would probably drag her to every single bar because finally someone other than her wasn't in a relationship. And she could flirt again, she missed flirting. Just getting a couple of free beers. But she would also have no one to hug, and call, and complain to.

Xander popped in her mind against her will. Did she have feelings for him? Probably. Was it real or just the consequence of a shared trauma? Probably the latter.

She wanted him to leave for Europe, because she felt like she needed some space, she needed to be alone for a while. Yet, she was so afraid that if he left, they would never get their chance.

There was another thing that needed to be added to the list of all the reasons why she should let Xander go. No matter how much she wanted to break up, a part of her still loved Jeff. Getting over that would take some time. And was that how she wanted to begin another relationship? By missing her ex?

Mia sighed, stirring her coffee. The last month turned her entire world upside down. And now everything seemed unfamiliar.

Jeff entered the backyard of the café. His beard was unshaven and his dark circles visible. Mia swallowed the lump that immediately formed in her throat. All the bottled up guilt finally spilled and she knew she would do the most of the crying during this conversation.

"Hi." Mia smiled slightly, wondering if she should smile while she did it.

"Hi." Jeff sat down. Mia pretended to check her phone while Jeff ordered coffee. They exchanged a couple of stiff smiles.

"I'm sorry for meeting you at Henrietta's, I just really wanted us to sit down and talk." Mia said, deciding that was the right way to begin.

"About how you left that night?" Jeff smirked.

"Amongst everything else, yes." Mia decided she would not snap at him immediately. She expected him to be minimally cooperative.

"Talk." Jeff leaned onto the chair and put his leg over another. The son of a bitch was asserting dominance. But Mia wouldn't fall for that.

"I wanted to apologize, for leaving like that. All this time, I was mad at you for avoiding conversation and then I left without a word. I'm sorry, that wasn't nice, for the lack of a better word." Mia said, feeling her heart clench when she remembered all the things she needed to say.

"Your apologies mean little now. Where were you? Whom were you with?" Jeff asked, his voice overwhelmed by anger. Mia's heart stopped as she tasted the words on her tongue.

"I was with Xander." Her gaze collided with Jeff's and that anger faltered, sparks of sadness appearing.

"Did you sleep with him?" He asked, keeping his cool. Mia's stomach throbbed again, but there was no place for hesitation. She came to tell the truth.

"Yes."

Jeff smiled without an ounce of happiness, his face twisting in a hurt grimace. Mia dreaded the words that would leave his mouth after that. But this needed to be done, no matter how scary it was.