Carnelian

Carnelian looked at the clock and was relieved to see that it was almost closing and could start cashing up.

On the last Wednesday of every month she closed her bookstore, The Book Haven, early so she could do the monthly stock take, check order statuses, and go through the financial books.

Today, however, she would just go home after a quick stop at Jewel's Café. After breaking up with her boyfriend two days before, all she wanted to do was drink her favourite coffee, eat ice cream and watch trash TV.

Just as she was about to head to get her coffee, when Owen Spencer jogged across the road to her.

Owen and his brothers had lived next door to her until they went to school out of state. She had always had a crush on the rest of them as they looked gorgeous; even through the really awkward teen phase.

"Hi Li, I'm glad I managed to catch you," he said, not sounding an ounce out of breath.

"Hey Owen. What's up?" she asked.

"I've had a call from my folks and they say that Justin is outside your house causing a fuss. Jack has gone to talk to him, but you might want to go over there," he told her.

Great, she thought, there goes my plan for a quiet day.

"Thank you, Owen. I was just heading home after nipping into Jewel's anyway. I will just go home instead," she said, grimacing.

"I thought things were going good between you?" he asked.

"They were until I found him with his intern a couple of days ago," she snorted.

"I'm sorry. Did you want me to call Jack and get him to make Justin leave before you get back?"

"No, I've got to give his stuff back. I don't want him coming around again," she explained.

"Fair enough. If you need anything just let me know," he said.

"I will do. See you soon, Owen," she said before finding her car keys and unlocking the door.

Once she was sat in the seat, Carnelian held her head in her hands trying her hardest not to cry. She wasn't ready to see Justin so soon, but she couldn't put this off forever.

Gathering her thoughts and emotions, she started the car and drove home.

Once she pulled into her drive she saw Justin shouting angrily at Jack. She really hoped he would leave her alone after today.

As she got out the car, she steeled her nerves and walked towards them.

The crisp autumn air made her shiver slightly and she hoped this would be over quickly so she could get in the warmth.

"Finally! I was wondering when you would get back. We need to talk," Justin said turning to her.

"There's nothing to talk about. I will give you your stuff back and then I want you gone," she said braver than she felt.

"What are you talking about? I thought I'd give you a couple of days to cool off and then sort things out," he replied sounding confused.

"There's nothing to sort out. You cheated on me. We're over, simple as that. I have all your stuff packed up so you can take it today. I don't want to see you here again," she told him forcefully.

"You cheated on her? I thought you were an idiot before, but now you've just gone and proved you're a complete fool. Carnelian isn't a woman you  dump or cheat on, she's the type you keep," Jack commented.

"Who the hell are you to call me and idiot, and are you like in love with her or something?" Justin asked snorting with disbelief.

"No, but she's a friend and I know that she deserves better than the likes of you," Jack said before turning to her and asking, "do you want help moving his stuff, Li?"

She shook her head.

"There's only a couple of boxes and most of its clothes so I should be alright," she replied.

"You know where I am if you need me."

"Thanks, Jack,"

She watched as he retreated to his parents home before deciding to turn and deal with Justin.

"You're not seriously dumping me are you?" he asked.

"Yes Justin I am. I have no idea how many times you've done that to me and I don't want to give you another chance to do it again."

Walking towards he front door, she dodged his attempts to grab hold of her.

"Don't even think about it," she snarled at him.

"I was just trying to get your attention," he said backing up up with his hands held up in a surrendering position.

"You could have just said something instead of trying to grab me."

She let herself in and thanked the stars that she had the sense to not only box his stuff but bring it all downstairs.

"This is all yours. I will put it outside the door so you can load it in your car. I don't want to see you around here after that," Carnelian told him.

There was no way she was going to put up with a man cheating on her. She was a firm believer in the saying 'once a cheater, always a cheater'. Too many of her friends had taken back boyfriends who had done the dirty only to find out that they never stopped after they had reconciled. It was heart breaking to see and Carnelian didn't want to go through that again. It might not seem like it on the outside but she was devastated to find out that Justin had been cheating on her.

"Are you really going to do this?" he asked, frowning.

"Yes, Justin, I am. I can't trust you not to do it again especially as you work so close to her. I wish it could be different. I wish I could take some time to figure it out but I've seen how things like this have played out before. You'll promise me never to do it again and you will, and it will break my heart again," she told him.

Silence greeted her words.

Justin was obviously thinking over what she had said carefully, and she could almost hear the cogs going in his head.

"What if we did take some time and I proved to you that I wouldn't do it again? I could always ask for Andrea to be shuffled to a different department and hire a male secretary, or a lesbian one," he asked after a short while.

It was really tempting to say yes, but that little voice at the back of her mind said she deserved more.

"Justin, I-I think we should just move on. Even if we did take some time out I can't guarantee that I would want to get back with you. You deserve to be able to live your life instead of waiting around for me," Carnelian said gently.

"You know where I am if you change your mind," he said, lifting the first box and walking to his car.

Part of her felt guilty for outright rejecting his offer, but another part knew it was the right thing to do. She only hoped that he was able to move on like she'd asked, but a niggling in her gut told her it wouldn't be that easy.