CHAPTER 14

The sound of the rain hitting my window put a lazy smile on my face and had me curling tighter into a foetal position. My body was light as a leaf.

Outside was gloomy but I felt spectacular inside - that is until I reached for my phone.

This wasn't a drill.

Right infront of my eyes were inbox notifications from Facebook and Twitter.

I scrolled and scrolled through my notifications in utter surrealness. Yawning and stretching my limbs I dropped my phone back on the pillow, nothing much registering in my semi-sleepy state.

I realised that it had been the vibration of my phone going off in notifications that had woke me up in the first place, so reluctantly I unlocked my phone to see what was really going on.

I tried to log into my social media accounts but then realised that I had forgotten my password. God knows how long I'd even logged on it – probably a year or more ago just to post a 'good riddance' graduation photo.

After I went through that ordeal - and boy was it an ordeal to reset my password, I saw exactly what had caused the disruption to my morning.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

Someone had posted a video of the whole thing that had gone down in the restaurant and the footage had gone viral.

And when I say viral, I mean there were already memes of me.

It was just too much to take in. My phone buzzed again. It was a text message from Angelo along with a cropped clip of me admitting to cheating on him.

We need to talk, the message read.

I know. I'm coming over, I replied.

My house was empty once again – not the homecoming I expected at all but I was more than happy about it because I didn't need my parents pissing me off with their probing questions.

I didn't even remember getting dressed but half an hour later the taxi was dropping me off infront of Angelo's house.

Honestly, it felt weird to be at his house. It had almost become a part of my distant memory and that made me sad. Six months changed shit.

Whispering a silent prayer, I rang the doorbell. I waited.

Each second that went by in anticipation of him opening the door was complete torture.

When his door finally did open, he stood watching me with an expressionless face. It was him, myself, and Tension.

My body's natural response was to hug him and it took so much of my self – discipline to not do just that.

“Hey,” I said beyond awkward.

“Hey.”

He stepped back making way for me so that could enter.

I loved him.

So much had changed. Had we grown apart?

Tears started glossing my eyes. “I love you Angelo.”

We were in his kitchen, he had opened his fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out of it.

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

He was angry. He was hurt. I could tell, but so was I. The last time we were together we were happy, engaged.

Angelo was avoiding my gaze. I didn't even know how to start or what I was planning to achieving.

“I have a question for you,” he said finally looking at me standing on the other side of the counter.

“Okay.”

“How do you expect me to act when I go over to Remar's house on Christmas knowing my fiance cheated on me with him? And before you ask, he knows now that I know.”

At that moment it felt like the blood had completely drained out of my body.

“Yeah it's a small world.”

I didn't know what I could say.

“Angelo I didn't know. I never meant for that to happen.”

“Of course you didn't.”

How stupid could I be? And of all people it was Angelo's friend that I decided to act the whore on.

I didn't know if it was possible to detest another human being as much as I detested Dominica in that moment. But I knew that I had to accept full responsibility for everything that happened.

“Angelo you have to believe me when I say I was under the influence.”

“Under the influence? You don't drink. Or at least from what I remember of you.”

His words hurt more than I let on.

“I didn't drink that night. I inhaled laughing gas, thinking it was just helium.And that shit made me feel – I just wanted to forget about the fact that I'd called our engagement off. And...and then Remar came and we talked, and out of nowhere he kissed me.”

“And you kissed back.”

I did. And that's what hurt the most. Because under normal circumstances I knew I never would have.

“You hurt me Angelo.”

“And now you've you got me back. Well done.”

“No!” I screamed back, tears now flooding my face, “you have to look at this from both sides.”

“So you just assume, and make everything about you?!”

His anger was fully unleashed now. “Somebody close to me passed away, I'm studying for my finals, and you think you telling me I'm not giving you any attention is going to make me feel better, and so you break up with me – over the phone?”

At that moment I sobered up. “Somebody close to you died and you didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me what was going on?”

“It has nothing to do with us. I just deal with grief differently Luciana. I don't like talking about it.”

“Angelo that's not how a partnership works.”

“You're one to talk about partnerships.”

I was tired. I was tired of it all.

The tears wouldm't stop. Bringing out the black velvet box, I slid it over the counter. “I'm sorry for not understanding you. I'm sorry for wasting two years of your life. I'm sorry.”

I started bawling and through blurry eyes I made my way towards my exit. But before I could I felt his warm embrace.

“Shit Luciana,” he said cursing silently, “you do this to me.”

He held me close and all my problems seemed to melt all at once.

Through blurry eyes I looked at the velvet box sitting lonely on the kitchen counter wishing we could return to the way things were six months ago.

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