Chapter 13 #2
His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “W-What?”
I swallowed down the bile that wanted to rise up.
All the years I’d spent with him, every sweet memory we shared, every bit of love I held for him fired through me like film rolling back.
I wanted to avert my gaze and snatch the words back out of fear that I was ruining a good thing.
But I stomped down that urge. I kept my eyes locked on his and my resolve strong.
“We’ve been struggling this past year,” I explained gently. “We aren’t the same people we used to be, and I … I just don’t see how we fit anymore as a couple.”
The shock seemed permanently etched onto his face. “We have problems, sure, but what couple doesn’t? Our issues aren’t big enough to throw away these past eight years, Serenity. Am I really worth that little to you?”
“Of course not,” I argued, reaching forward to grab his hand.
I stopped just shy of touching him, because I worried doing so would give him false hope that he could persuade me to stay while also weakening the barrier I’d constructed between us. With a hard swallow, I withdrew my hand back to my lap.
He noticed the retraction, because his eyes filled with a mix of rage and anguish.
“Is this because of what happened that night? You know it was an accident. We agreed to start over, so I’ve been giving this so much effort.
How can you end it like this? Do you know how much you’re hurting me right now? ”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized as tears threatened to burn the backs of my eyes.
Seeing the hurt fill Bradley’s own and hearing the cracks of pain in his voice made my heart constrict.
Alarm bells sounded in my head, trying to convince me to turn back now before the damage was permanently done to our relationship.
Unease urged me to stay in the safety of what I knew—misery with Bradley versus the uncharted territory of misery completely alone.
That icy dread begged me not to forever change our life.
But a more desperate voice told me to hold my ground. While the unknown was terrifying, it could hold the promise of something even better than what I’d planned for myself.
“Are you on your period or something?” Bradley demanded. “Is this your extra crazy talking?”
The question had me gritting my teeth while simultaneously solidifying my decision. “I mean it. I want to break up.”
Bradley dropped his head into his hands while his arms bent on his knees. His fingers dug into the toboggan as he pleaded, “Please tell me you’re joking. I can be better. I really can. Just tell me what you need.”
I shook my head, even though he wasn’t looking up at me. “We can try being friends eventually.”
“Fuck being your friend,” he snapped, whipping his head up to glare at me. “You and I are forever, so take time to get over yourself or whatever the fuck this is. If you need space, fine. I can give you space. But know that we will be getting back together.”
I didn’t have a chance to say anything else, because he leapt to his feet and stormed off in a furious gait. I stared after him, and I couldn’t hold back the tears that lined my eyes.
My heart broke for the boy I’d given everything to.
My heart broke for the younger me, who built her future around him.
My heart broke for the current me, who now had to figure out what she really wanted.
A dark-cladded figure sat down in the seat Bradley had vacated. No sooner had they gotten comfortable than a to-go coffee appeared in front of my bent head. I looked up through blurry eyes and found Dante. He stared straight ahead, watching passerby while sipping from his own cup.
I sniffled and took the coffee from him. “Dante? Wh—What are you doing here?”
He shrugged and continued watching the people running through the park. “I was just passing by and happened to have an extra coffee.”
I blinked numerous times before looking at the coffee he’d handed me. I sampled a tentative sip, which made my brows raise. The order label on the drink confirmed my suspicions. “You just happened to have an extra coffee with oat milk, two pumps of vanilla, sweet cream, and cinnamon sugar?”
“I know,” Dante scoffed, glancing sideways at me. “They really messed up my black coffee order.”
Despite all the worries and hurt eating me up inside, I laughed softly, which earned me a wide grin from Dante. His muscular body turned toward me on the bench, and he draped his arm over the back. His dark fingers toyed with the ends of my hair as he asked, “You okay after that?”
I blew out a tired breath and stared at the coffee cup lid. The heat seeped into my palms, and I clung onto that, hoping it would thaw my freezing insides. “I never wanted to hurt him. I-I never wanted us to get to this point. I love him, you know?”
Dante pursed his lips as he studied me. His nose ring glinted in the overcast light as he tilted his head slightly. “He doesn’t deserve your love.”
I licked my healing lip without meaning to. Dante had been furious when he’d learned what Bradley had done, and that fury was clearly still present. I couldn’t blame him for thinking that way. He didn’t know Bradley. Though, I wasn’t sure if knowing him would help. I barely knew him these days.
“What are you gonna do now?” Dante asked.
“Probably go home and stew in whether I just made a huge mistake or not,” I said with a dry laugh.
“Wrong.”
I met his eyes again. “Wrong?”
“I’m not going to let you regret a decision that will be good for you once the hurt is gone. So let’s go out.”
I’d always longed for a friend who wanted to be in my corner on the hard days. Someone to help pick me up when I was too weary to stand on my own and to remind me to look at the brightside I often had my back to. As I stared at Dante’s handsome face, I realized I might finally have that person.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked slowly.
He rested his elbow on the back of the bench to rub at the trimmed black hair along his chin and jaw. “How about The Crimson Vault?”
My eyes widened, and I shifted nervously on my seat. “I’ve never been to a club before.”
“Great. I’d love to take you to your first.”
Half of me rebelled at the idea. Not only did the thought of being around that many people send my nerves on a rollercoaster, but I was still stuck in girlfriend mode.
Girlfriends didn’t go to the club to drink and dance.
But I wasn’t a girlfriend anymore. I was free to explore, something I’d promised myself I would do once I broke up with Bradley. Now was my chance.
So with a deep breath, I nodded. “Okay.”