Falling, Fallen | ✔️

49

~Ayla's POV~

I looked around in the fridge for something to eat for breakfast the next morning, as Soren had already headed to work several hours ago, which meant I didn't have him to be my personal chef like usual. He had to work today, whereas I had the day off, so I had to cook something for myself for once.

Right as I went to grab the package of bacon, I heard a knock on the door, making me scowl. I slammed the fridge door shut and left the kitchen, wondering who was daring to disturb me when I was in the middle of trying to find something to eat. It obviously wasn't any of my friends, since the only friend I had was Mitty and he definitely didn't know where I lived. "It's probably Luca, that idiot." I grumbled to myself as I reached the front door, pushing up onto my tip toes to peer out the peep hole.

To my surprise, it wasn't Luca at all. It was Danica, who seemed to have a habit of showing up here unannounced.

For a moment I considered just ignoring her and heading back into the kitchen to get something to eat, because I didn't necessarily feel like dealing with Soren's bitchy ex, especially not this early in the morning without even having breakfast first. Then, however, it occurred to me that she'd probably just keep being annoying if I didn't see what she wanted now, so I swung open the front door.

Danica glared at me practically the second I opened up the door and her eyes landed on me, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ugh, it's you." She scowled. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a bitter tone, eyeing me like I was an intruder. "I live here, Danica. I think I should be asking you that question, don't you?" I responded, cocking up a brow at her. She didn't seem to like my sass because she sneered. "I came to see Soren. Where is he?" She asked, making me frown.

"Why don't you text him and ask him that? You really had to come all the way here for that?" I scoffed, leaning against the doorframe. She huffed and rolled her eyes, turning her cheek to me. "Um, duh, I obviously already tried that, genius. He's completely ignoring me." She grumbled, annoyed. I wanted to laugh, because I honestly thought that she deserved it, but I just pursed my lips instead. "Well, he's not here. Goodbye." I said, stepping back into the house before I went to slam the door.

She slammed her palm on the door and wedged her foot between the door and the doorframe before it could shut, stopping it. "Whoa, not so fast. I didn't say that I was done talking." She snapped, glaring at me.

"Look, Danica, I honestly couldn't care less. It's not my fault if he's ignoring you for being a bitch, nor is it my problem. Go find someone to talk to about it who wants to hear it." I responded, having had it with this woman. She was on my very last nerve, and it was hard to get me to that point. Funnily enough, she actually looked offended by my words. "I am not a bitch!" She exclaimed defensively, pushing the door open again. I rolled my eyes and gave her a flat look. "Oh, yeah? How many times have you had to tell someone that one, huh?" I mused, raising a brow.

"Shut up!" She snapped, making me snort. "I'm actually a nice person, you know, but I just....I hate you! You have everything that I want! You're pretty, and you have a nice personality! And worst of all, Soren is in love with you, in a way that he never was with me!" She just about screamed her lungs out at me, her face turning red from anger.

Baffled, I stared at her, unsure what to even say to that. If she knew the truth, she probably wouldn't even spare me a glance. Soren wasn't in love with me.

"Even so," I began, staring her in the eye. "You are the one who said that you were fine with breaking up to...explore with other people. You need to move on, Danica." I told her, watching as her face fell. The girl looked like she was about to cry, and I felt for her, even though I still didn't like her.

"I-I know." She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "It was my own fault, I know that. I just never thought that he'd actually settle down with someone like this. I thought that...he and I were the type of couple that would always go back to one another, even after everything." She said weakly, the tears finally flowing freely down her cheeks. I sighed, my irritation all falling away just to be replaced with sympathy. "You can't expect someone to wait for you until you decide you want them again, Danica. That's not how love works. It's just cruel." I told her softly.

She sniffled and wiped her nose on her shirt, leaving behind some snot. I scrunched my nose up in disgust, but I decided not to say anything for her sake. "You're right." She mumbled. "And I hate you even more for it." She muttered, glancing over at me again.

I couldn't help but to giggle, and she smiled softly, looking down at the ground. "Um," She mumbled, rubbing the back of her head uncomfortably. "Look, I guess I should apologize. I was pretty mean to you, a couple of times actually. So I'm sorry." She told me. I raised my brows, slightly surprised by the sudden apology but willing to take it regardless. "That's okay, as long as you promise to try to chill out. You need to try to move on, Danica, regardless of whether Soren and I are together or not." I said.

Danica smiled slightly. "T-Thank you." She said hesitantly, looking embarrassed. I just nodded my head lightly, not knowing what else to say. She cleared her throat and awkwardly took a step back. "I should go, then." She bid me an uncomfortable goodbye and walked back to her car, leaving me alone once again.

My stomach rumbling, I turned around and headed inside, ready to finally get some food in my stomach.