Mr and Mrs Nemesis✔️

Chapter Twenty Five - The Language of Lies

Sitting in the passenger seat beside Adam in his car after I've punched him and kicked him, after Elijah has insulted him and headbutted him, is the epitome of awkward.

Much to my surprise, he isn't even trying to talk. We're just stewing in this suffocating tension, the music from the radio our only companion, until we pull into the car park of a little coffee shop not far from where I live. You'd think, after the past six weeks where he's hounded me like a complete nuisance, borderline stalking actually, he'd have something to say. Maybe something simple, like 'horrid weather, isn't it?'. I mean, I'd totally tell him to shut the fuck up, but even so.

We exit the car together, walking in and smiling at the waitress who sits us in a booth against a window. I order a smoothie – to go, just in case things get ugly – and Adam orders a coffee and waffle.

He pays. I don't thank him.

For a while, we sit in a further silence, not even looking at one another, just finding interest in anything around us. Like a chip in the paintwork, or a stress in the leather, or how the clouds hang heavy in the sky, groaning to crack under the pressure that the next few days of rainfall tortures them with.

"I haven't seen your girlfriend for a while. Decided stalking isn't her game, has she?" I ask him in a snarky tone.

He hums in a sort of sad amusement, looking at me with his lips pressed thin. "I spoke to her about it. She said she wasn't thinking - just wanted to make amends. She was going to apologise, but she was worried your zen might've worn off, whatever that means." He answers and to that, my lips twitch with twisted satisfaction. I'm glad I scared her off.

Silence proceeds, dragging for what seems like an eternity, before I take it upon myself to speed up this exchange. "Your fifteen minutes has started Adam." I inform him, arms folded as I lean uncomfortably against the high back of the seat, finally deciding to set my eyes on him. "You better get talking."

He sighs, stretching the collar of his coat slightly as if to allow room for air. "I want to apologise, first and foremost. For me turning up to your house. To your school. To the party. I've just been really desperate to see you and speak to you and explain what happened." He says.

"Apology not accepted." I tell him plainly, raising a brow nonchalantly as hurt passes over his features.

"I also wanted to thank you. For being here. Finally giving me this opportunity to talk with you." He continues, forcing his lips into a tight, pained smile.

"Gratitude ignored." I quip and to that, I see him nip the tip of his tongue with his teeth. "Look, lets get to why I'm here. What do you want?" I urge, nodding stiffly to the waitress that places down our order.

He takes a small sip of his coffee, relaxing slightly as if the caffeine has loosened his nerves. "This is all too late, but I want to apologise for what happened between us. I'll never be able to forgive myself for what I did to you. Cheating – it's vile, despicable, and I know I'm better than that.

"Jasmine, she was different. New. She offered me an escape. A thrill. It seems stupid to say it out loud, but it's what I wanted. Its not that I don't love you, but we were just so serious, you were so serious. We didn't have fun. We were arguing a lot more, struggling to find time for one another. Jasmine could offer me everything you couldn't give me."

"Hang on, did you bring me here to explain, or to complain about how I was a shitty girlfriend?" I interrupt with a hand raised, completely deadpan.

"No, I'm not complaining –" he tries to assure me.

"Well it sure sounds like you are." I interject, edging forward slightly, bracing my hands on the table. "Tell me Adam. If she was everything you wanted, where is she now?" I ask him with a knowing expression. "She left you, didn't she? Seems you're not all that brilliant either."