He Will Be Mine

Chapter 36: Officially Over

*** Matt's POV ***

It was difficult to get out of bed this morning. I woke up to Aly still holding me and Tyler curled up on my other side. It felt warm and safe, and much more inviting than where I know I need to go.

Unlike usual, I don't want to put it off. Seeing Jessica with that other guy is an image I'll never get out of my head. It feels like there's a hot poker searing through my brain and my heart that maybe I can put to rest if I get some closure, or at the very least maybe I can relieve some of the burden I've been carrying around by finally ending things like I should have done weeks ago.

So, here I am creeping out of my room first thing Sunday morning, not caring if Jess will be hungover when I get there. I need to do this now. Besides, we have finals this week. I may not get another chance before everyone leaves.

I walk the two blocks to her place, not trusting myself to drive right now. I linger outside the door to her first-floor apartment for a moment, building up my courage and steeling my resolve. I think again of her hair dangling over the side of the bed as some other guy was all over her and know I'm doing the right thing. Who am I kidding, I knew it was the right thing even before that happened, but now I'm angry and hurt on top of it.

I knock and wait for someone to answer the door, but there's no response. I didn't want to have to do it this way since it feels wrong somehow, but I pull out my key and unlock the door to let myself in. It's eerily quiet inside the apartment and I wonder for a moment if nobody came home last night, but then I find Jess in her bed. She seems to be the only one here. Good. That will make this easier.

I reach out and shake her shoulder to wake her.

"Get up. We need to talk," I say in a voice I don't even recognize. It's harsh and raspy.

When she rolls over, I gasp and unconsciously step back. Her nose is swollen and bruised, and she has a black eye. There's a crust of blood around her nostrils indicating that she was still bleeding when she went to bed. Well, she obviously had quite the night. For some reason, though I am a little curious what happened, I don't care enough to even ask.

"I don't want to talk to you," she insists, her voice a bit strange as well, then rolls back over like she's done with this interaction.

"Fine, we don't have to talk. You can just listen," I concede, the rage boiling within me again, but I fight it back and keep my voice level as I tell her, "We're done, Jessica. I'm done. I want my grandma's ring back, and then I don't ever want to see you again."

"Don't speak to me as if this is all my fault, Matthew," she spits at me, whipping her body around to face me. "I'm not the one who demanded a break and then ignored his fiancée for a month. You can't treat me like I mean nothing to you and then get mad when I do exactly what I said I would. I told you I wasn't waiting around forever."

"A month isn't forever," I begin to argue, and then realize it isn't even worth it.

If there's anything I've learned about Jessica, it's that the worst thing you can do to her is stop paying attention to her. I'm sure she feels every bit of what she says she does and will never see reason. I could try to argue that it hasn't even been a whole month, but what would be the point.

"You know what, nevermind," I shift my train of thought. "I'm not going to argue any of it with you. If you were done, you should have told me. Now I'm telling you."

I spot the soft green velvet ring box on her dresser and pick it up, flipping it open to see the ring inside. It's there, and it's really all I care about at this point. I start removing my key to her apartment from my key ring as she gets up and starts shrieking all kinds of insults and arguments at me, but I'm just not even interested in listening to her anymore. It's obvious she doesn't care about me and would only be trying to preserve our relationship for her own selfish reasons, so I just ignore her.