Heaven Is You

|08|

Talia Herera

I follow Tim outside of the bar before he could dig his nails into my flesh and drag me there himself. Mentally cursing myself for my stupidity, thinking he won't keep tabs on me; not that I did anything wrong, I was just having a few drinks with friends, or acquaintances, more accurately.

I sigh as the sound of my heels clicking on the asphalt floors fills the silence, the breeze sweeping my hair around my face, causing chills to run down my exposed skin.

"What are you doing here, Tim?" I gather the courage to look him in the eyes as I ask the question bravely. His eyebrows furrow, distinctly not liking what he heard "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Dressed like a slut flirting with other guys?" He accuses and my head snaps at him. He did not just say that to me.

"Excuse me? My friend wanted to come out and so I came with her, not that it's any of your business" I snap furiously at him and his stupid accusations.

"Not any of my business? I'm your fucking boyfriend, of course it's my business" He replies in a tight voice, almost screaming, yet not quite fully.

"Well, guess what? You haven't been acting like a boyfriend in a long time. And I'm sick of making up excuses for your behavior" I point my finger at him, all my pent up anger and frustration spilling out of me.

He looks taken aback by my outburst, coming closer to me, he grabs my shoulders in his hands while I shrug him off, disgusted by his touch "Don't touch me!" I warn.

"Talia, baby listen I—" He starts and I cut him off before he could feed me the web of lies he's been weaving.

"Don't baby me! You never actually call me that unless you've fucked up and asking for my forgiveness. And I'm sick of it! Being with someone is supposed to add up to your happiness, not make you feel miserable. That's what I've been feeling for the past two years, and I'm done" I rant, a fresh wave of tears gathering in my eyes, nonetheless letting the crushing weight I've been carrying off is the best feeling. I can finally breathe free. No stiffness in the air, and that pang in my chest feels gone. I've just un-dagered the blade in my chest.

He looks taken aback by my explosion, clearly not expecting his little good subordinate to finally rebel against him. I'm actually proud of myself for doing it. I don't know if it's the liquid confidence or my actual doing, nevertheless I'm grateful for the end result. I've finally gotten ridden of what's been holding me back.

"We're over, Tim. Don't contact me ever again" With one last look at his perplexed face I saunter back inside leaving him to fend for himself on the pavement.

I slip in, grabbing my clutch, sensing everyone's eyes on me, I mutter "Sorry guys for ruining the night. Sierra, I'm tired and want to head back, I'm calling myself an uber, so you can stay here" I announce, she jumps about to refuse my offer before I assure her "I'm fine, really. You should stay while I head back" I insist and she nods weakly, wanting to argue but refraining because she wants to give me my space.

I nod my head in a way signaling I would tell her all about it tomorrow morning, maybe we could stay in and have a movie marathon too.

"Come on" I turn my head at the source of the voice, finding Oscar already standing, his car keys in hand, I look at him disheveled. "I'm not letting you get home alone at this hour" He says in his deep voice and I nod, craning my neck to look him in the eyes -even though I'm 5'6 and wearing heels, he still towers above me- , knowing there's no use in fighting his adamant stance.

Our short walk to the parking lot is kept silent, and I thank god silently for him not interrogating me on the details of well, my messy breakup.

I open the passenger seat and slip inside wordless, while he takes the space behind the wheel. Igniting the car, I rest my head to the window, closing my eyes for a brief rest of tonight's events. The entire week, come think of it.

From the corner of my eye, I can sense his casual glances thrown my way every now and then, albeit he never actually said anything, just kept driving quietly.

After muttering the address once we reached the intersection, I twiddled with my fingers in my lap, reciprocating his glances every once in a while.

I couldn't help noticing how his wide frame takes up a good measure of the car, his brown, almost black hair now shining brightly from the reflection of passing streetlights, eyes focused on the road ahead. His nose is pointed, lips pouty, jaw sharp enough to cut granite and mostly his cologne seems to have much more inducing effect now, especially since we're in the jammed space of his car. Nothing but his scent for miles.

We reach the familiar building of my apartment, the street eerily quiet at this hour of the night, and I gulp while shifting so I can face him and his beautiful features. "Thanks for the ride" I managed to squeak out, mentally slapping myself in the face.

"No problem" He offers "If he bothers you unnecessarily, or does anything, you come to me" He says pointedly, meaning every single word. A feeling in my heart flutters and my cheeks redden under his scrutinizing gaze.

"That wouldn't be a problem from now on" I confess a little shy, pursing my lips from grinning widely.

"Why's that?" His voice is so damn hoarse, that he clears his throat, eyeing me expectantly for an answer.

"Cause he's not my boyfriend anymore. I, umm, I broke up with him" A little helpless smile clads my cheeks as I let the words sink with an indifferent shrug of the shoulders.

'Thank god' He mutters lowly under his breath, but I caught it anyway. I tuck a strand of brown hair behind my ear and turn to him again. "Thanks for the ride again, Oscar. Guess I'll see you around" I let out before finally exiting the confines of his car and start making my way to the apartment, skipping actually.

I notice he remained parked until I reached there and closed the door securely behind me, then the headlights painted the road ahead as he pulled back into the jumble of the street.

A/n:
So, how's it so far?