break the heartbreaker : luke

maurine

10:16pm

"well, you're already in my apartment," i answer, crossing one arm over the other, "so i don't think i have a choice."

"good." she answers, closing the door behind her. fern has a facial expression showing that she's just as surprised as i am.

i watch as maurine makes herself at home and sits on my couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table, "i know that vada's trying to get you back."

i sit down on the couch as far away from her as possible, and look at her with an eyebrow raised, "what do you mean?"

fern, on the other hand, is still standing near the door, obviously feeling as lost as i am. she doesn't know what to do in this situation.

"i know about the box with all her trinkets and letters inside," she answers, rolling her eyes, "don't believe anything she says for a second, luke. remember what she did to you. and how you cried at prom. okay?"

what the fuck?

"maurine," fern says, starting to look bothered, "let's go."

"huh? wh-how did you know about the box?" i ask, trying to focus on one part from everything she said.

"i was talking to ashton earlier since we were assigned to be partners for lab," she says, laughing to herself, "then it slipped. he's always been like that."

i hate the way maurine's talking. she's got her feet up on my coffee table, talking to me like we're best friends, with a tone that's making her sound like a fucking know-it-all.

"why are you here?" i say, not even being able to say her name.

"to prevent you from believing anything that's in that box," she says, "you wouldn't want to get your heart broken again, luke, right?"

"i know how much vada wanted to break your heart, luke," she continues, "i was there. i was the one who made her sign the contract, and she signed it without even thinking twice. she wanted to do it. so anything she's doing now, whatever she's doing to get you again, i think it's all just to make her feel less guilty for what she did. i don't think she truly loves you."

all of a sudden, my head starts to hurt. this is too much. everyone's been stressing my brain out so much, i just want to be able to sit down and think about everything myself.

"even after she found out about why you're this heartbreaker. about your mom?" she continues, and i can feel my heart physically ache, "she still couldn't back out from it. she continued with the mission."

"i-"

"even after you did that extravagant promposal for her," she continues, "even after you gave her that necklace with your initial on it. she still continued with the mission, despite knowing that you're falling for her. she always wanted to break your heart, luke, so don't believe for a second when she says that what she felt for you were all real."

i hate this. i hate how she's trying to get into my head. she keeps talking and talking, not giving me time to try and process everything. it's like prom night all over again.

"i don't believe you." i answer, looking straight into her eyes.

i've read vada's letters. i know how she uses her words, and the way she compares her feelings to everything she's experienced since she was a kid. i know how she observes the people around her, and connects them with her own life.

there's no way in hell she'll be able to write all those words down, for them to not be real.

"then i wish you should've seen the look in vada's face when she signed that contract that day," she continues, still not backing down, "she looked so determined, luke. most especially during the first few days of the mission? she gave me weekly updates on how things were going! that's how invested she was."