How can I fly away from him when he is the one that clipped my wings?
Girl meets boy.
Boy and girl become childhood friends.
Girl and boy fall in love.
Boy cheats on girl in last year of college and breaks her heart.
It's the same tragic story that'...
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One Year Ago
On our walk to campus, I was expecting lots of pitying looks, but most of them just smiled at me and said hi. There were a few, of course. It's to be expected with so many people.
"You look surprised," Amelia notices.
"I am. Honestly, I thought I'd be subjected to all the sorrow I'd see on people's faces for me. It's hard enough dealing with my own. I don't know how I would have handled everyone else's."
"People love you, Char. Most of them will have compassion for what you're going through, but they also know that because of who you are, you're going to be struggling hard enough. They're not going to want to add to that burden. Look around you, babe. You've got the support of nearly all the campus."
That's what I'm afraid of.
I won't admit that to her though, because I fear what she'll say. Amelia is hardcore in her grudge-holding and Keaton is now number one on her 'shittiest person in the world' list.
"Don't. Don't you dare feel bad for him, Charlie. He cheated on you. Hell, he's basically been cheating on you with that filthy sperm-guzzling oxygen thief for nearly three years! Maybe it wasn't physical, but he was there emotionally because the boy I knew before she came into the picture would have never put you last. That boy knew exactly what he had in you and would have never risked losing it. So, don't you dare feel bad that most of the support is on your side."
Her face is flushed, and her eyes are shooting fire at me.
There's only been a handful of times that I've witnessed her this angry, and every single one of them is when someone she cares about has been hurt. Keaton used to be in that group, but now her rage is directed at him instead, and rightly so.
People are paying attention to us and I wipe my clammy hands against my thighs as I swallow tightly.
"I'm sorry, Mel. I can't change who I am just because he ripped my heart out. He's destroyed a lot of me, but I can't let him turn me into someone I'm not just because I'm bitter and full of pain. Keaton's had sixteen years of my life. Do you know how hard that is to just close off?" I shake my head. "I don't want him back. There's too much damage and I'll never be able to trust him again. I may want him to suffer and I may want to hurt him right now, but we both know when I'm on the other side of this, I'll hate who he turned me into. As hard as it is for me to admit, you're right. He may not have been having a physical affair with her for the last three years, but he has been there emotionally. He's given her things that should have only been mine. That's something I'm never going to get over." I walk again, knowing that she'll follow. "If I'm honest, Amelia, I think I would have preferred it just being something physical. That would have been easier for me to get over, but knowing that she's basically been his girlfriend for three years, that's a scar I don't think I'll ever come back from."
