Without You (Short Story)

Chapter 4: The War Within

Avery

I slammed the door shut behind me, leaning against it and staring at the empty darkness inside my flat for a while. I flicked the lights on after about five minutes and dropped my bag on the couch, heading for my bedroom and flopping down on it almost immediately. I buried my face in my hands and thought about what had happened the other day, fully aware of the fact that it was all I ever thought about these days.

I let out a sigh as I stared up at my dark grey ceiling, realizing that I was probably not gonna get any sleep tonight. It was already around nine o'clock and I hadn't even eaten yet.

I had been too distracted at work, occasionally finding myself staring into nothing but empty space as I thought about what happened the other day. It's been going on like that for two days, and I was more than frustrated that I couldn't get anything done properly at the coffee shop.

When I bolted from Kyle the other day, I spent the next few hours reflecting upon what I realized back there when I was with him. I absentmindedly drove around town looking for answers, and soon enough I found myself walking around the place that I didn't think I'd set foot in ever again.

My feet brought me to the exact same spot where everything started, and where things eventually ended. I found myself staring at the old, black park bench where we used to love spending time together, doing nothing but stare at the sun setting in the distance. I didn't know what it was that brought me here, but I didn't regret the decision.

It was nice to have a glimpse of what we used to be, after all.

Realizing that I probably came here to reminisce about the good times we shared and not the bad ones, I gave out a small smile and made my way over to the bench. I spent a good ten minutes just staring at my surroundings, a wave of nostalgia instantly hitting me at the sight of it.

The place was just as I remembered it to be. The wind was blowing steadily, and the sharp chill was nipping at my skin through my thick coat, but I didn't mind one bit. The trees surrounding the place were moving along with the wind, and the sun was just starting to set in the distance.

I spent the rest of the day there to collect my thoughts, only driving out when I realized that it was getting late.

Snapping back to reality, I thought about all the things that Kyle said, and soon enough, a tear dropped down my face, followed by another until they turned into a continuous waterfall.

What he did to me had hurt me more than he could ever imagine.

Nothing beats betrayal coming from the one person whom you trusted with all your heart.

I let out an ironic laugh at the thought, my mind slowly drifting back to when the conversation drifted to Emily. He had been tense the first time I mentioned it to him back at the coffee shop, and seeing as though he had a lot of time to think of an excuse for his actions while I was away, I had a lot of trouble believing him about anything when it comes to matters involving Emily.

Even though I wasn't even here anymore during that time when he was fooling around with her, I still managed to find out about it. I still remember feigning innocence and pretending not to care when a mutual friend of ours told me about them, but I knew deep inside that I was already neck-deep in denial.

I didn't actually think he could do that to me.

He should have just told me that there was someone else, and that I wasn't it for him anymore. Maybe if he did, I would have let him go so much more easily. Although it still would have hurt like hell, at least I knew the reason why.