"You don't have to walk away from this."
"This?" I ask bitterly. Too much anger and contempt course through my words than I had intended; so much that he winces very noticeably, the hurt in his warm brown eyes painfully clear.
"Us," he replies, with a naïve confidence and certainty in his tone that doesn't quite mask the pleading desperation that leaps out from the back of his throat.
The throat that I'm a little bit tempted to wring out, quite frankly.
I chuckle humourlessly at his words and honestly don't even feel guilty about how upset he looks. "I doubt 'us' was in your head when you fucked Leyla."
Again, he grimaces. Clearly, bringing up Leyla is going to be a sore spot for both of us now. For me, she's my ex best friend. A traitor, a liar, a boyfriend-stealer, the reason I'm haphazardly throwing things into my bag from a bed that, for the duration of this holiday, was where I slept alongside my boyfriend of over a year, a place that now has stray blonde hairs that I should have noticed earlier. For him, she's tonight's conquest and a small part of me likes to think – or at least hope- that, to him, she's a mistake.
"Cel, there's always going to be an-"
I cringe as he uses my nickname. I cut him short before he can finish his futile attempt at reconciling things between us.
"Seth, to you, it's Celeste now. And to me, the only 'always' is the fact that you'll forever be my biggest mistake who deserves the likes of Leyla." I cut him off with what I thought would be a concluding statement; a good place at which I could end things.
"I'm sorry, you know I was drunk and you were with the others and she was the one coming onto me and - Christ, Cel - it's been over a year and you still won't..." His voice trails off and I don't fill in the gaps for him.
That hurt. That hurt a lot. Of course, his incessant pleading is irritating but at least it proved I hadn't wasted the past year and 2 months. At least it showed that I had some kind of tangible proof that he still wanted me. At least it meant he cared.
But that comment told me exactly what he wanted me for - and was happy to get from my best friend if I wasn't willing to sleep with him in a timely fashion.
"Go fuck yourself, Seth." I deadpan with some level of emotionlessness that I hope was convincing.
"Come on, Cel, you know I want you, not her."
"Shocking; what's changed since the last time you slept together then?" I continue to pack my things as he stumbles over his words incoherently, unable to string an excuse together.
As I cram my final piece of clothing into my suitcase, I mutter a goodbye to Seth then another half-hearted one to the group of friends who were still in the Airbnb as I make my way out of the door and onto a street of a city I don't know, without looking back.
And somehow it felt good. It felt beyond good. It felt fucking incredible. I quickly checked my phone to re-schedule my flight and shuddered at the messages I had yet to open.
Leyla: omg I'm sooooo sorry
Leyla: Idk what came over me
Leyla: This was literally the worst mistake I every made
Leyla: Pls forgive me :(
Leyla: I love you Cel <3
I roll my eyes at her abbreviations, and spelling errors only slightly less than I do at her feeble, insincere attempt at an apology. As my fingers twitch idly over the keyboard, another message comes through.
YOU ARE READING
Only For You
RomanceWe've all had an airport crush. You stare probably until you get caught. You're hoping your seat is next to them. Hell, you're planning the wedding. But how many of us have been cheated on, run away, gotten into a car with a stranger, finally made i...
