READ MY MIND -Colton Haynes

neighbor

I was woken up by the sun flashing through the window and hitting my eyes. I sat up sleepily on my queen sized bed and looked beside me to find no Matthew. He had told me that he'd be going out with his friends last night so I didn't make a big deal out of not having him beside me. It was either he had slept at one of his friend's house or he had took his place on the couch in the living room.

I stood up, tied my hair into a messy bun, and walked to the living room only in one of his sweaters and in my lace underwear. I didn't find him on the couch, but I got a whiff of something brewing in the kitchen. I entered and I unexpectedly found Matthew, cooking a perfect breakfast for me.

"Good morning," I said as I sat on the kitchen island just behind where he was working. He turned around, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and greeted me with a good morning as well.

"What's all this?" I asked suspiciously since normally, I was the one cooking for him.

He turned around. "This -this is for you,"

I brushed a tiny strand of hair off my face. I was flattered, but the pit of my stomach had me feeling otherwise. "Is today a special occasion? I haven't forgotten our anniversary or anything, right? It's not the 15th today so it's not our monthsary. It's also not February 16 today so it's not our ann-

He cut me in my tracks. He just turned around and gave me a hard kiss on the lips without me expecting it. He pulled away since I didn't kiss him back in total surprise. He had a sad expression on his face, full of underlying guilt and anxiety.

"What?" I asked, and he didn't reply. "Why do you have that look on your face?" I asked, now a bit worried.

He rested his elbows on the kitchen island where I was sitting and pressed his palms against his temples. "I -I have something to tell you,"

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked at me. "You promise that you're still gonna love me afterwards," He said and this set me off.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked and he answered with a guilty look. By this time I was getting more and more agitated and angry simultaneously so I stood up and started backing away, a thought arising from deep within me.

"So you know that last night I was out with Paul, Chris, Ben, and some other friends, and we were out clubbing and - and I got drunk,"

Immediately, I knew where he was gonna lead up to. I could just feel tears breaking free from my eyes as I allowed my little assumption to consume my whole being. I backed away from him, tears ready to fall, and he kept approaching me with a sad look on his face, grieving, asking for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, Candace," That was all that he could say when in fact he had cheated on me with some girl he had just met in the club.

I started screaming as if I was going to be murdered. Tears rushed hurriedly from my eyes to the point where I could barely see. He hugged me tight and although it was hard, I resisted his touch. I refused to forgive him. I ran to our room, closed and locked the door, and plotted the quickest way to have him out of my sight.

I quickly put on some leggings and trainers without bothering to take a shower or changing my other clothes, opened the door to find him in front of me, ran away from him, and breezed out the door of our apartment, tears in my eyes and vision still blurry.

I had neglected the fact that I had forgotten my phone and earphones and that I didn't have any music to calm me down while I jogged. I rushed out into the street, composed myself, and started jogging to keep my mind off what just happened. Running always kept me sane, but right now, the hurt just overcame it.