A Love Like War

n i n e

SONG OF THE CHAPTER:
Mess by Real Friends
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She said she went there a lot. The girl I met at the bench, Maria. She said it was five minutes away from her apartment, and that it was her thinking spot. It's where she goes to clear her mind. I really hope she needed her mind cleared tonight, because talking to her could make everything better.

Half an hour later I'm sitting cross legged on the bench by myself. She is no where in sight. My left earbud is plugged into my ears and the song 'Mess' by Real Friends is playing softly through the small speakers. Stella's note is clasped between my shaking fingers as I re-read it. Over and over again until I don't even need the paper to know what it says.

I read until there's ink smudged across my fingers from turning the pages, and the paper has become worn from turning and crinkling in various ways.

"Hey, stranger." A voice calls from behind me and I turn around to catch sight of Maria walking up. Her eyes are puffy and the skin on her face is blotchy, she's been crying. Her hands are shoved into the pockets of her black coat as she approaches me.

"Hi. Are you alright?" I ask quickly.

"As well as can be I suppose. Mark, my boyfriend- or ex now- anyways, he broke up with me. Hence the 'ex.'"

"Damn. That's shitty." I mumble.

"Yeah. How did you get over your ex?" She asks as she moves to take a seat beside me.

"That's why I was sitting here. I was kind of hoping you needed to think somewhere, but I didn't plan on you being upset. I just wanted to talk to you."

She smiles, flashing me two rows of pearly white teeth. "I get it. So what's up?" She adjusts her legs so one is crossed over the other, her jean clad ankle over her knee.

"I'm not over my ex, like at all. I've been moping around the bus since the tour began and haven't really moved until we go on stage. The rest of my band picked up on it, 'cause normally I'm a lot louder. So they dragged me out to dinner a couple nights ago at a bar, which I thought was weird to begin with. They'd arranged to meet her there. So she knew I'd be there, my band knew she'd be there, but I didn't. And I wasn't at all ready, so I ran. That's why I was here that night. Anyways I get back after we finish talking and I'm beat, so I go to bed. I can't sleep though, so I'm just lying on my bunk. Then two of them start talking behind me about giving me something. My ex gave them a note for me." I hand her the pile of papers in my hands with a frown.

"Woah." She breathes as she skims over the words. "This is pretty rough."

I shrug. "She's always been like that, a realist. A no bullshit kind of girl."

"I can see that."

"So what do you think? Do you think it's completely pointless to try and win her back?"

She breathes out a deep sigh before handing the papers back to me. "I don't know Jack. I'm not her, but she sounds pretty through with the relationship."

"I know."

She looks up at me with her wide hazel eyes. "That's not what you wanted to hear, is it?"

I shrug. "It's what I needed."

She shakes her head. "But what you need isn't always what's best for you."

I crack a small smile. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." She answers with a smile of her own. Then there's a beat of silence. I take this as the time to look out into the lake as the waves gently lap at the shore in a soothing rhythm. "Jack," she finally says.