THE BAD HABIT I had kept from my childhood of popping my knuckles returned during the silent drive home. I stopped to turn on the radio to blur out the sound. A jazz station filled in the empty space. Ashton and Michael didn't talk, which I was secretly grateful for. I was too stuck on my breakup with Edgar to partake in a conversation.
Nervously, I tapped my shoe on the floorboard of the car, pondering on every last thing I told Edgar in the heat of the moment. Every word he said and each gesture he made replayed repeatedly. The two nail marks he had left on me were nearly gone, leaving a small scratch were my wrist and palm met.
One question stood out amidst the chaos and jumbled up thoughts, roaming my mind.
Was leaving him in that way a mature thing to do?
We were going on to our three year anniversary. It was in two months. I met him in my Freshman year in our Film class. With the amount of history we had built together, the way I decided to end things tonight - so abruptly - seemed inappropriate.
Also, simply because we broke up didn't mean I would never see him. We shared the gym during dance rehearsals. I would see him at games and we had two classes together.
Despite that, sharing a few friends would be the worst part. We hung out with the same crowd of people. Running into him would be a daily affair. I couldn't totally erase him out of my life.
Michael floated a hand on to my knee, comforting me with a smile and a soft tone of voice. "Are you okay, Rosie?"
"I'm okay," I muttered, telling him what he wanted to hear. I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging my shoulders, and relaxed back. Now that Edgar was no longer a looming shadow in my life, shackled to me at every move, I shouldn't have to lie about how I felt. "Frankly, I'm not okay, Michael. I'm going to be okay though. Eventually."
"He's not going to do anything to you."
Michael gave my knee a small squeeze and I placed my hand over his, needing the affection. Michael's eyes doubled in size, but he didn't let go or move away.
He gandered at me, smoothing his opposite hand up the steering wheel of his mom's minivan. "You did the right thing."
"Did I miss something?" Ashton inquired, poking his head to the side from behind Michael's chair. "I feel like something went on back there that I'm not aware of."
"Can I tell him?" Michael asked.
I smiled, giving him a nod of approval. I appreciated how he asked before blabbing his mouth. If one of the girls on the dance team saw, they would text the details to all of their closest friends in a group chat without considering consoling me and see if I was happy or alright.
Reagan on the other hand wouldn't do that. That was why I considered her friend, above all the other members.
"Rose broke up with Edgar." Michael turned down the volume of the radio by pressing a button on the steering wheel with his thumb. "Knowing him though, he's crazy enough to pretend like nothing happened and go back to how it was before."
"I'm not going to let that happen. I made it clear to him that I didn't want him to contact me," I informed. "This isn't some temporary break. It's a real breakup."
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Only If She Stayed
Teen FictionI was stuck in the bathroom, stalling as much as I could, when I should be in bed. There was one problem with that, though, Ashton was spread out on my mattress. A single glance at him was all it took, noticing that there was no way the two of us co...
