Stay | Arctic Monkeys Fanfiction

Thirty Six- I Was Made To Break Your Heart

I stood there in the doorway, shock rolling through me like a thunderstorm.  

She knew.

Holy fuck.  

"Close the door," Estella said.  

I didn't move.  I couldn't. 

She closed my book and stood up.  "Unless you want everyone downstairs to hear about how pathetically in love you are with Alex, I suggest you do what I say."

Right.  I saw who had the upper hand here.  I apprehensively complied, trying to figure out something to say.  Anything  to say.

But all that circled through my mind was a chorus of "I'm fucked."

"Estella," I said carefully.  "I wrote that book years ago and I, uh, I based a character around him, but it isn't, I mean it doesn't-"

"Shut up," she said, cutting off my rambling excuse.  "You actually think I'm that stupid?"

Did she really want me to answer that question?

"It's funny," she said.  "The only reason I even brought your book along was because I liked you, Emilia.  I really did.  And the only reason I started to read it was because of my suspicion."

I didn't move.

"I knew you two were close," she said, moving toward me.  "But I trusted you.  And I trusted him, too."

More like she trusted him not to find me more attractive than her.

"Alex told me about the agreement between you two," I said carefully.  "And I saw you and James.  Alex and I aren't any different from that.  We were just having fun.  And you guys had a deal-"

"I know we had a deal," she spat.  "But it's different."

Rage burned through me.  "How is it different?"

She stared at me for a long time.  "Because Alex loves you back."

I didn't know what to say.  She knew.  She knew everything.

"I didn't want to believe it at first," she said.  There was almost a sadness about her voice.  "I saw the way you two were together.  The way he looks at you... he's never looked at me like that."

My heart leapt at the weakness in her voice. I knew how she felt, to love someone who didn't love her back.  

But then the frailty disappeared from her eyes and her face went cold.  She straightened her spine, looking me over carefully.

"But Alex is still my fiancé, and he is still going to marry me.  There's too much I have to lose, and I certainly can't let you get in the way of it all, can I?"

Alright.  I could see where this was headed.

"I think that maybe you and Alex need to sit down and talk about the fact that the two of you aren't in love and-"

Her laugh cut me off.  "Are you serious?"

"What?"

"You think that this can just be talked out?  Do you really think I'm going to go down without a fight and leave you and Alex to ride off into the sunset together?"

"Um."

She took a few steps closer to me, stopping only inches from my face.  "Listen to me very carefully, Emilia."

I waited, my hands balled into fists at my side.  Never in my life had I wanted to punch somebody in the throat so fucking badly.  

"You're going to leave this room, find Alex, and tell him that you don't love him."