Lauv / Ari Leff One Shots

[3] News "One Shot"

I had an extremely hard time writing this. I wasn't because if the themes, it was because if the shear heaviness came with it. It's still not at the potential that I want it to be, I just could no longer write it.
Plot // the news explained it all

The scratchy texture of my floors carpet comes in contact with my bare back as I lay down. The floor had always been a comfort place for me, somewhere that I would rather lay than my bed. My phone screen lights up with various notifications as my friends try to contact me. The news had gone live only ten minutes ago, the news that Ari is dating someone that is not me. For months it had been my face in the pictures that he took. It had been my lips that he kissed so many times, my body that he held so tightly when we slept. This news, news that I never thought I would hear, had shattered me life a knife to glass. It had all been a lie, a faux relationship created from nothing but the twisted truth. I was in the dark.
Oh course it's most likely my own fault, for not seeing the signs. It was a publicity stunt that was pulled, and a clever one at that. I roll over onto my side, laying am arm across my chest, and look at the half full vodka bottle that sit on the carpet. Beside it, my phone continues to light up with messages, none of which I want to pay any attention to. They would all be sympathy notes, messages of pity and worries that I didn't want. The people that know me the best would know that I'm fine, or will be fine. I should have known it, that I couldn't have trusted all of the things that he had told me. The sweet nothings and innocent lies.
I roll over onto my back once again, exposing my bare chest as I stare at the ceiling. My sweatpants hang low on my hips, them being oversized playing a large factor in that. My tv still plays softly in the background, reporters talking about the excitement surrounding the Grammy awards, gushing over who brought who to the show. My phone lights out and I notice out of the corner of my eye that I am getting yet another call. Finally fed up, I answer the call and put it on speaker.
'Leria?' A sense of numbness crosses my body as Ari's voice fills my ears. I don't speak.
'Leria please, I know that you're there.' His voice is leading, I can practically hear the tears welling up in his throat. I had never cared for heartbreak, it was never something I wanted to let myself get involved in. I had gotten too involved with Ari though, and in the end it backfired, like I should have known. I piece together my words, and then speak, my voice hoarse and broken.
"Heartbreak. A feeling of physical pain when one is betrayed or condemned. I know that this could never be for the press, no that's not how you do things. You- you don't get the right to talk to me after this. I am stronger than a small piece of your little game. You can have fun with your Barbie doll. But know that when you get home, I will be gone." The silence on the other line. It's like the tension carried through the phone and wrapped around me as I anticipate his reply. Why do I even anticipate? I know that any way that this could go, the outcome will be failure.
"I love you, more than I could ever express. But the public appearances, I needed someone and you just weren't that person." I blink away a few tears, sitting up from the position that my body had become comfortable in. Then I make a decision.
"You say that you love me, I never loved you. I can't express those emotions because I never felt anything for you." Through my shielded exterior, a single tear slips down my cheek. I lied. I loved him with all of my heart and more. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt me with whatever he was trying to pull. In reality I wanted him to be here, so I could hit him and punch him and then have him hold my wrists before I go crying into his chest. But I knew that we were far too broken for that.
"Then what were we?" He'd broken. I can hear it in his voice, the sound of his heart breaking evident through his voice. He is losing everything that he had known and loved, and in the end it's all his fault.
"Exactly what you created us to be from the moment you started this game, a lie. I don't know how I could even have trusted you. How blind was I to not see the fact that you were cheating on me."
"It wasn't cheating-"
"Oh really? Are you that embarrassed of me, your love, that you couldn't even bring me to be with you on such an important night?" Silence. It's what I expected though. I can hear his breathing, his breath obviously heavy with anger, maybe sadness. I let out a sigh, running a hand through my already messy hair.
"This relationship was toxic from the beginning, Ari. You are much happier out there, with her. Maybe we are just too different, but you won't be hearing from me again." I hang up the phone. His voice was too much and I had begun to give into he heartbreak that was trying to consume me since the call started. I didn't think that it wouldn't end, not like this, not now. With a heavy sigh, I push myself off the floor, leaving my phone to the carpet. I get lost in my mind as I begin to pack my things. I had never been very good at relationships, and this situation in itself, proved that. I change into my old clothing, the dark material that I used to wear before Ari brought light to me. My small pile of things sit near the door and I text my brother, asking him to come get me. He responds saying that he will be here any moment. I close my eyes, wrapping my arms around myself. Maybe Ari will come find me, maybe it would work out again, but with the amount of lies that ran through us, I know that would never happen. As I leave the house, walking towards my brother who welcomes me with open arms, I ignore the constant lighting up of my phone, the constant showing of missed calls and messages from Ari. Because I'm the end, I am really just trying to tell myself that I don't care.