Someone New

Chapter Two

"Dakota, we really need to talk," I begin, taking a deep breath and trying to collect my thoughts. His brow furrows and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Suddenly, I'm aware of everybody around us in the coffee shop. There's an old man reading a newspaper in one of the overstuffed chairs behind Dakota. Two teenage girls sip on macchiatos directly to my left, giggling flirtatiously over the tall boy in basketball shorts that just walked past us. The barista calls out for a Cameron to retrieve their drink, and my courage begins to fail.

"What is it, Lexi?" he asks stiffly. "Most girlfriends don't begin a conversation with that phrase unless they're breaking up with their boyfriends."

I sigh. "Dakota, this isn't easy for me. I've been over this in my head time after time, and I just don't think we are working anymore."

His face explodes in anger. I move my right leg underneath me, trying to appear more at ease than I actually am. "In your head?" he growls. "Your head is such a fucked up place, Lexi. Don't you get that? What do you think you're going to do without us? Without me?"

"Dakota..." I trail off. All of the words I had planned on saying have scattered and drifted away, pushed out of my head by his angry words. All I can think about is his name. When we first met, he introduced himself to me as 'Kody,' but I somehow never felt comfortable enough to refer to him by his nickname. Over time, my use of his full name became our 'thing,' almost like a term of endearment. I was the only person he would tolerate calling him Dakota.

When I look up from my hands, his eyes burn into me. I muster the last bit of bravery I can find and push through the ache in my chest. "Look, I love you. I do. But this past year has been nothing but stress and frustration for us. We are hardly in the same place at the same time because of our schedules, and we want different things in life. You want to move back home to Texas when we graduate, and I want to stay here. All we do is fight - over our future, our needs, and even our freaking movie preferences. I'm tired of it, and I want you to take this as a free pass to move on and find somebody that is a better fit for you than I am."

"Lexi," he whines, his demeanor suddenly changing to resemble a chastised little boy. "I'm in love with you. Why would you leave me just because we argue sometimes? We've been together for a year, Lexi. Why would you just abandon me like this?"

I purse my lips, trying to hold myself together. "Dakota, I know you love me. But this... us... it isn't healthy, not anymore. All we do is tear each other apart. I just can't do it anymore."

He exhales loudly, clearly exasperated. He stands up quickly, causing his chair to squeal loudly on the concrete floor. Not caring about the people who have suddenly tuned into our conversation, he places his hands on the table and looms over me.

"Alexandria," he says slowly, "do not do this. I swear to you, you will regret breaking up with me. I cannot live without you."

I can't tell if he is pleading or threatening at this point, but either way, it makes my stomach churn.

"See Kody, this is exactly what I'm talking about. We can't even break up without some semblance of drama. It's exhausting."

His eyes darken at my informal use of his name. I think he's beginning to realize that I'm serious this time - this isn't just a bluff so that we'll stitch things back together like we usually do; this is it. The end.

He leans in closer, his face just inches from my own. He's still standing over the table, imposing his frame over me to appear intimidating. It's working. "Lexi, you're such a fucking idiot. You had me, and you're choosing to throw this away. Good luck finding anybody else in this world who can put up with your shit like I have. This thing between us is so fucking over." Dakota pushes himself off the table, and without a single glance backward, walks out of the coffee shop and out of my life.