CHAOTIC HEARTS

FOREVER DOESN'T EXIST

NOTORIOUS FOR GETTING what he wanted when he wanted, they knew better than to piss him off. Everyone knew that Laelia Valentine was off-limits, and he was the prime reason why no one dared to approach her. He refused to let her go, and the idea of her abandoning him didn't sit right with him. He wanted to keep her forever, even when he knew such nonsense didn't exist. Being fully aware of how toxic his behaviour was, Dion tried to give her more space. Unfortunately, it resulted in him ruining a poor boy's sports career instead.

Whether he used social superiority or his fists, he would get what he wanted. Due to Dion's nature, many would have thought that he would have discarded Laelia by now. However, on the contrary, he seemed to hold onto her even tighter. During high school, his name frightened all the students, including teachers.

And Laelia had also learned what it felt like to feel helpless in jealousy. When a new girl accompanied Dion every week, it felt as though her heart was being torn piece by piece. The world mocked her for falling in love with her best friend. It was selfish to think he belonged to her.

He would flirt with her whenever he got the chance, believing that she was immune to his charms. Perhaps it had started that way, but over time, his teases and affections began to rile up her heart.

Dion treated her differently than others, and she was fully aware of it. But the 'what ifs' kept haunting her, and she couldn't find the courage to confess her feelings. What if, one day, he gets bored of me and treats me like that too?

When the last day of classes came, and they would be heading to university soon after, Laelia was beyond excited. Being admitted into her dream school, she couldn't wait to tell Dion the news. Spotting him by his Bentley, swiping through his phone as he ignored the female advancing on him, he glanced up to search for her through the crowd. His eyes lit up, striding towards her with her arms wide. The gesture made her feel shy, especially when everyone was watching. With a spare hand, she wrapped an arm around him as his warmth embraced her. "I missed you, Lia."

"Quit being so corny," she replied, hiding the blush by snuggling into his chest. "I might barf."

A reverberating sound of laughter escaped his lips as he let go to carry her books. "Why did you get so many damn books?"

"I couldn't decide on which book," she remarked, noticing his uneasy expression.

Opening the passenger door for her as he usually did, he placed her books in the backseat. With a phone call, he picked it up angrily and furrowed his brows in irritation. Since the doors were closed and Laelia didn't want to invade his privacy, she scrolled through her Instagram feed to kill time. Often, she would glance at Dion to see if he was okay.

He was livid and looked positively ready to kill. Clenching his knuckles until they were white, Laelia wondered what could make him that angry. Suddenly, he hung up and smashed his phone against the ground, cursing incoherently. Swinging up the door, he slammed it shut and was taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "Do you want to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, he pulled her into a hug and nestled his head in her shoulder. "Just let me stay like this for a moment," after a few minutes, when he cleared his head, he let out of sigh. "I'll drop you off. I have an errand to finish."

Nodding, she would let him cool off and would call him tomorrow morning to check up. The phone that he had smashed was one of many he had. That was the way things had also been. She never pressured him to talk because she knew he would open up to her when he was ready to. The car ride would have been eerily silent had it not been for the music blasting. When Dion dropped her off, walking her to the door, books in hand, she asked, "Do you want to come inside for a bit?"

"I'm not really feeling it today," he replied as she took the books from him. Suddenly, he leaned forward to peck her cheek, and the gesture caught her off guard. Dazed, she found Dion already inside his car by the time she realized what happened.

Whispering to herself as she watched his car speed down the road, she wondered what the hell just happened. "Guess I'll ask you about it tomorrow."

And when tomorrow morning came, she called him mid-afternoon. Laelia hoped he had figured things out since he hadn't ever looked as angry as he had been yesterday. It never rang, nor did it go to voicemail. He always had his phone on him, so it was odd he wasn't picking up. She didn't know who to ask as the only person close to him was her.

Settling on calling him in a couple of hours, the result was the same, and Laelia grew worried if something had happened to him. There was probably a reasonable explanation, and she was only being dramatic.

Living a few blocks away from Dion, she got into her Acura and headed towards his house. The first thing she noticed was how empty it looked. Parking onto the driveway, she attempted to call Dion once more and grew frustrated. After ringing the doorbell and waiting, there was no answer.

Typically one of his parents answered, or even the butler, but today, there was no one. Laelia was confused and didn't know what on earth could have happened. Exhaling, she made her way to the neighbour's front door to knock.

"Oh, Laelia, darling, how are you?" Greeted the middle-aged woman with a friendly smile.

"Hi, Miss Donovon," Laelia smiled, "Have you seen Dion lately?"

Realization dawned on her, "The Zephyr's family moved out last night," she explained. "I was taking Basil for a walk, and overheard them talking about moving out of the country."

"Thank you, Miss Donovon. Sorry to bother you." And Laelia sprinted back into her car. Her heart had dropped, unable to find the words to explain what she was feeling.

Everyone had warned her, and for a moment, she had foolishly thought she was different. Dion tended to chase after things he couldn't have, and when he succeeded, he would throw them away. When he got bored, he would throw them away. He had no problem leaving things behind because he didn't form attachments to them.

Although she didn't want to accept reality, she was forced to. As days turned to weeks, and weeks turned into months, he never tried to contact her. With time passing by and not a single word from him, Laelia knew better than anyone what this meant. Wherever he ended up leaving to, she was nothing to him. Easily attainable and easily disposable.

"When he gets bored things—people especially, he throws them away," whispered Laelia bitterly, ripping apart and deleting all the photos they had together. She wanted to erase the memory of him like he did to her. "You're an asshole, Dion, and I hope I never meet you again."