Modern Cleopatra: A Summer Love Story [COMPLETE] 📔

THIS SUMMER | CHAPTER V : The Right Thing

 "Well," Cleo began as they reached the driveway of Villa Callas. Theo had walked her all the way home, making small talk about the weather, about the island, about the moon, about pretty much everything except why he had avoided Cleo all year. That afternoon, Cleo had agreed to see him again on the condition that he come clean, and he had yet to do so. As a result of his dilly-dallying, Cleo was losing patience, fast. It was midnight now, and Theo still hadn't spilled. She was tired, she was frustrated, and above all, she was unsatisfied.

She didn't care about being polite anymore.

"Thank you for the lovely evening full of totally useless small talk, void of absolutely any explanation you were supposedly supposed to provide me with." Her sarcasm stung. "Really, Theo, it's been swell, but quite frankly I've wasted three and a half hours of my life waiting for you to tell me what the hell your problem has been for all these months and you still haven't done it."

Theo looked at her then with his gorgeous, kind eyes, and it made Cleopatra's blood boil over with rage.

"You know," she jabbed, pulling no punches, gesturing emphatically and swinging her purse around by its strap. She must have looked crazy, but she didn't care. She wasn't the crazy one here. "It's bad enough you completely left me out in the cold all this time, but what's worse is that you actually came back around just to mess with my head a little bit more. What was this evening to you, hmm? Just another huge tease where you'd drop me off at the end of the night no closer to giving me any kind of closure on this entire situation? Just another evening with me where you could feel like some big man for making me give into you and allowing myself to even entertain the thought of spending more time with you, after what you did?"

Cleo trailed off now, allowing the chirping crickets and the whistling island wind to take over from her relentless monologuing. She was overreacting, and it wasn't a good look. Theo watched her painfully, looking as though he didn't know what to do next.

His inertia was making Cleo furious.

"Say something!" She cried out to him.

Theo paused for a moment, and then opened his mouth to speak.

Nothing came out.

Cleo gave him that final chance, her big brown eyes wide and glistening, and then whipped around incredulously, stalking off through the villa's open gates and past the trees of cherry and lemon and peach. She was done with this, done with him, done with being a pushover for some guy just because he had a perfect laugh and a perfect smile and the kindest eyes she ever saw.

"I just wanted one night!"

At the sound of his voice, Cleo froze, and turned to face him. Theo was right where she left him, and when he realized his exclamation had caught her off guard, he began walking towards her.

"I just wanted one last night where you and I were us, like before. Like last summer. That's all." He told her, tired; of beating around the bush, of keeping things from her, of this entire charade. He wouldn't do it anymore, couldn't do it anymore. Telling her everything was the only way to get her back, and he knew he couldn't wait another second to do it.

One more second and he'd lose her forever.

"That's what you thought this was? Us being us?" Cleo quipped back at him. She took two commanding steps towards him as the light pink leaves of the cherry blossoms swirled around her in the wind. "You and I haven't been us since you cut me out of your life completely. This evening wasn't us." She was seething. "This evening was supposed to be you being honest with me about some big fat secret you've been keeping. That's what I came for. That's why I agreed to see you. Not for dinner, not for us. For the truth, Theo." She shook her head at him disapprovingly, masking the profound hurt that lay beneath the anger she was feeling. "Don't you think I deserve at least that?"