to be so lonely • hs

four

It was only a matter of time before what seemed to be going fine went terribly wrong.

Jamie's smile dropped as her eyes landed on mine, her three friends standing behind her, still coming down from their laughter.

"Hey, babe," Harry acknowledged awkwardly, opening his arms and stepping closer to hug her, though when he embraced her, she pushed him off. It felt unusual, hearing him call her what he used to call me.

"Don't— Harry, are you kidding?" Jamie asked, scoffing at me. She pulled her black purse over her shoulder and crossed her arms, waiting for him to speak.

"Can we step outside?" He asked, his voice much lower than hers had been, his eyes scanning the room for anyone watching. A few people were, but most didn't seem to care.

"No! No, we won't step outside so you can lie to me about why you're with her!" This drew more attention, of course.

"I asked him to join me for dinner. It was my fault, not his." I spoke, hoping to cool down the situation, but clearly underestimating how angry it'd make her. It was the truth, after all. Even if he had been the one to stop by with doughnuts. It was my fault for furthering it.

"What makes you think you're allowed to do that?! He is not your boyfriend anymore!"

I didn't want to say more, I didn't like making a scene, especially not in a small and otherwise quiet restaurant. Especially not when Harry had an unreadable expression on his face, one I'd never seen in all my years knowing him.

But she wasn't going to let this go, and frankly, I had been sick of her treating him like her object, regardless of how it affected me.

"He's not your property. He'a a grown man allowed to have friends." I reminded, in the calmest voice I could find despite how far from calm I actually was.

"He has plenty of friends— don't you, Harry?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow. He simply nodded. "Then why must you act as if your ex-girlfriend is the only other person on this fucking planet?" She poked at his chest, earning a literal gasp from the woman sitting at a table beside us.

I shut my eyes in complete disbelief that this was actually happening. As if harry showing up to my door unexpectedly hadn't already been enough. I glanced over at Jamie's friends, who both stood with arms crossed behind her, one rolling her eyes at Harry, the other glaring at me.

"Jamie—" His voice was still quiet, the look on his face becoming more readable. He was visibly upset, his jaw locked up and his eyes as cold as ice. Embarrassed, too. His cheeks red and his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"What was all that bullshit yesterday about her meaning nothing to you? You expect me to believe that now?!"

I looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed, wondering if he'd really said that. He was already looking at me, a slight shake of his head and his mouth parting open to speak before I realized that I didn't want to be a part of any of this.

"I apologize, really, to both of you. I'm just gonna go." I mumbled, pushing past the shoulder of her friend to get to the door as she stood in the way.

The air seemed colder now as I stepped out of the small pizza shop. My eyes blinking every other second in an attempt to fight back tears, though the piercing air and her harsh words replaying in my mind really weren't much help.

Unlocking my car quickly, I wasted no time stepping in, getting ready to drive off just before I looked ahead of me to Harry and Jamie stepping outside the shop, his hand reaching for hers as she swatted it away. Her two friends followed behind her as she stormed away from him, walking in the opposite direction from where I sat.