Stay With Me (Merome)

Chapter 15

Mitch's POV

I thrust my suitcase out the door, aware of the hidden eyes of Jerome and his parents watching me walk soundlessly out the door. I should have told them I was going, but I was still too angry with Jerome, too angry with myself to face them.

How could I let myself say that? Jerome now had hope, and it would eventually break him. He would see that we couldn't happen, even if I wanted it to, and he would hurt, hurt himself, hurt others, maybe even take things too far and suicide. "Jerome, this is for us. I'm saving our friendship before we destroy it." I whispered, more to myself than him, as a wave of guilt washed over me. It wasn't like I truly believed it, but I wanted to. I tried not to think about it as I stumbled along the road, and hailed a cab to take me to the airport. When I got in, I looked at the driver's face, and a flicker of recognition passed me. "Hey..." I said slowly. "You drove me yesterday!"

"Hmm? Yeah, I guess I did. Where's that other boy you were with?"

"His house." I said curtly, and silence fell. The driver obviously had more he wanted to say but held his tongue. "Where you going anyway?"

"Airport please." He let out a puff of smoke and glanced at me. We got there without another word, and I handed over the fare. "You could do a whole lot worse." He muttered, before speeding off. I grabbed my suitcase before heading to the counter, where I got tickets for a flight. It left near immediately, so I dropped off my luggage and made a break for the gate, getting there in time.

(Another plane flight... I say you should now prepare for le drama to start, and prep your eyes as well. This could get bad.

PREPARE YOUR BODIES!)

As soon as the taxi took me home, I dropped off my luggage, then considered calling Lia. "Eh, why not surprise her?" I mused, a little afraid. I hopped into my car, then drove to her house, and smiled at the familiar sight, while pure terror also ate at me. I'd have to tell her about Jerome, and it wouldn't be pretty. 

She'd be home. She wouldn't be working now, and unless she was with friends, she'd probably be on Tumblr or Twitter, anywhere where she'd find amusement. 

I knocked on the door quietly, but couldn't hear anything. Huh. Odd. Okay, so she was with friends. I texted her just to check. "Hey, where are you?" I muttered as I typed, and I got a reply back a minute later. Home. Now I was worried.

I found her spare key and opened up the door, then quietly went in. Something wasn't right, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. The faintest sound of a gasp came from her room, and I raised my eyebrow in confusion. Her laptop was on the table...

I opened her door, and felt myself shatter. 

Lia. Amelia. A guy. Kissing. Making out. 

She was dressed in an oversized shirt, obviously his since he was shirtless, and they were kissing, her legs over him. 

For a moment, I could only watch in a stupor until they saw me and she yelped. "Mitch!" I felt the tears swim to my eyes, and could barely choke them back. "How could you?" I whispered, before I left for the door. "Mitch." I ignored her, and she pulled on my arm, making me spin. "Mitch. You aren't meant to be here." Lia muttered in a condescending tone. When I didn't reply, she begged, "Mitch, don't be angry, please!"

"Uh huh. When I walk in on my girlfriend making out with a guy, having done or planning on doing God knows what, I'm mean to 'not be angry' right?" 

"It was just because-" she started whispering, looking smaller than ever. I interrupted her, a dangerous mix of anger and sadness in me. "No. That's not right. You know what? I interrupted my great holiday because my best friend kissed me. Yeah, Jerome kissed me, and then I kissed him back, but that was all! You on the other hand, crawling all over the other guy!"

"I'm sorry." I watched the tears flow down her face, and felt my own trail their way. "Yeah, because sorry cuts it. How long has this been going on?!"

"I- over a month." She whispered, and I started leaving again, but she pulled me back forcefully. "Look, I didn't want things to be this way!"

"Couldn't you have just spared me then, and broken up with me or something?! Instead of leading me on? Oh wow, I sound like you, back when I was only talking with Ashley!"

"I said I'm sorry, okay?!"

"No, it's not! It's not okay! It's... it's... over!" I snarled, before storming out. My limbs were shaking and the tears flowed down my face, but never before had I felt stronger. At least I knew the truth. Ashley had been right.

Of course, I felt like crap again when I parked. My girlfriend had been cheating on me for weeks, and I'd never taken the chance to fully return the favour. Not that I'd want to but, in all honesty, I could have. "Ex-girlfriend." I corrected myself aloud. Lovely way to describe her now. Weirdly enough, the words were like music to my ears.

I ran to my room, and then stared at a picture I'd put there. It was a frame one, of me and Lia on holiday. The big two year one. Two wasted years.

I picked it up, then pulled the photo out. "No use wasting a perfectly good frame." I muttered, before I set it back down again, then ripped the paper to shreds. The tiny pieces flew around my feet as I leaned against the wall, and slid down it.

The front door clicked after fifteen minutes or so, and my first thought was that it was Lia. She'd probably remember where the spare was. "Fuck off. I have nothing to say to you anymore! We're over!" I yelled, and I heard the soft footsteps follow them up the stairs. They opened the door. "Hey, Mitch." Jerome. He didn't question it, just sat next to me and wrapped an arm around me, though he looked a little shocked when he saw the paper shreds. "Hey, wanna tell me what happened?"

"Lia cheated. She cheated! The only person who really ever loved me, and it was a lie!" I roared despairingly, and Jerome looked at me sadly. "That's not true..."

"Yes it is!"

"Hey, hey Mitch. Remember, I love you." Jerome whispered, and I looked at his face. "Oh. Yeah... I love you too." I replied awkwardly, tasting the honest words in my mouth, and his eyes brightened. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes. I love you Jerome." I repeated slowly, then stretched and crashed our lips together.

This kiss was sweeter than the last, where I could keep it going, and so could he. I felt elation, and the sparks quietly going off around us. I felt Jerome's smile under my lips, and as we went on our knees, he pulled me into a hug. I hadn't anticipated for the day to be like this, but now, this was the only way I'd want it. It felt right, here in Jerome's arms, like it was always meant to be this way.

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a good one! ^_^ it's Christmas here at least...

Amber