Extinguished

~12~ Pieces

Taylor's POV

She shuts the door, and takes my heart with her. This house has never felt so empty. So alone. I go into our bedroom, hoping she forgot to take something and will have to come back to get it.

She didn't. Everything that was hers is gone. She did leave the pictures of us, though. Pictures of when we were happy. When life was good. Pictures that will haunt me forever. Laughing at me—Mocking me.

I pick up my favorite one. It's a candid that Megan took one night when we were bowling. I'm in the back, with my arms wrapped around her. She's laughing at something, and I'm kissing her cheek.

Before I know it, I've thrown it across the room. It lands right on the mirror above our dresser, breaking it into a million pieces. I look at the dresser; We bought that together. I didn't really care for it, but she fell in love with it the moment she saw it. I couldn't say no. I could never tell her no. I walk over to the wall to see how bad the mess is. I'm going to have to clean it up, but at least it'll give me something to do.

As I walk over there, I get a piece of glass shoved in my foot. I got most of it out after a few minutes of swearing, but there's still a piece that's stuck. It'll come out eventually, I guess.

Around 8, Jake comes back to pick up the rest of Liam's stuff. We don't say anything to each other as he takes apart the bed and takes it downstairs.

"I know you're having a pity party, but do you mind helping me carry down the dresser?" He asks, leaning against the door frame.

I silently get up and go into Liam's room. I hadn't been able to go into that room yet. The pain was too intense.

We have the dresser and are taking it out of the room, when Jake stops and starts chuckling. "Looks like you can also add 'anger problems' to your resume."

He sees the broken mirror with the glass I still haven't cleaned up in the bedroom.

"Keep it up, and assault will be added, too." I say, dryly.

He leaves once it's loaded, and I watch TV the rest of the night. I haven't slept yet. I've been up for 30 hours now.

The next day I hang around the house. I sleep some, but mostly I just stare at the wall. It's around 8:00 pm when I hear a knock at my door. It's Liam.

As soon as he sees me, he buries himself into my chest and cries. I hug him with as much strength as I have while sobs start racking my chest.

He comes inside and sits next to me on the couch.

"She won't tell me what happened. She just said that it was better if you ended things now. She said you are still a great guy, but she can't be with you anymore." He says, tears still streaming down his face.

"I'm not an idiot. What happened, Taylor?" He asks, finally looking at me.

How do I tell the kid that I cheated on his mom? Nowhere in the boyfriend handbook does it tell you how to start that conversation.

"I messed up, bud. I got drunk the other night, and I messed up. Your mom had every right to break up with me."

Please leave it alone...Please—who the hell am I kidding? This is Liam.

"You cheated?"

I don't say anything.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. What did we do wrong? Was it because I stole that car?" He asks, panic in his voice as he starts to wonder if this was his fault.

I spin around quickly so I'm facing him, and put his face in between my hands.

"You listen to me, Liam Alexander, and you listen good. This is NOT your fault. Do you hear me? This is NOT your mom's fault. This is my fault. I love your mom more than anything else in this entire world. I will never, ever forgive myself," I say, fighting back tears.

He silently nods as he leans back into the couch.

"Does your mom know you're here?" I ask

"No. She's gonna kill me. I told her I was running down to get a soda from the gas station. Instead I took a cab here."

She must still have his keys and license

I sigh as I get out my phone. I have to let her know he's here. I figure she won't answer my call, so I text her instead, simply telling her that Liam was here.

"Where's your mom staying?" I ask, trying to sound casual. In reality, it's been killing me that I don't know where she is.

"With dad. She was gonna stay with Megan for a while, but they had an opening in the complex we used to live in. She's gonna take it. It's not ready for a week, so she's with dad until it is."

I'm not sure how to process that information. It bothers me that she's going to be living in our old apartment complex, while I'm over here in our new one.

While we wait for Ellie, I order us a pizza, and we play Xbox until she gets here.

Half an hour later, there's another knock on the door.

"Liam Alexander!" She yells as soon as I open the door and she sees him. "I've been worried sick. You're in so much trouble."

"I'm sorry" she says, barely even looking at me.

"No problem," I say with a small smile.

"I never even got to say goodbye. I needed it." Liam says as he starts crying again.

Ellie sighs quietly and sits on the couch next to Liam, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry buddy. I'm not upset you came to see him; I'm just upset that you didn't tell me." She glances at me for a moment.

"There's no reason you need to say goodbye to him."

A flicker of hope ignites in my chest. She's going to let me still see him?

"I would love for you to come over. As often as you want."

Man I hope that didn't come across as desperate as I feel.

"Really?" He asks, sounding hopeful for the first time this evening.

"Just because we broke up, doesn't mean you guys have to. I know how much he means to you," she says, only staring at Liam.

She can't even look at me. Even though I'm thrilled I can still hang out with my buddy, my heart is shattered into as many pieces as my mirror.