It was nearly 2 am in the morning. I was sitting on a bench near my house where I left storming off, about 4 hours ago. We were both drunk and a heated argument between me and my girlfriend turned into a breakup. In the end, I was devastated, after all, she and I have been together for nearly 3 years now. Our romantic relationship has been in a stall for months and part of me knew this was going to happen eventually. After our long quarrel, she told me that this wasn't going anywhere and we needed to take a break. The anger I felt made me unable to understand what she was saying afterwards. I immediately started to pack my things. She told me that I could stay until I find a place to crash but I was having none of it. Staying in that house would make things worse for me even if it was for a couple of days. I was regretting that decision now because I had to spend the night in my car. It was getting really late, so I stood up and began walking towards my car. I reached for my keys in my pockets and unlocked the door. I woke up in the backseat of my Toyota Corolla with a really bad pain in my neck. I used a bag stuffed with my t-shirts as a pillow yet clearly it didn't help at all. My body was numb all over and this made me realize that I needed to find a rental house today because there was no way I would spend a night in my car ever again. I got up and reached for the little compartment next to the driver's seat to retrieve my phone. I saw that it was 11:34 pm, my head was spinning because of the hangover I was having. I checked the notifications and saw that Jess had left me a voice message telling me again that it was fine if I spent the night at our house until the end of the month since we were each paying half of the rent. I decided to drive there instead of calling since I already had to go there to fully pack. I moved to the driver's seat and revived the engine of the car. After 5 minutes of driving, I got to our street and parked in our driveway next to her car. She was standing on the porch waiting for me. I got out of the car and started walking towards her. She started with an apology:
- "Okay, yesterday I was a little drunk and I might have said some harsh words, but I meant it when I said we needed to take a break. I mean look at us, we-"
- " Let's get this over with, Jess, I don't want to argue with you," I said with a calm tone. " I'm just here to get the rest of my shit and leave"
Although I remained calm, inside I was heartbroken, somehow I knew that all of this was happening because she had lost interest in me and my emotions meant nothing to her.
- " Oliver, please don't do this, you can't just blame me over this, we both have made some mistakes"
- " All I did was to care for you, it was you who constantly reminded me of how I was being clingy all the time, you asked me to give you some space, so I did. I thought it was only for a couple of days, a week maybe. But you stopped having sex with me for weeks and when I asked you, you brushed it off and changed the conversation. I mean, come on Jess, if you don't love me anymore just say it already!" I started to raise my voice.
- " Stop yelling in front of all the neighborhood, people are going to hear us, just get inside, and let's talk there"
- " We have nothing left to talk about, I just need the rest of my stuff" as I said I started to move towards the door. When I got to the porch I saw a bag next to where she was standing now.
- " I knew you wouldn't stay so I packed your things for you," she said while crossing her arms and resting herself on the wooden railing.
I took the bag and left without saying anything. For the last time, I turned back and looked at her, her green eyes and light blonde hair were what made me fall in love with her when I first saw her at the bar. I was 21 back then, celebrating my birthday with friends. They were the ones who made me approach her in the first place. Why I was thinking about this memory now? I turned my head around and walked towards my car. I got in, she was back inside the house now. I felt a tear running down my cheek, I wiped it off and started the car. This was a new journey for me now, I thought, as I drove the car backwards and left the driveway.
My head was filled with many thoughts as I was driving through our neighborhood. What was I gonna do now? Will we ever get back again? Has she already cheated on me? Where am I'm gonna go now? These thoughts circulated in my head and I decided to drive to the local diner because I was starving at this point. I left my car in the parking lot and got near the diner entrance. Since I was a regular here, I asked Ashley the waitress for the same order which was eggs and bacon. As she brought my meal she had a bright smile on her face. She always looked amused around me for some reason, but it never bothered me, I liked her in a friendly way. I used to come here almost every day because of my job as a computer engineer. Since the place was near this diner and because of their amazing breakfast menus. As she placed my order in front of me she opted to strike a conversation:
-"Hey big guy, we never see you here anymore, I guess Jess is pretty good at breakfast then eh?" she said as she chuckled.
She always called me "big guy" because I was 6'2 and had broad shoulders. Jess always said that Ashley may have a crush on me but I never thought of her that way.
She saw me not reacting and her smile slowly faded away.
- " I guess it's not a good time to talk I reckon? She said in a worrisome tone. " I'll leave you to your own then".
- " No, don't leave. I'm sorry I'm just not in the best mood today" as I gestured for her to stay.
- " What's wrong? You know you can always talk to me"
I sighed "Me and Jess are having a bit of a problem right now. I don't want to talk about it, can you just stay with me a little bit though?" as I said I realized my voice was getting a little shaky.
- " Oh, Oliver, I'm so sorry, I have a table to check but the other girls can take care of it" she sat right next to me.
- " I just don't understand what I did wrong, I- I..." I was starting to break down now. I was unable to finish my sentence.
She embraced me. "Oh, it's okay, it's okay" she was stroking my hair.
I was crying in her arms. I didn't know why I was opening up to Ashley right now. I gathered myself and released myself from her grip. I wiped my tears and started to reassure her.
- " I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. It's just-"
She moved closer " Oh it's fine, I'm your friend you can talk to me"
- " I'm fine, really, thank you for all of this, you should go check on those guys" I wiped my runny nose with my sleevs and pointed towards the entrance to a couple looking for seats.
- " You sure? I can stay if you want" I interrupted her and said I was fine, and then she left to greet the new customers.
After I finished my meal, I waved at Ashley and left the diner. I got in my car again and started to think about where I was gonna stay the night. I didn't have any friends left in my city, most of them moved, and one of them joined the army. So asking a friend was out of the question. I checked the time again and it was 2:40 at the noon. Now I needed to find a place to stay.
- "Okay, yesterday I was a little drunk and I might have said some harsh words, but I meant it when I said we needed to take a break. I mean look at us, we-"
- " Let's get this over with, Jess, I don't want to argue with you," I said with a calm tone. " I'm just here to get the rest of my shit and leave"
Although I remained calm, inside I was heartbroken, somehow I knew that all of this was happening because she had lost interest in me and my emotions meant nothing to her.
- " Oliver, please don't do this, you can't just blame me over this, we both have made some mistakes"
- " All I did was to care for you, it was you who constantly reminded me of how I was being clingy all the time, you asked me to give you some space, so I did. I thought it was only for a couple of days, a week maybe. But you stopped having sex with me for weeks and when I asked you, you brushed it off and changed the conversation. I mean, come on Jess, if you don't love me anymore just say it already!" I started to raise my voice.
- " Stop yelling in front of all the neighborhood, people are going to hear us, just get inside, and let's talk there"
- " We have nothing left to talk about, I just need the rest of my stuff" as I said I started to move towards the door. When I got to the porch I saw a bag next to where she was standing now.
- " I knew you wouldn't stay so I packed your things for you," she said while crossing her arms and resting herself on the wooden railing.
I took the bag and left without saying anything. For the last time, I turned back and looked at her, her green eyes and light blonde hair were what made me fall in love with her when I first saw her at the bar. I was 21 back then, celebrating my birthday with friends. They were the ones who made me approach her in the first place. Why I was thinking about this memory now? I turned my head around and walked towards my car. I got in, she was back inside the house now. I felt a tear running down my cheek, I wiped it off and started the car. This was a new journey for me now, I thought, as I drove the car backwards and left the driveway.
My head was filled with many thoughts as I was driving through our neighborhood. What was I gonna do now? Will we ever get back again? Has she already cheated on me? Where am I'm gonna go now? These thoughts circulated in my head and I decided to drive to the local diner because I was starving at this point. I left my car in the parking lot and got near the diner entrance. Since I was a regular here, I asked Ashley the waitress for the same order which was eggs and bacon. As she brought my meal she had a bright smile on her face. She always looked amused around me for some reason, but it never bothered me, I liked her in a friendly way. I used to come here almost every day because of my job as a computer engineer. Since the place was near this diner and because of their amazing breakfast menus. As she placed my order in front of me she opted to strike a conversation:
-"Hey big guy, we never see you here anymore, I guess Jess is pretty good at breakfast then eh?" she said as she chuckled.
She always called me "big guy" because I was 6'2 and had broad shoulders. Jess always said that Ashley may have a crush on me but I never thought of her that way.
She saw me not reacting and her smile slowly faded away.
- " I guess it's not a good time to talk I reckon? She said in a worrisome tone. " I'll leave you to your own then".
- " No, don't leave. I'm sorry I'm just not in the best mood today" as I gestured for her to stay.
- " What's wrong? You know you can always talk to me"
I sighed "Me and Jess are having a bit of a problem right now. I don't want to talk about it, can you just stay with me a little bit though?" as I said I realized my voice was getting a little shaky.
- " Oh, Oliver, I'm so sorry, I have a table to check but the other girls can take care of it" she sat right next to me.
- " I just don't understand what I did wrong, I- I..." I was starting to break down now. I was unable to finish my sentence.
She embraced me. "Oh, it's okay, it's okay" she was stroking my hair.
I was crying in her arms. I didn't know why I was opening up to Ashley right now. I gathered myself and released myself from her grip. I wiped my tears and started to reassure her.
- " I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. It's just-"
She moved closer " Oh it's fine, I'm your friend you can talk to me"
- " I'm fine, really, thank you for all of this, you should go check on those guys" I wiped my runny nose with my sleevs and pointed towards the entrance to a couple looking for seats.
- " You sure? I can stay if you want" I interrupted her and said I was fine, and then she left to greet the new customers.
After I finished my meal, I waved at Ashley and left the diner. I got in my car again and started to think about where I was gonna stay the night. I didn't have any friends left in my city, most of them moved, and one of them joined the army. So asking a friend was out of the question. I checked the time again and it was 2:40 at the noon. Now I needed to find a place to stay.
