“Maya, please,” Antoine insisted.
I stopped and turned around, looking him in the eyes with a blend of contempt and repulsion. He had deep bags under his eyes, and the green of his irises didn’t shine as it had before. He was shirtless, in cotton pants and leg warmers, his torso gleaming beneath a layer of sweat.
“What?” I shouted.
“I’m sorry.”
“And what, exactly, are you sorry for? Hooking up with her for more than a month straight, or me catching you?” His eyes opened wide in surprise, and that was enough for me to confirm I was right. “Do you think I’m an idiot?” I went on. “I know yesterday wasn’t the first time.”
He looked down, embarrassed, and murmured, “I love you.”
“Well, you sure know how to show it.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you. Sofía means nothing to me. At first, it was all just a game. We seduced each other as we danced, trying to find a little chemistry because, at first, we were like two robots. It wasnothing like when you and I dance.” He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated, and looked straight at me. “It got out of hand. And I regret it. I was an idiot, Maya.”
“So what? You want me to feel better now? Because I don’t.”
“Forgive me, please. Let me fix it, let me make it up to you. I won’t see Sofía anymore. I’ll ask Natalia to change my partner, I’ll do whatever you want, just…forgive me!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. I don’t trust you anymore.”
“Maya, please.”
“No. It’s over. And I hope for your sake you didn’t give me anything. Because from what I saw yesterday, you didn’t even have the decency to use protection…”
“I did, always. I would never risk giving you something. It’s just that yesterday…”
“Yesterday you were horny like a dog and couldn’t help it?!” I sighed. “I don’t care, I’m going.”
“Maya, don’t leave! Talk to me. We can work this out.”
“No! There is no working this out, and you know what? It’s actually better. This is the best thing that could have happened to me. A clean break with all this shit. That’ll make it easier to get over. Sorry, Antoine, but you and I are done.”
“I made a mistake! It won’t happen again! I can’t lose you, though.”
“You should have thought of that before,” I told him, turning around and walking off.
“Maya…Maya, please.”
I ignored the pleading in his voice and the fact that he was following me out.
A bus passed and stopped about fifteen feet ahead, and I ran up to it and edged through the doors just as they were closing. With a knot in my throat, I walked down the aisle and held onto one of thebars. I looked through the glass and saw Antoine on the sidewalk, immobile, shrinking as we pulled away.
I forced myself to breathe, but the air refused to enter my lungs. It was all I could do not to break down then and there right in the middle of those strangers surrounding me, who knew nothing about me and the drama I was going through.
I went straight home, though it was the last place I wanted to be. The tension between my grandmother and me could have been cut with a knife. It was stifling in there, heavy, and she didn’t even need to speak to me to make me feel bad.
I was still thinking of Antoine as I opened the door. I didn’t really know how I felt about him. He had cheated on me, and we had broken up after a whole year together.
I should have been angry, sad, broken…
But what I felt was…
Nothing. I actually felt nothing. And that concerned me.
I heard voices in the living room. They were talking softly, but I could tell they were arguing. I peeked in and saw my grandparents sitting on the sofa. I was surprised: They never disagreed, at least not openly. They adored each other and got along perfectly. They were very different, but they complemented each other and always had.
She was the wave that swept everything away, and he was the foam it left behind.
