Cassandra
"I don’t mean tobe rude, but what’s this all about?" Alison doesn’t waste a lick of time, asking the burning question the instant we’re seated in a booth at the back of the nearest cafe.
"I’m not sure where to start," I concede, her confused, but polite, smile turns to disbelief, her eyes filling with tears.
"I wanted to believe him so badly, you know? I wanted to believe every word that came out of his mouth. I wanted to trust him, but this whole time, there was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that he was too good to be true. My momma always told me to trust my gut, but I refused to let my gut be right this time." She blows out a shaky breath, blinking away her tears, attempting to dismiss them.
"An ex from years ago wouldn’t be that…upset, unless it was still raw. I said that to Austin too, but he just told me you were crazy." She scoffs, bringing a tissue to wipe her nose.
Reaching my hand across the table, I take hers in mine, and we sit in complete silence. I don’t know this woman sitting infront of me, but I know that Austin never deserved her. He never deserved either of us.
"How long?" she asks, killing the quiet while taking her first sip of her untouched decaf.
The cafe is empty, our voices remaining low enough for only us to hear.
"Fourteen years," I reply, and her brows crease.
"I’m confused. You meanIam the other woman?" She fiddles with the spoon she used to stir the sugar into her coffee, waiting for me to say something to make this all go away for her.
"He proposed to me with that exact ring last Christmas, almost a year ago." I point to her shaking left hand, giving her the best smile I can, knowing that no matter what I tell her, her heart will never be the same.
This is necessary, I remind myself, while allowing myself to ask any questions that come to mind, and to answer any questions that come to hers.
"I’m so sorry," I say, and while the tears are freely falling down her cheeks and her neck, her voice remains steady.
"You’resorry? I’m the one who unknowingly broke up your engagement." She leans back in her chair, her hands cradling her bump, as if protecting her innocent baby from all of this. I just want to leap over the table and hug her, tell her I’m lying, that this was all some sick joke, and I am just a crazy ex after all. Let her live her life with Austin and their baby as a happy family.
But I can’t.
"I’m okay now. I’ve well and truly moved on and I know you’ll be able to, too, if that’s what you want."
"How?"
"You just do." I take a sip of my coffee. "When Austin and I first broke up, I became a shell of myself, and I hated it. After his sister’s wedding, I was distraught, and I thought moving back home would fix everything. In part, I guess it did. When I cameback, my Mom said to me, 'you don’t know how much love you have to give, until you meet the person you’re meant to give all of your love to'. The more I remember those words, the more I start to believe it. It reminded me that Austin Anderson wasn’t my right person and that one day, my right person would eventually come along." I take a deep breath, keeping my eyes locked on hers.
"I spent fourteen years with him, and yet somehow, after him, I was able to find a happiness within myself that I hadn’t known before, and that’s what allowed me to accept the happiness that Harley makes me feel so effortlessly. What I have with him is something I never saw coming, but I refused to let myself miss out on somethingso goodwhen I already wasted so much time on something that was the complete opposite," I say, noticing the twinkle in her eyes slowly returning.
She’s going to be okay.
"When did the two of you meet?" I ask, because while I no longer care that he was unfaithful, Alison now means something to me and I think it will help her to get it off her chest, too.
"We actually met for the first time about seven years ago. He was at a bachelor party for his friend Chad or something." I remember the trip she’s talking about. It was the end of February. 'Chad', aka Monty, was his roommate in college. That was the weekend before hisalmostwedding.
His fiancée, Shantel, called off the wedding the day before, because, according to Austin, Chad stole money from her family, and is in prison now.
The guy always gave me the heebies. He would always try to hit on me when Austin wasn’t around, so I avoided being near him, even though Austin told me I was being dramatic. And now, he sits behind bars.
Go figure.
Refilling my glass with water, I hear keys rattling in the door, telling me that Austin’s home.
It’s late, the apartment is dark, but his walk is different. His body seems stiff.
"Hey," he says, his voice quiet even though there’s nobody here who could be disturbed by the volume in which we speak. Coming up behind me, he wraps his arms around my waist, nuzzling his head into my neck. "Mmm, I missed you." He breathes into my hair. The smell of alcohol and cigarette seeping out of every inch of him.
"I missed you, too."
It might be dark in the apartment, but he has a visible bruise on his cheekbone. His under eye is slightly discolored, but I know his face too well to miss it. The damage is minimal, but it’s there.
