Bliss
No. No, this couldn’t be happening. Not to me, not to us. How could he do this? How could he do this to me after everything? The tears threaten to fall but I blink them back. He won’t see me like this. I can’t get the image out of my head. The dark-haired beauty with her hand on his chest, he’s close to her, holding her hand, looking at her the way he looks at me.
It hurts so much to breathe but I keep moving, I have to get out of here. I hear his footsteps closing in on me as soon as I reach the elevator, pressing the button desperately, pleading for it to hurry.
“Bliss, please.” I hear him beg. “It’s not what it looked like. Just let me -”
“Let you explain?” I swing around to face him. “I know what I saw Cuba, you don’t need to explain!” I snap.
He actually has the audacity to look upset, to look like he's the one that was betrayed and let down. He rubs the back of his neck and runs his other hand over his hair.
“Baby-” he starts.
I cut him off. “Don’t fucking call me baby. Don’t you dare call me anything but my fucking name.”
He blinks back, shocked. I never curse in front of him, ever. I barely do it at all. But ugh, he deserves it. He doesn’t deserve my tears, he doesn’t even deserve to be around me right now.
I turn my back to him, hitting the call button again. What is taking it so long? “You should go back to your company, you’re being rude.” I just want him to leave. I need him to get away from me.
He reaches out to grab me, but I shove his hand away. “Don’t touch me.” How dare he after he touched that girl. How dare he speak to me after telling her I was no one? No one.
“Bliss, just fucking let me explain,” he begs again. “Please.” The need in his voice breaks my heart more because I want to believe whatever he says but I can’t do this.
The elevator doors finally open and I quickly walk in and turn to press the button for the lobby that will take me to my car, so I can drive far away from here. From the hotel where my heart broke and crumpled.
Looking up, I lock my eyes on his. “There’s nothing to explain. It’s over, but I guess since I’m no one there is nothing to be over.”
The doors start to close but Cuba blocks them with his hand and they reopen.
“Let me explain,” he grits out. “Just please hear me out, and I’ll let you go.” He swallows. “I’ll let you walk away from me.”
I don’t reply, I just stand there shaking with every breath, as my heart is shattering. Tears are still threatening to fall, and it’s take everything in me not to break down right now in front of him.
He takes a step forward, but I shake my head and he stops, frowning. “Baby, nothing happened. She came to say congrats, and I was telling her she needed to leave when you came in.”
“You touched her,” I accuse.
His brows bunch together like he’s thinking on what he’s going to say, how is he going to spin this.
“She touched me, and I was pulling her hand away.”
I choke out a laugh. “Wow, just wow, Cuba.” I shake my head. “That’s the story you’re going with?”
He opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “I’m done.”
“Are you serious?” Cuba shouts, making me take a step back deeper into the elevator. “You’re just going to keep cutting me off and walk away?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” I glare at him. “You had a half-naked girl in your damn room, and you want me to let you explain? Are you serious?”
His jaw ticks. “I didn’t do shit with Priscilla!”
“Oh, so she has name, she must be someone.”
“Will you fucking stop, Bliss. You’re not even letting me finish explain-“
I cut him off again. “I don’t want your explanation because no matter what you say there was a girl in your room.” I pause sniffing. “And is that alcohol I smell?”
Cuba shifts on his feet and looks away.
“You were drinking with her?” I ask slowly running a hand through my hair.
His silence is my answer, and I close my eyes, taking deep breaths, before slowly reopening my eyes.
“I hope your happy, Cuba, I really do.” My voice shakes. “You warned me, and I fell anyway, you won.”
“No, baby.” His voice his so low I barely hear it. “No, I’m only happy with you, only you.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You had a girl in your room. A girl that wasn’t me. I knew better.” My eyes leave his. “It’s over, please back away so I can leave.”
“So that it?” Cuba’s voice turns cold. “You’re just going to throw away everything because you won’t let me explain?”
It’s like déjà vu when I look to him, his hazel eyes are turning red, and the veins in his neck are pulsing.
“You threw everything away the moment you let her step in your room.” I stress, because he’s not understanding. “Please move.”
He doesn’t move. He stands there staring at me, breathing heavy.
“You don't get to do that,” he yells at me. “You don't get to break down my walls, you don't get to know my darkest secrets, you don't get to make me love you and just walk away.” His voice chokes. “You don't get to just leave me, Arrow.”
My tears betray me, and one falls, I quickly wipe it away but more fall.
“And you,” tears run down my face, “you don't get to kill me after I slaughtered all your demons,” I say softly. “And you don’t get to break me.”
His eyes water and I want to wipe the tear that falls away, but I don’t. I won’t dare touch him.
“Let me explain, please,” he tries again. “She used to date Jackson.”
Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I shake my head. “Is that supposed to make it all better?” I choke out a laugh. “You can’t keep throwing him up for every excuse!”
He doesn’t say anything but swallows the visible lump in his throat. My hand goes to my arrow charm and I rub it like I always do.
“My grandpa gave me this necklace, said it was cupid’s arrow. It was my grandmothers. She wore it when she married my grandpa, like my mom wore it when she married my dad.” I smile fondly. “It was my turn now. I grew obsessed with arrows when I was little, my cupids arrow. He was supposed to shoot the one for me.” My smile falters. “Instead, he handed the arrow to the wrong one, just so he could shoot me in the heart with it.”
We don’t say anything for a moment and I don’t want to hear his excuses. “I have to go.” It’s barely a whisper from my tear-soaked lips.
Cuba looks defeated and nods, taking a few steps back. His eyes glass over and I force myself to look away.
“I hope she was worth it,” I say before pressing the button, the doors closing soon after.
My chest hurts, and my legs give out, making me fall to the floor. Tears are rushing out, and I don’t wipe them away. I want to cry out in agony, I want to throw up, I just want to lay here and fall apart. He broke me. He lied to me. He betrayed me.
Loving him had consequences, I knew he would hurt me. I just hoped like hell he wouldn’t. I was rooting for him. I was rooting for us.
I scramble to my feet before the elevator opens with a ding.
Cam and Ash are standing there, they stop talking once they notice me. I can’t imagine what I look like.
Unclasping my necklace that he gave me from around my neck, I hand it to Cam. “Give this to him please.”
He takes it from me slowly. “What happened?” They both looked concerned, but they are his friends, not mine.
“Ask him.” I push past them, wiping my eyes. “Thanks for the key.”
Keeping my head low, I pass the rest of his team, some of them send me strange looks, other say my name, but I don’t stop, and I don’t say anything back. The only thing I am focused on is getting out of here, away from him.
I don’t remember getting home early this morning. I don’t remember climbing into my bed. I don’t remember much at all, but I do remember that I left my broken heart in San Diego. Last night replays in my head over and over. He was with someone else. Maybe that’s why he didn’t push for me to be at the game, hoping that little gesture before the game would somehow put me at ease. I’m just as confused as the first time I met him months ago, and I hate it. The more he tried to explain, the worse it got, and I couldn’t believe him. No matter how he tried to spin it, the fact remains that he knew better.
Rolling over on my side, I look at my clock, it’s almost noon. I should be on my way to see my parents, but I don’t want them to see me red and puffy eyed. Also, I don’t want their worried looks or have to talk about what happened. When I’m ready to tell them about the break up, I will, it’s just too raw right now.
I roll back over and face the wall. I don’t want to get back up, I don’t want to do anything but lie here and try to think of all the red flags I must have missed or ignored. Sure, he’s an asshole, but he’s always been sweet to me, we were doing so good. Or so I thought.
There’s a soft knock at my door. I want to tell whoever it is to go away, but I have no energy.
My door cracks open. “Hey.” It’s India again. “Are you hungry?”
This is her third time checking on me since she got home this morning. She heard, everyone knows what happened, and I feel so stupid. India offered to kick his ass, but I just shook my head no. I just wanted to forget him, forget us, but my mind had other plans. It played our memories together all morning long, pulling tears along with them.
I love him so much it hurts. So much my heart is in tattered pieces that I don’t know how to put back together.
“Bliss?” she says my name. “You have to eat, babe.”
I shake my head and snuggle deeper into my covers. I can’t eat, not like this, when my stomach is twisting and pulling in different directions.
“I’m going to fucking kill him.” I hear her mumble under her breath.
I want to tell her he’s not worth it, but I blink heavily and close my eyes. I don’t want to think, talk, or eat. I just want to curl into a cocoon and never come out. Realistically, life will keep going, I’ll have to keep going, but this weekend my world stopped, and I’m not ready to restart it just yet.
Hot tears roll down my face. He was never supposed to make me cry.