Talia
"Please answer your phone, Harrison!"
The blue light of my phone screen burned into my eyes as I checked the time again. 1:32 PM.
My Statistics exam started at 2:00 PM sharp. If I wasn't in my seat when Professor Steven closed those doors, I would get an automatic zero. And my entire scholarship depended on keeping my perfect GPA.
Talia: Harrison, please answer. I need my flash drive with all my stats formulas and case notes right now. My exam is in less than thirty minutes. I left it on your desk.
I hit send. One minute passed. Two minutes. And still no reply.
I tried calling him again. It rang until it went straight to voicemail. I tried again. Voicemail.
My heart was hammering against my ribs, I was seconds away from a panic attack.
That flash drive didn't just have my notes, it had six weeks of all my data analysis that I had spent sleepless nights working on. Without it, I was guaranteed to fail the exam.
I couldn't wait any longer. Pulling my jacket on, I grabbed my bag and burst down the steps of my dorm, running full speed across the edge of campus toward Harrison’s off-campus apartment.
"Come on, Harrison, pick up," I muttered under my breath, dialing his number a third time as I ran. Still nothing.
When I finally reached his building, I didn't bother waiting at the front gate. My fingers were trembling as I pulled out the spare key he had given me months ago. I unlocked the main door, hurried up the carpeted stairs to the third floor, and stopped outside Suite 302.
I knocked hard three times. "Harrison? Are you in there? It’s Talia, I really need my drive!"
Silence.
I assumed he had just fallen asleep after his baseball practice. So I slid my key into the deadbolt, turned it, and pushed the door open.
"Harrison, I'm sorry to barge in, but I'm going to be so late—"
The words froze in my throat.
The bedroom door right across the small living room was wide open. And right there, on the messy bed, was Harrison..balls-deep in another woman.
He was fully naked, sweating and grunting like an animal as he pounded into her, her bare legs wrapped around his back. They didn't even have the decency to be quiet. The sounds of her groans filled the entire apartment, completely drowning out the sound of my front door opening.
My bag slipped from my shoulder, hitting the floor.
The sound finally made Harrison snap his head toward the door. His eyes went wide, but he didn't even scramble off immediately. He just froze mid-thrust, staring at me like I was an inconvenient interruption.
"Talia?" he gasped.
Tears filled my eyes instantly, blinding me with a hot, burning pain. My stomach churned so violently I thought I was going to throw up right there on his welcome mat. The boy I had loved for over two years, the boy I spent every weekend with, the boy I gave my absolute everything to, was....
I turned around, my hands trembling as I reached for the door handle to run.
"Wait! Talia, hold on!"
I heard him scramble off the bed, his feet sloshing across the floor. I yanked the door open, but before I could step out into the hallway, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me backward.
Harrison stood there, breathlessly pulling a pair of gray sweatpants up his waist. He didn't even have the decency to look ashamed, he just looked annoyed.
"Talia, stop acting crazy. It’s not what it looks like!" he yelled.
I looked at him, tears streaming down my face, stunned by the audacity in his voice. "Not what it looks like?!" I screamed, my voice cracking so hard it hurt my chest. "You were literally mid-thrust, Harrison!"
"Okay, calm down! You don't have to shout!" He rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in defense. "Look, it was an accident, okay? I was stressed out about my starting position on the team, and she came over to comfort me. I thought she was you for a second! The lighting was bad!"
"You thought she was me?! Are you completely insane?!"
I pushed him as hard as I could right in the chest. He stumbled back a step, looking at me with pure irritation.
"I can't believe this!" I sobbed, clutching my chest as if I could physically hold my breaking heart together. "How could you do this to me? After everything I've done for you?!"
Just then, footsteps walked out from the bedroom.
The girl Harrison had just been pounding stepped into the hallway, casually buttoning up one of his shirts, a shirt I had washed and ironed for him last week!!
She leaned against the doorframe, a mocking smirk spreading across her face as she looked me up and down.
Harrison didn't even tell her to leave. Instead, he looked back at me, his eyes turning cold and cruel.
"Honestly, Talia? Can you really blame me?" Harrison sneered, crossing his arms over his bare chest. He gestured toward the girl, then pointed a finger at me. "Look at her, and then look at you. You never have any time for me anyway! You're always obsessing over your stupid economics column, your debate club, your grades... You're boring, Talia."
The girl giggle from the doorway.
"Please take a look at yourself," Harrison continued. "You wear giant glasses, baggy sweaters, and you have zero fashion sense. He pointed at the girl again. "She's is fucking hot. She fits into my world. You think I was going to stay faithful to a girl who looks like a librarian? Of course I was easily tempted!"
Every word felt like a physical blow.
For the past two years, I had adored Harrison. I had spent hours writing his papers, building his class schedules, and keeping him afloat academically so he wouldn't get kicked off the baseball team. I did his assignments while he was out partying. I gave him my whole heart, only for him to hide me like a dirty secret because my family didn't have money, and now he was treating me like trash.
My hand flew to my neck, wrapping around the thin gold chain he had given me for our one-year anniversary. It was the only gift he had ever bought me.
I yanked it with all my strength. The clasp snapped, biting into the skin on the back of my neck.
"You are an awful, heartless monster," I whispered, my voice shaking with a mixture of heartbreak and hatred.
I threw the broken necklace directly at his stupid face. It hit him right on the cheek before falling onto the floor between his bare feet.
"And I promise I'll make you pay for this!"
"Good luck with that, librarian."
