Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

Will and I didn't speak until the next morning. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and he clearly didn't know what to say to me.

"Kaya," he said, walking into the living room where I sat.

My heartbeat quickened.

"I have a suggestion," he murmured softly.

I simply nodded.

"I can change your ticket back to New Zealand. You can go back tomorrow and stay with Nik, if he let's you," he said with a forced chuckle.

It was the best news I had heard in days. "Thank you," I muttered.

"Yeah," he responded. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. So, he just stood up and left the apartment.

It took the whole next day for me to get the guts to call Ben. As the dial tone sounded, my heart raced and my hands shook violently.

When Ben answered, he didn't say anything. He picked up the phone, but didn't say anything.

"Ben?" I whispered. Tears were already welling up in my eyes.

He didn't say anything.

"I need to talk to you," I said quietly.

After a few moments of silence, he said, "I'll come get you."

The ride was quiet. I got in the car and he started driving. He was wearing the same clothes as the other night, and his hair was still pulled back, still messy.

We pulled up to an apartment building, and I silently followed him inside. We got into the elevator, standing far apart from each other, and reached the tenth floor. He opened the door and allowed me in. It was a nice apartment. To the left was a kitchen, straight ahead was a table and chairs, and to the right was a living room. A balcony was accessible right outside the living room, and a flight of stairs stood behind the couches.

"I'll make some tea," he murmured, and put a kettle of water on the stove. "Sit."

As I moved to the table, I noticed all my bags sitting in the living room. I sat down and took a deep breath, my heart beating erratically.

He sat down across from me and looked down at his hands. "What happened to us?" he asked softly.

"I'm sorry," I answered quietly. "I've never done this before, I don't know everything you do-"

"I've never done this with someone like you before," he interrupted. "It's so confusing, Kaya," he said with a sigh.

We sat in silence for a moment, neither one of us knowing what to say.

"About last night-"

"You did a good job taking your revenge," Ben interrupted again.

"What?" I asked, glancing up at him briefly.

"Kissing him in front of me... I get the point."

"I didn't mean to-"

"Yes you did. And I get it, Kaya, I do. You're hurt. So am I. Do you think I like knowing that I caused my girlfriend to run away from me? You're staying with a guy who used to like you and you just go out drinking with him? You know what happens when you drink! And then you get him to kiss you in front of me-"

"I didn't do that!" I exclaimed, slapping my hand against the table. "I was just venting! He tried to talk me out of it and and when I saw Jenna touching you..." I shuddered. "I wanted to leave. He kissed me. I didn't kiss him."

"But you're the one who told him you wanted to kiss someone else."

"Well what about you and Jenna?" I exclaimed. "You went out drinking with her and you were letting her touch you all over!"

"She came with me," he said quietly.

"You could have told her you didn't want her to come with!" I exclaimed.

"And you could have not gotten drunk with Will!" he yelled back.

Like the stubborn fools we are, we didn't speak. Finally, the whistling kettle broke the silence. Ben got up and poured the water into mugs, putting a tea bag in each. He set the mug in front of me, and we just sat there drinking our tea in silence.

"What happens now?" I asked quietly after nearly twenty minutes.

"I don't know," he said with a sigh.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him, my chest tightening.

"I don't trust you."

Those four words felt like a blade cutting through me. My bottom lip started trembling as tears started to gather in my eyes. "I don't trust you either," I whispered honestly.

"So that's it then," he said, taking a sip of his tea as if he didn't even care.

I gulped, a tear running down my cheek. "So we're... we're-

"Breaking up," he said.

The tears I had been holding in came flooding down my cheeks. He seemed so nonchalant about it, like it didn't even matter to him. He continued to stare down at his mug. His eyes were so cold. His lips were pulled into a tight line.

"Then I'll just go," I whispered, my voice cracking. I threw a bag over my shoulder, took the carry-on in my hand, and extended the handle of my last bag.

"I'll give you a ride-"

"I'm fine," I snapped coldly. I didn't want him to see my face. I didn't want to see him. I tried desperately to stop the tears that were flowing down my cheeks. I tried to suppress the twisting, tearing feeling in my stomach. I tried to ignore the fact that my body was shaking so violently I thought I was going to fall apart.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I rushed in and pushed the button to the first floor. As soon as the doors shut, I collapsed into a shuddering mess of tears.