Head Games

Mia lifted her head off the counter, accepting the fact that what’s done is done and she couldn’t change it.

Well, technically she could tell him to fuck off and find somewhere else to live, but she wouldn’t.

She set to work making lunch, because she was hungry and she figured by the time Dave came back he would be too.

While she got out all her ingredients, Mia thought back to when she and Dave were teenagers and their relationship was so uncomplicated. She wondered what was different this time around. Surely it couldn’t have been because they had aged seven years. They weren’t much different than before. They had both gone in to their first relationship knowing it wasn’t going to last. They were both young, with bright and different futures lying ahead of them. Their relationship could be nothing more than temporary, and they both understood that. It was a silent agreement.

This second relationship was more serious though.

Or was it?

Perhaps only Mia thought it was more serious, and Dave had gone into it again thinking it was only supposed to be temporary. Maybe he didn’t realize she hadn’t silently agreed to the same conditions as before.

Could she have been that blind?

Could they both have misread each other so immensely?

Mia sighed and leaned against the counter, not even sure where to begin figuring everything out.

Dave came home a little later, tossing his keys onto the counter. He walked into the guest bedroom, which had become his room since the split, and collapsed onto the bed. He had left his door open, and Mia peered inside. He was obviously frustrated about the apartment, and she got the sudden urge to ask him if he was okay.

She knew she shouldn’t though. Why should she? She didn’t owe him any kindness. She wasn’t going to give him anyth-

“Hey, are you alright?” She heard herself ask, standing in his doorway. Of course she asked him. She couldn’t ignore him when he looked so upset.

“Yeah,” he grunted out.

“Do you want me to get you anything?” She inwardly cringed after that one. She hated herself for being so catering toward him.

Dave leaned up onto his elbows, studying her. He finally shook his head no, and Mia turned to walk away.

“Hey Mia,” Dave called, causing her to turn back to him. “I’m sorry about this. I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”

She put on a small, fake smile, and nodded.

She turned around and walked back into the kitchen, where she was making lunch. Dave came in a few minutes later and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before leaning on the counter a few feet away, studying her again.

Mia eventually turned toward him and raised a questioning eyebrow, but he just went and sat at the table. She shook it off and continued making the meal. Dave sat back and watched Mia move about, drinking in her every graceful movement.

She was a beautiful girl, he had to admit that. He started to remember how lucky he felt to have landed a girl like her, not once but twice.

His teammates constantly teased him about dating a girl who was so far out of his league, and he used to be damn proud of himself whenever he got to flaunt her.

He looked at Mia again, wondering what, if anything, had changed.

Dave swallowed hard when Mia reached up into a high cabinet, causing her shirt to ride up and expose some skin. It would be so easy to reach out and touch her. He wanted to stand behind her with his hands on her hips and kiss her neck, making her forget about lunch and want to join him in the bedroom.

Just as he was beginning to regret the fact that he had made doing this impossible by breaking up with her, his cell phone rang and jarred him from his thoughts.

He looked at the caller I.D., seeing the name “Lori” pop up. It was a girl he had met a day after his breakup with Mia, at a bar he and the guys had gone to. He stared at it for a second before seeing Mia set a plate down in front of him. He looked up at her but she walked away quickly, leaving her plate on the counter.

He had barely been able to catch a glimpse of her face, but he knew that she had seen the name on his phone. He let the call go to voicemail, really wanting to go after Mia. He convinced himself not to in the end, since he owed her no explanation whatsoever.

…Right?

He looked down at his sandwich and saw that it was his favorite, causing him to run a hand over his face, frustrated. He hadn’t expected Mia to be so…passive about this whole thing, but when he really thought about it he wondered how he could expect anything different. She always centered herself around him, because that was just the type of person she was. She tried to please everyone else before she even thought about herself.

Dave sighed and got up, putting his plate next to hers on the counter. He walked out of the kitchen and toward their her bedroom, knocking softly on the closed door.

She opened it a few moments later, and he could tell that she had been crying.

“What’s up?” She sniffled, coughing afterwards to disguise it. “Did you not like the sandwich? I made your favorite-”

“I know,” he interrupted. “And it’s fine. I mean, I haven’t eaten it yet, but I’m sure it will be good.”

She frowned in confusion, wondering why he was there.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, brushing the bangs out of her eyes. Mia closed her eyes at the contact before snapping herself out of it. She pulled her head back slightly, leaving Dave’s hand hanging momentarily in midair.

He had left it up for a moment because he had realized what he had done, and realized it was inappropriate. He let his had drop to his side as Mia brought her gaze to the floor.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“Look, about the phone call,” Dave started.

“What about it?” Mia cut him off, trying to sound like she didn’t care. Really, she should have seen it coming. Dave had been distant for the last month before their breakup, and whenever they did go out together he didn’t try to check out girls slyly. He looked at them full on, right in front of Mia.

“I only just met her, so it’s not like I’ve been seeing her for long,” he informed. She didn’t know whether or not to believe him, but she figured in the end it didn’t matter. They were done.

“Right,” she said tonelessly.

“I’m serious, Mia. I never cheated on you,” Dave insisted.

“That’s great.”

“I just didn’t want you to get the wrong idea-”

“We’re not together anymore Dave. I don’t have ideas about you anymore,” Mia said, beginning to get angry. “You can do whatever you want.”

“Good,” Dave replied, becoming annoyed. “Just because I live with you doesn’t mean I don’t get to date.”

“I never said it did,” Mia defended.

“Yeah, well when you go around throwing a fit because a girl called me, it makes me feel like I’m doing some immoral thing-”

“I did not throw a fit,” Mia yelled back, matching Dave’s escalated voice.

“You cried,” he pointed out, almost tauntingly.

“Not in front of you! And not because some girl called you,” Mia indicated.

“Why then?” Dave challenged. Mia’s angry face suddenly melted into a sad one, and she shook her head. She started to close the door, but Dave stopped it. “Why then?” He repeated.

“Because I was upset that the guy I am still in love with was able to move on from me so quickly,” she murmured, pushing the door shut again. This time, Dave didn’t stop her.