The Aftermath

She'd been preparing for this moment. It was bound to happen, she knew it in her bones and now the moment was finally here. Billie's heart pounded with anticipation but she tried to keep her hands steady as she tidied up her small loft. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her and her meager lodgings. She had put everything she had into buying this space, a space that was just for her. She didn't have to worry about someone taking all the hot water, her ice cream suddenly disappearing, and she sure as hell could fart on the couch is she damn well pleased.

Billie paused when she heard Boo stirring around in his spot on the floor. A smile eased onto her lips as she went to kneel beside the not-so-unfortunate-looking bull dog. Boo had been the only thing that Isaac had let her take when everything went down and for the past two months Boo had been Billie's rock. He'd taken to sleeping on top of her feet, probably because he knew how lonely she was now. Billie rubbed Boo's side vigorously and the dog rolled over onto his back and let his tongue hang out of his mouth.

Billie laughed. "Real attractive Boo. Come on. We're gonna go for a walk and then that guy is going stop by."

Boo remained on his back for about a minute after Billie stood up and turned her back. She took his leash off the hook by the door and jingled it. The stocky animal stood up and ran to her as quickly as his short legs could allow. Billie shut the heavy metal door behind them and hurried down three flights of stairs to get outside.

"Today is the day."

Billie glanced to her left. Nevin lived on her floor and the always managed to bump into each other when she took Boo for a walk and he was out for a jog. "Yeah, today is the day."

"Have you been training Boo like we talked about?" Nevin asked.

Billie tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear as she laughed. "No Nevin. I'm not going to train Boo to attack Isaac."

"It could be beneficial to you both," he said with a shrug. "But, seriously, you know if you need anything at all I'll-"

"Just be two doors down. Thanks Nevin, I know."

He chuckled and the hue in his cheeks turned slightly red. "Well, give me a ring once he's gone and we'll find something fun to do."

"You bet."

Billie watched Nevin jog ahead of them to whatever his destination was. She walked around the block once with Boo before heading back up to her apartment. There wasn't much left to clean, not that there was much to begin with so all Billie had left to do was wait. Waiting was the hardest part and, knowing Isaac, even though he said he would be there by three, that really meant four at the earliest. That gave Billie two entire hours to think about what he could possibly have to say to her.



A knock came at the door and Billie scrambled up from her spot on the couch. She went to the bathroom to check her hair in the only mirror she now owned. She then rushed past Boo who was following his owner with his eyes, clearly amused by her frazzled actions. Billie smoothed her t-shirt and yanked the door open. She found herself face to face with man whose heart she broke. He'd shaved off his beard which made his weight loss that much more apparent. Although his skin had always been dark brown, there were now even darker bags under his eyes.

"Hello Isaac."

"Hey Billie."

She blinked twice. "Um, come in," she said as she stepped aside.

Isaac came into the space that Billie had made her own. She watched him take in the worn floor boards, the small card table with mismatched chairs, the couch that she found on the side of the road, and the TV that her cousin had given her.

"Nice place."

"Do you want something to drink? Water? Juice? Vodka?"

Isaac chuckled. "Whatever you're having."

"Have a seat." Billie didn't want to say 'Make yourself at home" because she wanted him to be uncomfortable. She walked barefoot over to the kitchen cabinet and took out two clear mason jars. She preferred them over cups- they just seemed to fit with the vibe of her loft. She set them on the table and filled them halfway with cranberry-grape juice. She returned the juice to the fridge and sat across from Isaac at the table.

"Billie, I just wanted to say that I think there's a lot of forgiveness to be expressed here."

She frowned. "Are you demanding that I forgive you? Are you forgetting how you threw me out of our house without so much as shoes on my feet?"

Isaace shook his head. "No, no. I mean, I wish you could forgive me. These past couple of months, that's all that's been holding me back. I feel like there's a weight on my shoulders because I know you haven't forgiven me."

Billie remained quiet and took a sip from her jar.

"I admit, I didn't have a good hold on my emotions at that time and even though you were breaking up with me, I shouldn't have put you out."

"Or destroyed all of my clothes."

"That too. Billie, I'm trying to work on myself here but I can't unless you forgive me. I've already forgiven you for breaking my heart even though now I can safely say it was a long time coming... And I've forgiven myself for not giving you what you needed."

Billie inhaled sharply as realization struck her. She did forgive him. The anger she thought she would feel at seeing him and remembering all of the awful things he did was now just a simmer. She didn't love him anymore. She didn't hate him either. After being together for three years and a nasty break-up, she simply... forgave him.

Her green eyes met his brown ones over the table and she glanced at Boo before staring at Isaac again. "I forgive you Isaac. I would never wish the kind of heartache you must've suffered on even my worst enemy and I'm sorry you had to go through that. It'll be a while before we can be friends but I sure hope we can work towards that."

Isaac nodded and smiled. "I'd like that."