Unbroken

Arielle and Sierra were sitting down at a small cafe in Downtown LA for lunch.

"Sierra?" Arielle asked, her fingers gripping the sides of her coke glass tightly.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think Josh's reaction will be when he sees me after so long?" Arielle bit her lower lip in worry.

"I honestly don't know Arielle, I mean he left you without any reason. He left you without even saying goodbye, without any notice. Who knows if he'll show up at all." Sierra told Arielle, being her brutally honest self.

Arielle lowered her head, knowing Sierra was probably right. "You used to date his brother, right?"

Sierra shook her head. "Oh gosh, Arielle, that was years ago. I have a new boyfriend remember?"

"I know that, but could you talk to him for me? I mean you guys are still friends right?" Arielle asked her, hope gleaming inside of her.

Sierra sighed as she swirled her spoon around in her soup bowl. "I'll see what I can do, but trust me, we're not on the best terms. I haven't talked to him in ages."

"Could you ask him about Josh and how he's doing? And if he's going to the reunion?"

"I'm not guranteeing anything, but I'll try." Sierra promised.

Arielle squealed like a little child at the sight of candy. "Thank you so much Sierra! You're the best friend a girl could ever have!" Arielle reached over and hugged Sierra tightly, nearly knocking over her drink.

"Everybody loves Sierra when they get their way." Sierra muttered and chuckled.

Arielle glanced down at her iPhone and saw the time. "Oh gosh, it's that late already? I'm sorry, I have to leave. I'm meeting Mark for ice cream." Arielle gave a friendly kiss on the cheek to her best friend and got in her car to drive to the ice cream parlor.

"Hey babe." Mark smiled as he planted a kiss on Arielle's lips.

"Hey, are we getting ice cream?" Arielle returned the smile.

Mark nodded. "And then I thought we could take a walk through the park, sound good?"

Arielle agreed as they ordered their ice cream and had a lively conversation on their walk.

"So, are you excited for our high school reunion?" Mark squeezed her hand.

"I guess so, I mean it'll be nice to see everyone after so long." Arielle replied.

"I wonder what happened to Brittany Hamiliton. Man, she was a piece of work." Mark laughed.

"I wonder what happened to Josh Emmerson." Arielle blurted out.

Mark let go of her hand and tensed up. "Why do you care about Josh?"

Arielle's mouth dropped in shock. "Why do you care about Brittany?"

"I don't care, I just want to know how she turned out. I bet karma bit her in the ass, hard." Mark explained. "Since I told you, it's your turn to enlighten me why you care about your ex boyfriend, the one who left you without telling you why."

"I don't okay? You don't have to be so jealous about it." Arielle muttered.

"Jealous? Oh, I'm sorry if my girlfriend is still in love with another man." Mark's tone started to rise.

"I'm sorry that you can't let go of the past and realize that you're my boyfriend now and nobody is going to take your place, no matter how much history we have. Why won't you believe me?" Arielle asked, almost in tears.

"Quite frankly I don't know what to believe anymore." Mark walked past Arielle.

"Where are you going?" Tears now streaming down Arielle's face, her voice cracking.

"Anywhere but here." Mark called back at her.

Arielle sat down on the bench, letting the hot tears roll down her face, not caring that her makeup was ruined by now.

Josh Emmerson was ruining her life once again. And the worst part was he wasn't even here. He was doing it effortlessly, just like how he broke her heart.