Dump & Chase

Bzzzzzzz!!! Bzzzzzz!!!

I jolted upright out of my bed and out of my once peaceful slumber. I glanced over at the digital alarm clock perched upon the nearby nightstand. In bright, red, numbers I read “6:44”, as in, 6:44 in the morning. I groaned and fell back on my pillows, not wanting to get up and find out who was waiting to be buzzed into my apartment at this hour. Actually, I already had a pretty good idea as to who my early morning visitor might be; I just didn’t want to deal with him.

Bzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzzzzzz! Bzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzzzzzz!

“Augh!” I exclaimed, finally throwing the warm covers off of my body. “I’m coming!” I proclaimed in a groggy voice as I stood up and rushed to the door, which was the location of the magic button that allowed me to “buzz in” my guests. The ingenious intercom system my apartment building fostered also would have allowed me to speak with whoever wanted to enter my humble abode, but I simply pressed the button that unlocked the main door to allow him into the building. Although the building lacked an elevator, I knew he’d make it up eight flights of stairs and to my apartment in no time; his job demanded him to be pretty in-shape, after all.

At this point, a typical female would be worried about how they looked because a man was about to be in her presence; she’d panic, quickly try to put on something more presentable and even go the extra mile and apply some makeup. But not me. I stood patiently at the door in a slight daze due to grogginess wearing an oversized hooded sweatshirt and a pair of tiny gray shorts. My hair was in a messy bun, but since I had yet to look into a mirror, I wasn’t sure exactly how messy it was. Though, I could safely assume that it certainly wasn’t attractive. And don’t get me started on the bags that were probably present under my eyes; I’m sure they completed the absolutely hideous look I didn’t even have to try to achieve.

I heard footsteps begin to grow louder as they approached my door. Apartment 8C. I opened the door before he could knock.

“What?” I demanded in an annoyed voice. This was before I looked up at him. Six feet tall, pale olive skin, soft brown eyes, dark hair concealed by a gray beanie, slight beard creeping along his jaw line. Yep. He was still handsome, even before the sun came up.

He smirked at my rudeness and I just rolled my eyes.

“Did I wake you?” He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. I just sighed and stepped back, allowing him into my apartment, which was a pretty familiar place for him; although his home was far better than mine, he would still stay the night with me at my apartment. How sweet. He closed the door behind him as he stepped in. That’s when the bitch inside of me came out even more.

“It’s only been a week and you yet you can’t seem to stay away from me.” I said in a sarcastically cheerful tone. He only smirked, shook his head, and laughed. A little spark of hatred toward him grew inside of me for that.

“It’s only been a week and yet you still can’t seem to not wear my clothes.” He said coolly, with a cocked brow. He was gesturing at the massive sweatshirt I was wearing. I only crossed my arms across the Penguins logo on the front, as if that would do anything.

A few moments of silence between us passed, yet it wasn’t awkward; it was just a deadweight in the room. I finally broke it, asking in a far more calm voice “Okay, what are you here for?” Part of me wanted him to give this elaborate answer, saying things like “I’m sorry, I was wrong, I want you back.” The other part of me just wanted him to say what he actually wanted and then leave. He did just that.

“Uh, I actually came here because I left a few things.” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

I could tell, even through his French accent, that he was starting to feel uncomfortable. Good, I thought.

“Well, for starters, your laptop charger is in the wall next to the couch in the living room.” I said nonchalantly, as if I just happened to know this, and not as if every time I saw that charger, I thought of him, even if it had only been a mere seven days. “Oh, I’m pretty sure you left your razor on my bathroom sink. Why? I’ll never know, but it’s there.” I paused, wondering if there was any other sort of small object that he could have accidentally left behind. No. There wasn’t any more; I would have known.

“…Annnnd… I think that’s it.” I finished, hoping my “play it off like it’s nothing” façade was holding up. He nodded and was off to collect his objects. Soon enough, he would be gone. Again. And as far as I knew, for good.

The charger and the razor were normal, tiny objects that he could have easily bought again; why he bothered to see me again to get them baffled me. Then again, a lot of things about him baffled me. For instance, how he was supposedly happy and in love with me one day and the next, dumping me and not even bothering to explain why. Of course, I had to pretend to not be heart broken because I’m not the crying and ice cream eating type. But when you can say you’re in a relationship with a guy like him, it’s hard to come to terms with a breakup. It wasn’t nasty, there were no fights, and there were no warning signs that pointed at the end of us; he just calmly told me that “we’re over”, as if it was nothing.

“I think that’s all.” He said with the charger coiled up in one hand and the razor in the other.

I know that’s all, I thought.

“Well…” He said, inching towards the door.

This was it. After this moment, he would be gone, but something inside of me forced me to speak, to ask a question, just to buy time.

“Why did you come this early?” I asked, rubbing my eyes as an indicator of being extremely tired. Okay, not the best question to go along with the acting, but whatever kept him inside of my apartment would do.

“Game tonight.” he said, “Away. We’re kicking off on a five game road trip and the charger and the razor are pretty essential.” I only nodded.

“Good luck, then.” It was all I could say. He smiled slightly.

“Thanks. Sorry for waking you. To be honest, I could have come before today at a much more decent hour, but I couldn’t…” he trailed off, looking around.

“Couldn’t what?” I asked. I watched him grind his teeth together in anxiety.

“Hmmm… Never mind.” He brushed off the explanation just as he had brushed off our relationship. “I should get going; don’t want to miss the flight.” I raised my eyebrows and nodded. As if the team would leave him behind. It was funny how he could come up with excuses for little things while he couldn’t explain why he showed up just now or why he ended our relationship.

“Yeah… You should.” I replied with a bit of ice in my tone.

I could see pain and confusion rise in his expression, but I had no sympathy for the man who ended our relationship on his terms.

Then again, it was really hard to watch Kristopher Letang walk out of that door. And out of my life.