Behind the Masks

Crystal stared at the scene in front of her silently. She felt sick to her stomach at the fact that this was actually happening again. Tears began to form, but she blinked them back, forcing herself to not cry.

To be perfectly honest, it didn’t really surprise her that much. It’s happened more than once. The only thing she couldn’t get over is the fact that she kept allowing herself to take him back. Dean was nothing more than a man-whore. One who always thought with his dick instead of his brain.

Now here she was once again, watching her boyfriend having sex with her co-worker. What was her name anyways? Cathy, Karen…

“Oh, Cindy”

Oh yeah, Cindy. Figures it would be a name like that. They were always named like that.
Ashley, Melissa, Vanessa, Brenda, oh and let’s not forget Candy.

Leaning against the entrance of their bedroom door with her arms folded, Crystal kept a blank face as the scene started to escalate. She wasn’t even going to stop them, she was just tired. Tired of the excuses and tired of all the lies.

Crystal saw Dean pick up his head to look in the mirror, which was hanging behind the bed, and froze. She smirked when she saw the blood drain away from his face.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Crystal almost gagged at the pet name. She saw Cindy lift her head to see what he was looking at and froze as well. Swiftly she turned her head away from the mirror and towards Crystal.

“Hey,” Crystal said flatly. “Having fun?”

She watched in amusement as Dean scrambled away from Cindy and quickly tried to put on his jeans. “Oh, don’t stop on my account.”

Dean flinched and paused. He raised his eyes in guilt and opened his mouth. “No, don’t.” Crystal raised her hand to silence him. “I don’t want to hear it. When you’re done with this,” she waved her hands towards the girl who was trying to cover herself up. “I want you to pack your bags and leave.”

“Crystal, wait,” he opened his eyes in alarm. He went towards her and went to grab her arm, only for her to maneuver herself away from his grasp. Dropping his arm, he just watched her turn away from him and begin walking. She was being serious. He could clearly see that she wasn’t going to take him back, not anymore.

Talking over her shoulder without stopping, Crystal said, “Feel free to take the sheets. I don’t really give a damn. It’ll save me the trouble from having to burn it.”

She then walked through the door and slammed it shut. Putting a hand to her head, she sighed. She really needed something sweet.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Swirling her spoon in her coffee in thought, Crystal sighed. Maybe sitting in a coffee shop by herself wasn’t such a great idea. It just made her feel lonelier. A figure came to her table and sat down in front of her. Crystal just kept her gaze to her coffee.

They were silent for a while. “How’d you know where to find me?” She said quietly. Her gaze was down, making her brown locks cover her eyes.

She saw him shrug when her eyes flickered upwards for a second. “I heard that you broke up with Dean.”

Crystal sighed once again and averted her eyes towards the window next to them. It was getting dark outside and the street lights were starting to turn on. “Yeah, found him sleeping with my co-worker on our…I mean my bed…You know what makes it worse, Jack?...This time I actually saw it.” She shook her head. “...I don’t know, maybe it’s my punishment for taking him back all those other times.”

“You shouldn’t let him bring you down,” Jack said. “He doesn’t know what he lost. There’s someone out there for you, no doubt about it.

“Maybe,” she whispered softly. A waiter came up and while Jack was ordering his drink, she watched him. The truth was he was the one that she always wanted. He was smart, kind, funny, everything a girl could ask for. Those bright green eyes and dark hair were to die for. But for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. If she did, it could bring their whole friendship up in flames. She couldn’t risk losing a friend like that.

To be honest, Dean was just there to take her mind away from the fact that she couldn’t have the one she really wanted. That’s why with all his cheating, it didn’t really crush her. It still hurt, having to start to care about him, but not to where she would be crying her eyes out all night over it. Maybe that's why she took him back all those other times. She just wanted someone to love her.

They’ve been friends for years, ever since freshman year in high school. Now at the age of 24, they were still close, probably more than ever. Crystal smiled softly; those ten years were truly special to her.

“What?” he said, noticing the smile on her face.

“Nothing,” she shook her head, the smile still on face. Watching her take a drink, he saw her avert her eyes back to the window. Jack saw how beautiful she really was. He couldn’t comprehend how someone could treat her like that. She deserved better, someone like…

me

He frowned at the thought. He couldn’t ruin their friendship. Anyways, she only saw him as a friend, nothing more.

His hand twitched to tuck a piece of hair that was in front of her face. He wanted to see her face, to feel how soft it was, but he resisted the urge.

“I think I better go. I still need to go to the store and buy some new sheets,” she said. She placed some money down the table and waved good-bye. He watched her leave the shop.

She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be with someone who would take care of her and love her. And deep down he new it was him.

It should be you.

Yeah, it should be. But what if she doesn't want to be with him?

You should still try. How will you know if you don't take a chance.

He should still try. If she doesn’t want to, well then he’s going to have to fight for her. It’s time for him to stop being a coward and man up.

With new determination, he placed down the money and ran out after her. She was only a block away, he could still catch up to her.

“Crystal!” she turned around confused and saw Jack running towards her. She paused and waited for him to catch up.

“What, did you forget something?” He shook his head no, while bending trying to catch his breath. Finally catching his breath, he stood up and looked at her. She took a step back in surprise at how bright and determined his eyes were.

Determined? For what?

He grabbed both of her hands and she had to fight a blush as she felt how warm and soft his hands were.

“Crystal, I can’t keep this to myself anymore,” he said. He looked into her eyes and had to swallow from how bright and innocent they were.

“What?” she asked. He stayed silent for a second. It seemed like he was fighting to tell her what that something was. She pulled one of her hands free and laid it on his cheek. “What? You can tell me.” His eyes were starting to make her feel nervous. They were so intense.

“I love you,” he blurted out. Her eyes widened. “I love you and I know that you probably don’t, but I just can’t help it. You mean so much to me and you make me feel things that I don’t want to, but at the same time I do and I—,” a pair of lips cut him off.

She couldn't help herself. When he told her he loved her, she just felt this bubble of warmth spread all around her. She didn't even understand half of what he was saying, all she cared about was that he loved her and that's all that mattered.

The kiss was fueled with so much passion; Crystal was positive that stars were forming behind her eyes. Their lips mashed together in such aggression, neither one of them wanting it to stop. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. Automatically, her hands went to his hair, pulling at some of them. Finally when she couldn’t stand the lack of air, she pulled back.

Jack put his forehead on her, both breathing heavily. She felt dizzy and dazed. That was one of the best kisses that she’s ever had.

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that,” she heard him say breathlessly. She lifted her head and saw that he wore a smile. She smiled back herself and gave him another kiss.

“Me, too,” she whispered against his lips. She pulled back again and gave another smile. “You want to help me buy some new sheets?”

“Anything you want,” he said. He let her go before he changed his mind and wrapped an arm around his waist, bringing her back closer to him as they walked down the street.

Crystal felt happy at how the day turned out. She should clearly thank Dean for messing around with that Cindy girl. Who knew that being cheated on was the best thing that ever happened to her?