Katie’s POV
My breath got shakier as he looked me in the eyes. His eyes were glistening, but still showing tiny signs of anger, and I felt genuine fear for the first time in our relationship. He was the most kind, loving, romantic boy I’d ever met & after a long 9 months I couldn’t bring myself to think any different of him, even though he was shouting at me, his fists clenched, my body frozen. He paused his words for a second, before looking over my shoulder towards his front door. I took this glance as a hint, he was mad at me and there was no real reason why, so I decided to go, before he got worse. As I turned away from him and stepped towards the door, he coughed, catching my attention, and making me turn to face him once more.
“Erm, you left your coat,” he said, in a calmer tone; however his arm was tense as he held out my coat towards me. As I took it from him, he snatched his hand back to his side and tapped his foot impatiently on the carpet. From the short distance from where I was stood to his front door, a tear managed to escape my left eye, which slowly rolled down my cheek as I placed my hand on the door handle. I turned to face him again, dreading to find out what his expression was.
“I love you, don’t forget that,” I said, my voice cracking on the word “forget”. I lifted my sight to his eyes, although I knew too well that I wouldn’t be able to see deep into his, as mine were now blurred with tears. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I saw him lift his finger, which pointed sharply to the door.
“Leave,” was the last word I heard, before I was out into the cold wind of the autumn air. I picked up my pace as I crossed his front path, throwing my arms into my coat and buttoning up, wiping my tears, and breaking into a slow jog. I needed somewhere to calm down, before I arrived home. I didn’t want to face my parents and have to tell them everything that had just happened. Turning onto the main road, I saw the friendly, inviting light from the local coffee shop, which was surprisingly still open. I pulled my hands out of my pockets as I pushed the door open, the bell ringing to let everyone know I had arrived.
“Good evening, could I get you anything?” The girl smiled.
“Just a cappuccino, please,” I replied, skimming my vision over the menu. The girl nodded and turned to the counter. She was a bit older than me; she had beautiful features, sparkling blue eyes and rosy cheeks. Her long blonde hair swayed side to side as she moved around, picking up a mug and turning the coffee machine on. In a matter of minutes, I was sat on the leather seat in the corner of the shop, with the warm golden glow of the lights shining into the room. The shop was almost empty; there were only a few more people there, who were also sitting in leather chairs, quietly, reading. One man dressed in a suit was working on his laptop, with a coffee by his side. The atmosphere was cosy, it was soothingly warm enough for me to take my coat off and sit in just a top and jeans. I gazed out of the window and began to watch the traffic flash past, as my mind wondered.
I recalled the day we met as if it was being projected out in front of me. I had been wearing an aubergine top which I had the sneaking suspicion didn’t fit me very well. Brown jeans, they were the only pair that seemed to be clean that day, and a black raincoat. It had been pouring and the rain hadn’t ceased for a good few days, but one had come to expect that from an English winter. It didn’t make it any less dreary.
I had just finished my last day working in a coffee shop—not unlike the one I now morosely sat in. I needed to do something bigger with my life, at least that was my reason for quitting at the time. But sitting here in this godforsaken café on this godforsaken night made me realize that I had done nothing of the sort. Really, truly, I hadn’t gone on to do something bigger with my life, I had just attached my soul to someone who was bigger than me. Someone who, at this very moment, couldn’t stand the sight of me.
