Delicate | James Potter

1.23

~

"Wh- what do you mean this isn't a new thing?"

Alice could feel her tears arriving, the lump in her throat so big she felt sick. Her emotions had spiked to an aggressive mixture of anger and upset and her stomach was twisting.

"Hey," Davey took a step forward and put his hand on her shoulder, "don't cry. You know I'm not good when you cry."

"Sorry." She sniffed quietly, but then she recoiled away from him. "No actually, I'm- I'm not sorry. You told me- I thought- you said you loved me."

"And I do." He said.

"Clearly not."

Her anger was taking its lead. Obviously she was sad about the whole ordeal, but she felt cheated and lied to and betrayed and all of it made her feel beyond frustrated. She'd put her trust and her care into someone who had tossed it aside as if it were nothing, as if she were nothing. And now she was crying again too, which was annoying because she was just angry, so angry, yet her body decided for her that that was time for the waterworks. Alice wished she were able to shout like Dorcas did, but even the tiniest bit of rage bought on the tears which ruined any pretence of appearing strong. She just looked stupid and weak, she felt stupid and weak.

"Alice listen, maybe-" Davey paused and exhaled sharply, "maybe we're not working anymore."

"What?"

"We're too different, and you can be quite- well, I'm not really sure, but this," he motioned between them, "it's not working for me. Not anymore."

"But you... it was you who wanted this! You- Davey you hurt me, and I still stayed with you."

"I just think that maybe things with you are getting difficult." Davey said, nodding slowly as if a doctor talking to a patient. It was frustratingly patronising.

Difficult? Alice didn't mean to be, she didn't want to be difficult to love. The way he was staring at her with those piercing eyes implied that apparently she was. She looked quickly to the girl, who was watching them talk, amused, before meeting Davey's gaze once more. "So what?"

If he noticed her voice tremble, he made no sign of acknowledging it. "So... we break up."

Her fidgeting fingers paused when she accidentally scratched herself and sucked in a sudden breath. Instead she began to play with the sleeve of her robes. There was a long, silent wait, but once she'd processed what the boy had said, her head dipped. "Okay."

"Okay? Okay cool. Then I'll see you around."

He was fine, completely fine. She didn't understand how he could just be so casual, it felt cruel. He even walked away with a slight jig in his step, the girl at his side, leaving Alice all alone in the cold, quiet corridor wondering what she could have done that had been so awful. She'd always tried to do and be anything he wanted her to be, so how did she go wrong?