A Better Boyfriend (GirlxGirl)

Twenty-six- Destiny

"Hey," Scarlet greeted me, as she returned home later that afternoon.

I had to admit it, there was a significant part of me that was relieved that she had returned.

There was a part of me, even though it was quite small in light of what Scarlet had told me recently, that had worried that she would decide to move back in with Chase.

"How did it-"

Before I could even finish that question, I noticed the shine of tears in Scarlet's eyes. I immediately wandered over to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"What happened?" I asked her softly, as I traced my fingers up and down her spine.

"I think we just broke up," she admitted. "I said what I needed to say and then, well... He got up and left."

"I'm so sorry, Scarlet," I said.

Scarlet took a step back from the hug to meet my gaze.

"It's just...I had been thinking over this for weeks, thinking about how I was going to talk to Chase about all of this. And then...he just up and leaves as though it didn't take him long to decide at all."

"I've been there," I said. "I know how it feels. It sucks but honestly, it just once again proves that you don't need him, Scarlet. In fact, you never have. It is completely his loss, sweetheart. I can promise you that much."

At my words, Scarlet's features softened. She took a deep breath and the tears stopped.

"You're amazing, Scarlet," I said.

"I don't know about that, Destiny," she replied.

"Stop being so humble and accept the compliment," I said, playfully nudging her.

"Alright, alright. Thank you, Dest," Scarlet spoke. "I'll be okay."

"You always are," I stated.

Scarlet seemed to relax a little more at my reassurance, which was a relief. I wasn't sure what else to say to her regarding the Chase situation, but I knew that I could take her mind off all of this.

"I think I want to write," she said, decisively, after a moment.

That made sense. People often used creativity as an outlet when they were going through a lot. At least, that's what my drawing had always been for me. An escape. A way to quiet my mind from thoughts that could seem so unbearably loud at times.

"Working on another story?" I asked.

"Something like that," she replied with a gentle smile.

I hadn't read many of Scarlet's stories. Unfortunately, she kept most of those quite private. I say unfortunately because she was exceptionally talented and there was no denying that fact based on what she had allowed me to read.

"I reckon I can get some of these published one day," she said positively.

Now, there was the Scarlet I knew. She was independent and hardworking and didn't need anyone to tear her down from her throne.

"Chase said he was good for me but maybe he wasn't at all. Maybe he was bad for me. Maybe now, I can finally breathe. I can finally focus on all of the things that matter to me," Scarlet thought aloud.

"I know what you mean," I said. "Breakups can feel like the end of the world, but they are also incredibly freeing."

"There's nobody like you in this world, Destiny. You've helped me so much. I am so thankful for you," Scarlet said.

I was thankful for her, too, but I wasn't about to get sappy with her. I needed to remind myself to be strong. She and Chase were done. She needed time to heal. I would have to settle on being her best friend and guarding my emotions. I would survive.

"I'll leave you to it, then, Scarlet. Speak to you soon," I said.

Scarlet nodded in response.

I left the room and made my way downstairs to find that my dad was sat in the front room watching television again. Some stupid reality television show, it appeared.

I needed to speak to my dad.

I didn't need to keep thinking about my feelings for Scarlet.

She needed time.

I needed time to get over her.

Nevertheless, I couldn't help but worry about her, care about her, feel all of these things for her. I was concerned these were feelings that would never leave me, that I would feel like this for the rest of my days. Perhaps I would feel like this for a long time. Maybe the familiarity of the feelings would make them easier to deal with, in time. Perhaps I could take Milly up on that option of moving in with her and her fiancée. Perhaps space was what I needed. Either way, I settled on the fact that I would work it out with time, and so would Scarlet.

"Your makeup looks good today, Destiny," my dad said to me, which led to me smiling.

Compliments from him were rare, so I could tell that he meant it.

"Did you sleep alright?" he asked me.

Again. This was a rarity. He hardly ever asked me about my wellbeing. It wasn't as though he didn't care, he was just going through a lot and sort of kept to himself most of the time. I supposed it probably sounded like I was making up excuses for him, but I didn't mean to. He was my dad, though, and despite everything that we had been through, I did love him, wholeheartedly.

"I kind of kept waking up," I admitted. I kept waking up because my mind was filled to the brim with thoughts of Scarlet and what I was going to do now that I knew she and Chase were no longer together.

I knew that it probably wasn't the best thing, but I couldn't give up on her. I would simply have to find out if there was any hope of what I wanted becoming a reality, one way or another.