His Darkness (bxb)

chapter fifteen

life is moving, can't you see?

there's no future left for you and me

i was hoping and i was searching endlessly

but, baby, now there's nothing left that i can do

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

"Take a seat anywhere you want," Mia says as she brushes her hair behind her ears. "My room's a little messy, I'm sorry."

'If this is messy, what's my room like?' I think as I pull out a desk chair and sit backwards on it.

Mia's room looks like something out of a Pinterest board - fairy lights casting shadows of warm light on the walls, large plants scattered across the room, posters and photographs taped to the walls. Mia grabs one of the cushions piled on her bed and hugs it as she sits on the edge of her mattress, her feet dangling off the edge.

"Crazy weather this morning, eh?" she asks, referencing the sudden, heavy rainfall earlier today.

"Oh, yeah. Coach had to cancel our training session outside today."

Mia's eyes widen in realisation and she claps her hands together. "I knew it! I knew you were on a team, I just didn't know which one. No one's born with shoulders like that."

I feel my cheeks warm at the compliment. "Thank you."

"How long have you been swimming?" she asks, leaning forward.

"Since I was six years old, but I started competing when I was twelve."

"Jeez," she breathes. "What's your main stroke?"

I raise a brow at her question, shocked that she knows this much about the sport of swimming. "Middle-distance breaststroke and freestyle sprints."

"Ah," she nods. "Must be insane - studying and training at the same time?"

I shrug. "I've been doing it for a while. You get used to it."

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asks as she hops off of her bed. "My fridge is stocked with Red Bull - would you like one?"

"Thanks, but I'm going to have to pass." I chuckle, "My coach would kill me."

"He's not here right now, is he?" she says before bending down to retrieve a bottle. She tosses it to me and winks before returning to her seat.

I check the seal before cracking it open - a habit I picked up after Noah.

"So, what do you study?" I ask after taking a sip of the cold drink.

"Commerce and Criminology, mainly. You?"

"HR Management and Accounting."

She nods. "No wonder we share a few classes. So," she claps her hands together for the second time, startling me again, "we are gathered here today because you are upset and you need someone to vent to. Vent, Elijah." Her eyes remain on me as she tilts her head back and gulps down more of her drink.

"There's really not much to say - I was in a one-year relationship and found out I was being cheated on on our anniversary." I try to fake nonchalance, but I still feel all of that soul-shattering pain and raging anger from that day. My fingers feel bare without the ring I left behind and so does my heart.

Mia's blue eyes widen. "Fuck," she drawls out. "I'm so sorry, that's really shitty."

I shrug because what else am I supposed to do?