I Don't Share

21: Don't Date Your Neighbor

Spencer's car was gone for the rest of the week, and I hadn't gotten any texts back from her either. She hadn't been at school, and my parents were even starting to become concerned. I decided to enter the house with my spare key, just to make sure she wasn't dead in her room or something. My heart started to beat faster leading up to her bedroom door, and I closed my eyes as I swung it open.

When I opened it, a huge gasp left my throat as tears dotted my eyes; her room was empty. All of her stuff was gone, and the bed was stripped to the mattress. My chest felt like it was going to explode as I stepped inside, looking for anything, even the tiniest piece of trash to prove she was real. There was a note on her dresser.

"Dear Amethyst,
I love you and I always will, but I feel like I have failed you. I've done everything wrong, and our relationship would have been built on lies and betrayal. You belong with Jessica, or at least just not with me. I'm moving back to Texas. I continue to say I'm sorry, and everything I've said sorry for, I meant it every time. If we are meant to be, maybe we'll bump into each other sometime in this life. There's so many memories I want to thank you for, but the biggest one is to thank you for being the best neighbor I could ask for."

A tiny sob left my mouth. And at the most convenient time, Jessica texts me.

Hey my love, I just got home from the trip! Can I come over to see you?

I couldn't take any of this right now. I sprinted back home, ignoring everyone in the house to lock myself in my room. It felt like I was going crazy, and Spencer left me to deal with all these mistakes on my own. I crumpled up my calm life, threw it in a dumpster, and lit the damn thing on fire. I cried into my pillow while the sun went down until I had no more tears. My parents constantly passed by my door calling out to me, but I just told them to give me space. By midnight, I was laying in the dark on my soaked pillow, clutching my blanket like it would leave me too. There was a soft knock on my door, before I could hear Jessica's voice, "Baby, open the door for me."
My eyes shot open, wiping my face frantically. Why the hell would my parents let her in? "Can you please come back tomorrow? I can't open the door right now." I croaked, my voice shot from all the crying.
"Amethyst, open the door. You're parents briefly told me what's up. We need to talk about this, but first I want to make sure you're okay." I held my breathe for a second before slowly getting up. Then I unlocked the door, pulling it open a crack before retreating to under my blanket. She came in, slowly sitting down on the edge of my bed. The lights remained off, but I could see her in the faint light of her phone. "I need to hear it all from you."
I gulped and sat up, hiding behind a thin blanket like it would save me from hurting her. "Me and Spencer confessed our love for each other, and then she disappeared because the guilt got to her. I was trying to reach you all week, but my messages never sent."
"I figured that you'd eventually go back to her. I was just hoping I could try hard enough to keep you with me." Her voice cracked, making my heart break even more.
"You were way more than enough for me Jessica! You did everything right, and I'm the one who took it all for granted and messed our relationship up. I'm am so sorry I included you in my mess, even though there's nothing I could do to fix it." I was speaking fast, my hands were shaking. She got up and searched my drawer until she found my inhaler, tossing it to me. I used it and eventually calmed down a little.
"I'm super mad at you right now, but what she did was definitely messed up too. I mean obviously we're over, but I won't completely ice you out for now. I called Jack, he's on his way." After patting me on the shoulder, she left.

I didn't know what to think about that. I stopped crying, at least. But everything was still jumbled in my brain.

There were a couple things I learned in the span of one day. Don't lead anyone on, don't cheat, don't take the ones who love you for granted, and definitely don't date your neighbor. If you date your neighbor, you're in a for a ride.