If This Was A Movie [M. Manheim]

16- Pretty Little Liar

Milo's POV:

Seeing Madelyn walk out of the restaurant made me question why I even started the argument with Evan in the first place. I guess I followed Madelyn because I felt bad for arguing with her ex in front of her. Or maybe it was because I felt bad that I sort of ignored her. In my defense, though, I didn't hear her questions to begin with. 

Although I knew Jordyn was going to be pissed off, I could've cared less at that moment. I headed for the door. I walked outside and glanced around until I saw the same beautiful, blond hair that I was looking for. She was sitting on a bench outside of a restaurant beside Balthazar. I smiled a little bit to myself, grateful that she hadn't gotten into a taxi and left. 

As I approached her, I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of regret. I didn't even realize that I'd been ignoring her earlier, as I was too busy arguing with Evan. I contemplated whether or not I should try to talk to her, but before I could decide whether or not it was a good idea, I was already sitting beside her.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a few moments of silence.  

She turned and looked at me, and her eyes told me that she was pissed off. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you." I apologized.

"Is that true? What you said in there? The thing about a stalker?" She asked me, looking at the people walking by.

I nodded slowly. We sat there for a few seconds before I spoke up, asking the question I'd been longing to know for so long. 

"Are you my stalker, Madelyn?" 

She looked up at me and shook her head. "What are you talking about?" 

I looked away from her, embarrassed because of my question. "I don't know, I just thought you might be." 

"Why would you even think that? I don't have enough time in my life to stalk somebody."

"Jordyn said-" 

She scoffed and shook her head. "Of course it was Jordyn." 

I sighed and then continued. "She told me that you could be posing as a guy telling me to stay away from her. Jordyn said you might be doing that so that I'd back off of her, which would therefore let you into my life if your plans worked out."

"That's the most fucked up, twisted story I've ever been told." She answered.

"Yeah. I don't know why I believed it." 

"I don't know why you did either. And why would she lie about that in the first place? Was she just trying to get with you?" Madelyn asked.

"I think so." I nodded.

"Is that why you were acting weird around Lexie and I?" 

I sighed. "Yeah. I believed what Jordyn had told me, and so I thought you were really creepy and weird." 

"Wow." That was all she said. 

We remained seated beside each other, unmoving, for what seemed like an eternity. The air between us was heavy and full of awkward tension, as if it were carrying the weight of our unspoken thoughts and emotions.  The silence was so overpowering that it seemed to consume every other sound around us, leaving us alone with our thoughts and the rustling of our clothes. It seemed as if the silence between us would never end, until she finally spoke, breaking the tension that hung awkwardly between us.

"Shouldn't we be with our dates, instead of with each other?" She asked.

"Probably. I have to talk to Jordyn." I answered her.

We both nodded and stood up. As we walked inside, we could feel the cold air of the night on our skin. I held the door open for her, and closed it after we were both inside.

We walked back to our table and I asked Jordyn if she would follow me. She nodded and I took her hand, walking over to a corner in the lobby of the restaurant, where no one could hear us. 

"Why did you lie?" I asked her.

"I haven't lied to you, Miles. You know I wouldn't." Jordyn said, and tried to play it off with a smile.

"Yes you did. About Madelyn being my stalker? Everything you said was bullshit." 

Her demeanor shifted in an instant, her previously cheerful and relaxed expression turning into one of panic and worry. She fidgeted with her hands as she tried to come up with a believable excuse. "Miles, I'm sorry-"

"Forget an apology, Jordyn. I want to know why you did what you did." I told her.

She sighed shakily. "I did it because I wanted you to stop worrying." 

"So you became my stalker so that I'd back off of her? You posed as a guy so that I would grow closer to you?" 

Her worried look changed to confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's bullshit, Jordyn." 

"Milo, I swear on my life that I'm not your stalker." She said. Oddly enough, it was like she was telling the truth. Even though she had been lying about other things, she wasn't my stalker.

"Then who could it be? Why would someone stalk me?" I asked, on the verge of a mental breakdown.

She shook her head. "I don't know." She took a moment to look at my expression, trying to figure out if this was the right time to ask me a question. She clearly didn't figure out the correct answer, and she spoke up. "Are we still together, Miles?" After I didn't answer, she continued speaking. "I know I messed up. Trust me, I do. You weren't supposed to find out, and we were supposed to be happy together. All I wanted was for you and I to be in love and not worry about Madelyn. Milo, we're good together. Better than you and her could ever be." 

"Would you please stop talking? First you lie to me, and now you're telling me that her and I wouldn't be good together. Jordyn, you and I aren't good together. So the answer to your question is no. We aren't staying together." 

Her eyes began to tear up. "Milo, please. Just give me another chance."

"Another chance to go and fuck it all up again? No chance in hell." I told her, turning to walk back to the table. 

Jordyn grabbed my arm, and tears began to fall from her eyes. "Milo, I swear I won't. I won't fuck it up again." 

I yanked my arm out of her grasp, and began to walk in the other direction. She didn't even attempt to follow me, and I could hear her crying. 

I didn't even feel the slightest sense of regret after leaving her. If I had felt anything, it was joy and relief. Like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

 I figured that she wasn't my stalker, and neither was Madelyn. It was like I had solved the outline of a puzzle, and now I was just getting to the hard part of it all. I found out who my stalker wasn't, and now I had to find out who it truly was.  

A/N: I finally finished writing this chapter lol. I kind of hate it ngl, but whatever. I have the rest of my chapters planned out (i've said this already), but I'm gonna take my time developing those as well, just because of everything I've been dealing with recently. thank you for being patient with me to update, and thank you for reading to the end of this chapter. Love you <3