Splatter Painted [luke hemmings]

Chapter 22

After presenting the twins with their food, I took my own bowl with me up to my room. My body felt heavy, each step forward was agonisingly painful. I didn't know what had drawn me to go back there after what had just happened. Perhaps it was the comforts of what it used to be, but now all I could see when I stepped into the room was little specks of him.

The bedspread was still messy, the duvet pulled back, falling off the sides, and the sheets curled halfway up from when we left the soft mattress. The pillows still had the creases from where our heads lay. I'd always loved unmade beds, the beauty of seeing where one had slept the night before fascinated me, but in that moment I just wished that the sheets were all tucked up tightly underneath the frame of the bed, the cover iron straight and the pillows fluffed up. In that moment, I swore that if that bed was made, the hurt would've been less hurtful.

The cat took the opportunity of me standing in the doorway staring into nothing to walk through my legs, tail brushing against me, and jump onto the object I called my bed.

I swallowed. The room even smelt of him. I could taste his cologne on my tongue. He'd left a half empty packet of bubblegum mint on the floor. Why'd he only slept with me for the fun of it, I didn't know. I couldn't comprehend his actions, couldn't justify them. All I could see was his face as we lay there together and how he had no look of guilt or sorrow. He'd made me feel like I was special to him, and then he'd gone and bitten my hands.

The urge to call Sarah was there. I needed my best friend right then. She was my go to person, the one who always knew what to do when something was wrong. She was my rock, and I'd die without her friendship. Ben was one lucky guy to have her as his girlfriend, and I was one lucky girl for having her as a friend.

I placed the bowl of macaroni cheese on the bedside table and picked up my phone. On the first ring she'd answered. I managed to hold back the choky tears as I told her what had happened, and on the other end of the phone I heard her sigh.

"He's no good for you, Dylan."

"I know."

"That's why you went back to him, right? Look, I know you guys had done Jack crap when you decided to give it another shot, but now you guys have done the deed and he's treated you like this! Can't you hear the alarm bells ringing? There's nothing about him that says, 'yes, I'm a really cool guy that isn't going to leave you for someone else and I'm not going to hurt you'. From what I've heard from you, it sounds like he's going to ditch you for the ex and he's being your typical guy who thinks he can get whatever he wants."

"I just." I exhaled, and bit my bottom lip. "I just really really like him, Sarah. I think I might love him, y'know?"

I could hear her groan on the other line. She was dreading those words, and I knew it. All she wanted was for me to be happy and seeing and hearing me like this was torturous for her. Mind you, she used to do the same thing to me when she was first starting to go out with Ben. 'Do I do this?', 'What if he doesn't like what he sees?' and 'What's the this-date-is-going-down-hill emoji again?' were the most common questions with their first three months of getting to know each other. For me, it seemed like Luke and I had skipped all that. Thinking about it like that made me realise that I didn't really know him at all.

"Perhaps it's a good idea if you give him some space for a few days and see what he does. If he doesn't get back in contact within a week I'd consider telling him it's over." She advised.

"Maybe."

"It's not going to work-out otherwise. You two are just so back and forth it's not even funny."