The Bartender & The Brunette

kai wills

he never predicted that such heart wrenching actions would happen to him. the twenty-two year old would have never pictured an event so disloyal; appalling. he never imagined that his light brown strands of hair and his soft blue iris' would ever be so easily replaced; that his fair, toned body would slip from her mind with ease, or that his low voice would be forgotten while another's caressed her ears.
and never did he think that salty water would trickle down his cheeks while he looked at the one he fell for; the one he loved.

her name was ivy. ironically meaning faithfulness. but she took that definition and tossed it out the window.
her bright green hues kept forcing themselves into his helpless mind, along with her coal black hair that always smelled like citrus. and every time he laid in bed at night, he would always remember the way her petite hand would settle on his bicep, her thumb gently, sweetly, and slowly rubbing his skin. up and down, up and down, until he fell asleep.
every morning he would awaken and expect a warm, wet peck against his lips, but it was only a vision now.
but the thing that hurt him the most, the thing that truly engraved such sorrow into him was the lie that she told him - every single day.
"i love you."
she would say it every morning, every night, when he went to work, when he went to visit his father, when he spoiled her with gifts, when he would take out the trash, when he would massage her back, when he attempted to cook them a meal, when he would try to sing her favorite song, even when he would fetch her a roll of toilet paper since the last ply was used.
but little did kai know that during this undeniable happiness, she was performing the same adorable activities to another man.
"kai, i'm going to head over to tessa's place. her mother had a sudden stroke and she's in the hospital. tess wants me to head over there with her." she glanced down at her phone. "i'll be back tomorrow morning, okay? it's already pretty late."
"you're sleeping at her place?"
"yeah, she said that was fine, since we're assuming we're going to be in the hospital for awhile."
"alright, that's fine. call me if you need anything, okay?"
"got it, see you tomorrow morning. i love you." her fingers twisted the knob.
"i love you too."
"buh-bye."
"bye."
the man thought nothing of her plans - until the same 'plan' occurred once a week.
then every weekend.
then every other night.
then every single night.
kai was never allowed to tag along since 'only certain people were allowed into the room' or because 'tess's mother wasn't comfortable around him'.
ivy claimed that the stroke was worsening and that tessa's days with her mother were limited, and kai never bothered calling tessa to check and see if ivy was lying since he trusted her so much, and besides, tessa would probably lie for her best friend if anything were happening.
"ivy, can't you stay home tonight? we haven't slept in the same bed together in weeks."
"kai, i would, but tess really needs me. each night she keeps breaking down, and its only getting worse. i have to be there to console her."
"but babe, wouldn't tessa understand that you have a-"
"no kai. she's really struggling right now, okay? why can't you understand that?"
"i do ivy, it's just - can't you go during my shifts? you always seem to go visiting when i'm around."
all the woman did was give her emerald hues a roll and storm out of the apartment. and for the first time in years, kai's stomach twisted into an uneasy knot. his trust in his girlfriend had suddenly weakened, and his desire to know what was going on immensely grew. he was determined to figure out what on earth was truly happening, but the only problem was not knowing how he was going to do it.
he rose from the sofa and threw on his jacket, removing his cell phone from his pocket and dialing his best friend, toby.
"yo, yo, yo kai-ster, what's up? everything alright?"
"uh, not exactly-"
"aw, dude, are you having dick difficulties again? look, i know it's hard- i mean- i know it's not easy, but we can look into it tomorrow. your little girlfriend can wait."
"shut the hell up, toby. it has nothing to do with that shit."
"oh, then what's wrong?"
"i think ivy's cheating on me."
"ivy? cheating on you? that's ridiculous. she's so happy with you."
"i know, but the only way i'm going to feel better and get rid of this... this feeling is if we go out and try to find her. meet me at the bar in ten."
"you got it, man. see ya."
and just like that, kai wills left his home and headed for his workplace, also known as NYC's number one tavern.