Temptation

-1-

-Rye's POV-

It was a Friday night, and standing in front of me was a stranger. To somebody who didn't know better, they might say that she was the girl who I had been dating for the past two years, but, beyond appearances, they were two very different people.

Sophie only ate fries if they had cheese on them and painted her fingernails any color under the rainbow but only ever used red for her toes. She smelled like coconut shampoo when she first got out of the shower, lilac perfume late in the afternoon, cotton sheets in the morning and cinnamon at night. The girl in front of me smelled like another guy's cologne and betrayal. Sophie whispered sweet forever and always' into my ears. This girl wove stories of how "it hadn't been working out for a long time now" and that we should "spend some time apart."

Friday nights were for making new tea concoctions and forcing Brooklyn to try them, for her explaining what I had missed during the week with her arms waving wildly about for emphasis and me listening with a half smile perched upon my face. They were for her cuddling up in my hoodie and for movie marathons, where she'd always fall asleep on me halfway through – But not this time. This Friday night, I stood outside of the flat wearing my own hoodie, hands shoved deep into the pockets and my breath coming out in little white puffs.

I had come outside to greet her, skipping every other step, and had leaned down to kiss her when she pushed me back – And that was the moment that she was no longer the person that I knew.

Sophie's favorite animal was horses, but she'd never ridden one because she was afraid to. She'd always wanted to go on an African safari. When she was little, she thought that she could touch the moon. Her favorite time to go to the beach was at night. She'd always rest her finger on my lips when she was shushing me. Her eyes always watered up when she yawned. And she was breaking up with me.

Throughout my life and joining the band, she was my one constant. And, just like that, with a few words, it was gone. Destroyed. And I was left questioning everything that we had ever shared between us.

"Just tell me the truth," I said at last, the first words that had found their way out of me tonight.

"I went all the way to Slough to do this in person and not over the phone, and you think I owe you anything?" She snapped, as if I was the one tearing our relationship to pieces and tossing it into a fire. I was breathing in and choking on the ashes of the remains of it.

"Just tell me his name," I said, surprising myself when the words came out in a calm monotone.

"What do you mean, 'tell me his name'?" She asked, but I didn't reply, because I knew that she understood what I'd said perfectly well. For a moment, we were both silent, and I wanted to reach out and grab her hands. I wanted to remind her of all of the memories that we had together, of the love that we had shared. But, looking into her eyes, I knew that it was no longer there. Not for her.

"Goodbye, Ryan," She said, and I watched her walk away for the last time. This time wasn't like the others – I felt her walk out of my heart as well, taking the piece that she had always rested in along with her. This time, she wasn't coming back, and all she left behind was the lingering fragrance of Old Spice and the bitter taste of heartbreak on my tongue.