The Substitute Teacher

Part 68 ~ Give Your Heart a Break

~ Michael's point of view ~ 

I need time to process what Ariana you just told me. . . is she for real?! . . I can't even . . I mean what?!! Cameron?! . . CAMERON?! . . the green-eyed car wrecker? she invited him here last night without me knowing? . . and on top of that, she makes out with him?!! . . this must be a bad joke or something . . I must be drunk . . she can't be serious right now. . I can't even process everything she just told me.

I'm waiting for the ''GOTCHA!'' but nothing's coming . . . she's standing in front of me, tears streaming down her face. . there's no joke in this . . she's dead serious about what she just said . . and I'm standing here like 'is this real?' . . Ariana cheated? . . we're freakin' married and she cheats on me?

"Cameron . . you invited Cameron . . ."

"Honey . . listen . . you need to know that I-"

"SHUT UP!!"

She takes a step back . . .

"You invited Cameron . . not just any guy, no . . you invite CAMERON . . and on top of that, you make out with him?? . . do you realize that you freakin' cheated on me??!!"

"Honey . . . it was a drunk kiss . . simple drunk kissing!! . ."

"Simple drunk kissing?? alright . . would you mind if I had a little simple drunk f*cking?! YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, ARIANA . . are you for real?! . . like, did you really do this??! please tell me you're joking . . 'cause this has got to be the worst joke ever!!"

"Michael . . I was drunk . . I didn't know what I was doing :(. . ."

"Oh, you didn't? . . you're pathetic, Ariana!!!"

"No . . honey!! please, let's talk about this . . ."

"Talk about this?! . . how in the world can I ever trust you again?! please answer me that question! I can't believe you did this!! . . I can't believe you let that f*cker in here behind my back!!!! . . this blows my mind, I'm speechless!!!!"

"I invited him for Carli, honey!!! . . Carli wanted me to invite him!!"

"She wanted you to invite him and you take him?? YOU'RE MARRIED!!!! . . you have a freakin ring on your finger and that should mean something!!! . . is that why you called me on the phone saying I should 'enjoy my night out'? did you tell me that so I would stay out longer?? . . . Ariana, I hope you realize that you just ruined everything . . all of it . . this whole relationship!!! I can never trust you again . . I can't even look at you right now . . . . I'm outta here"

"Honey noooo. ." 

She wraps her arms around me, crying hysterically. I can't look at her . . I don't want her close to me . . I just can't . . I just wanna take Ricky and get out of here . . I need fresh air . . I need a breather . . this is just too much for me right now. 

"Michael, please look at me. . ."

"I don't wanna look at you right now . . ."

She grabs my shirt.
"HONEY LOOK AT ME!!!!!" . . . *cries*

I grab her by the shoulders and push her up against the wall.
She's looking at me with her eyes wide open and her lips shivering . . 

"You did all this to yourself, girl . . crying is not gonna change the fact that you cheated on me!! you did it and now you have to live with it, ok?! I'm not a freakin' robot, I HAVE FEELINGS and you hurt them with what you did. . . there is nothing you can say or do that will change what I feel right now . . . I'm hurt and I have every right to be. . . the least I can expect from you now is to leave me alone. . ."

I let go of her and walk out of the bathroom . .

"Come on Ricky . . . let's go to the mall . . put your shoes on"

"Are we going to the jumping castle???"

"You bet. ." 

"YAAAAAY!" He puts on his shoes and runs out to the car.

"Michael, I love you . . . you need to know that"
She whispers with tears rolling down her cheeks. .

I leave without saying a word to her. . .
_______________

5 hours later 

I just drove Laura and Ricky home. He was so happy to see his mommy again. . and I'm happy that he's back with her . . my house is way too chaotic for a child right now . . too much stress going on. Laura feels much better now, after her little vacation she had at her friend's house . . . this whole thing it's kinda funny to me . . her husband cheated on her and my wife cheated on me . . . crazy world . . . 

I put my phone on silent because Ariana was calling me all day long . . it's funny how my heart is so broken, yet it still manages to beat . . I may not look like it but I could just cry . . I had tears in my eyes when I left home and they're still visible now . . not wanting to go away . . I'm dying to take a long hot shower right now. . . turn off the world and just relax under hot water . .


~ Ariana's point of view ~ 

It's 3pm. . . Michael is still out . . it's been 5 hours now and he's not picking up his phone. . I can't eat, I can't drink . . . I feel so sick . . . I wanna hold him and tell him how sorry I am . . I want him to look me in the eyes and say 'I love you' . . I need to hear it . . right now I need to hear it the most . . . I love Michael so much . . there is no doubt in my mind that he is the one I wanna spend the whole rest of my life with . . . but I ruined it . . he said it himself, I RUINED our relationship . . he can never trust me again . . . . . 

My eyes are so heavy . . I've been crying all morning and afternoon . . and I've spent 2 hours in the kitchen fixing Michael food that he loves . . he loves the healthy stuff . . caramel chicken with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, peperoni and peas . . I made it extra nice for him . . I hope he'll be in a better mood when he gets home . . I sent him a couple of messages letting him know that I cooked for him . . I hope he reads them.

It's 6:30pm . . wow . . did I nap for 3 hours?! . . I rub my eyes and sit up on the couch. I hear Michael's car coming up the driveway. He parks the car and walks in . . I'm sitting here, waiting for him to give me a sign that everything's ok . . . a little smile maybe? . . just something . . I need something.

I walk up to him and nervously tuck my hair behind my ear.
"I cooked for you, baby . . . I made your favorite food"

". . . I already ate with Laura and Ricky"

"That's ok . . . I can heat it up for you later tonight . . if you want. ."

"Naa that's alright . . . thanks"

"Michael . . can we please talk?"

"I don't think I have anything to say, Ariana . . ."

"Yes you do!! we both have a lot to tell each other right now! . . . I'm sorry for what I did . . I didn't think, I was stupid . . I love you so much . . it hurts me in my heart that I did this to you . . please don't push me away . . . I need you . . I love you so much, Michael . . you're my whole world and everything in it . . you need to know that . . ."

"It's hard for me to believe that, Ariana . . "

"Honey please . . . don't do this to me . . ."

"I'm not doing anything to you . ."

"Why did you take off the ring?"

"I can't wear it right now. . ."

". . . why?"

He walks over to the couch and takes a seat
"Come here, Ariana . . ."

I sit down on the coffee table in front of him . . I can't believe what I'm looking at . . Michael has tears in his eyes . . big ones . . they're about to roll down his cheeks . . this makes me fall in love with him even harder . . . . my baby . . . I made him cry . . . I made him feel so miserable . . . 

A tear rolls down . . he quickly wipes it away.
"Why did you do this to me, Ariana?"

He brushes my long, silky brown hair out of my face. .

"I'm sorry baby . . I'm sorry I hurt you . . I feel nothing for Cameron . . "

"But you kissed him . . ."

"Not for long . . ."

"But you did it . . "

"Yes I did . . "

"Can you please tell me why I'm crying right now?" 

I grab his face and kiss him. .

"Because you love me, honey!! . . you're crying because you love me! . . please forgive me for what I did . . I'm begging you . . there is nothing in this world that I want more than to hear you say that we're ok . . "

"But we're not . ."

"Yes we are. ."

"I can't trust you anymore . . . how can I ever trust you again?"

"You CAN trust me! I LOVE YOU MICHAEL . . we belong together!"

"Can you see the tears in my eyes, Ariana? I'm crying . . what you did to me hurt me deeply . . so deep, I don't think we can fix this . . ."

"Michael no . . . of course we can fix it . . of course wen can!"

"Ariana . . In my heart is where you are. . that's just how it is, I can't and I don't wanna do nothing about that. . but for now, I think it's best for us to go our seperate ways . ."



~ to be continued ~