Why Can't You Love Me? || Timothée Chalamet

Chapter 1

"Alright, I get it. I know his appearance, dumbass. We went to the same elementary school like ten years ago. Even though that was a long time ago, I know he's good looking, gosh," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "Can't we talk about guys that are... I don't know? Realistic boyfriend material instead?"

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Fine."

-

I always rode my bike to work, no matter what the weather was like or if I had a very early or late shift. I had a driver's license, but no car, unfortunately. My parents weren't very rich, so the last thing I would ever receive from them was a car.

The fact that I didn't have much money either was another reason why I didn't have a car and why I still lived at my parents' house. I was turning 22 this summer so I wasn't that old to live with my parents, but either way. I was ready to move out as soon as I had the money to.

Unfortunately, my job at the café didn't pay very well, so the main thing I could afford every month was to pay for living at my parents' house. They didn't have me pay much, but my income was very low. Therefore, a dream come true would be to become something that would make a lot of money, so I could afford more than just... live.

The moment my shift was over that day, I said goodbye to Dylan who was working until closing time before walking out the backdoor and unlocking my bike. Fortunately, it wasn't raining. The sun was actually still shining, even if it was slowly starting to go down for the day.

To my luck, I didn't live far from work, so it didn't take more than three minutes until I parked my bike outside the house. I then walked over to the front door and entered the building.

"Hello?" I called out, knowing both mom and dad should be home by now. It was past five in the afternoon.

To my surprise, mom came running down the stairs a second later with tears running down her cheeks. My eyes widened at the sight, and I could feel how my stomach twisted uncomfortably. Something bad had happened. I knew it the second I saw the heartbroken look in mom's eyes.

"Mom?"

She looked at me, shaking her head while covering her mouth with a hand to muffle her sobs. Without having to think twice, I took a step forward to wrap my arms around her shaking body, hugging her close to me.

"Oh, Jules," she cried, burrowing her face in my shoulder.

"What happened, mom?" I questioned, feeling my heart race in my chest. Did I even want to know what happened?

She took a step back to look me in the eyes. We had always had the same brown and shiny ones, but hers were now red from crying. "It's... It's dad. I found out... I found out he cheated on me."

My eyes widened at her confession. She must be kidding. Dad loved mom, and mom loved dad. There was no way he had cheated on her. They never fought. They never even bickered about money even if they didn't have much.

I shook my head, not believing her. "You must be wrong. Dad wouldn't..." I trailed off, swallowing hard. The look on her face told me she wasn't lying, though. Dad really did cheat.

"I don't know what to do, Jules. I... I can't live here. I... I have to go away. It hurts... It hurts so much," she sobbed, hiding her face in her hands again.

I pulled her into another tight hug. "Mom, I... I don't know what to say. I never thought... I never thought dad was capable of it."

"Me neither," she sniffled against my shoulder. "I thought he loved me."

Pulling away to look at her, I waited for a second to really gain her attention. "Mom, he does love you. I know he does. This is ridiculous. I don't understand why he did this."