Can You Keep A Secret? (Completed)

xix - day one

The rest of the day went on with ease . By the evening we were 3 bottles deep in pinot . I was feeling good and happy . The guys walked in and Henry took Delilah up to her room to lay her down . Dylan stood there rubbing the back of his neck staring at me . And that's when the flood of emotions hit me.

《FLASHBACK》

My heart feels like it was ripped out of my chest and I can't breathe . Dylan promised me forever , he promised that he would neve leave me , that he would always protect me . But I wasn't expecting for him to completely destroy my whole being .

We had plans . I loved him so deeply and now , what do I do? Did I not do enough ? I ran as fast as I could out of that damned building. The pure pleasure on Brittany's face kept stabbing me over and over and over again . How could he? How could he give something so precious to someone else ?

Not thinking clearly I got into my car and drove back to our apartment . I didn't know what time it was but I called Delilah completely panicked and incoherently crying into the phone explaining what happened, "Dyl....... dyl...... cheating on me," I finally mustered .

Delilah didn't ask me to slow down and repeat myself. Instead she came to me as quickly as possible. When I opened the door I had dropped to the floor sobbing , "shhh shhh , I'm here Ar, I'm here . Let's get his shit out of the apartment. He's not living here anymore, I don't care what you say to me ."

After that shocker of a day , Henry and Delilah kept me company . I couldn't sleep well and I have period of anxiety attacks that rendered me immobile . I threw up from the pain I was experiencing. Dylan had tried to call me and text me but Delilah made sure that I didn't read any of the messages or listened to them. I felt so lost .

A week after all of this drama Sonja came to live with me. At first it was to keep me company but her presence had helped me begin to pick up the pieces . Then I had Sonja , Jessica and Marie alternating days of keeping me occupied. The first two months felt like death . If they weren't around I might have died of a broken heart .

Then the months began to roll on by . And I started finding my footing again . I started feeling like the life was finally breathing back into me .

Before I knew it six months was approaching . I made sure to stay away from social media , at least my personal one . I kept a strict no contact because that was the only way to really get myself to move forward . Although I missed Dylan and what we had I didn't miss the pain and turmoil he willingly put me through. I promised myself that I will NEVER let this happen again . That's I'd be even more careful with the next man.

《PRESENT DAY》

I look up and see Dylan I don't know if it's because of the alcohol but I begin to cry . His face falls flat and he rushes next to me , "Why , Dylan ? You had a choice and you chose to hurt me? Why?" I asked him over and over again . Choked on the sob that was let free and he hugged me .

He hugged me just like he hugged me all those other times . The feeling of his warmth , his body , it made me cry even more. I missed him , I missed this and I just kept repeating the same thing over and over again, "why?"

Dylan whispered against my forehead, "I'm sorry . I'm so sorry . I would take it all back if I could. I'm so sorry," he starts to cry . We sat there for a good few minutes just holding each other and crying . He was supposed to be my end game . This was suppose to be forever for us .

"Aria?" I hear a stern but worried voice . When I looked up I saw Alex standing there with concern all over his face .

"Alex," my strained voice called out . Dylan was still next to me on the couch , how we got here I have no clue .

"Are you okay?" He looks me over as he takes in my puffy face . "Did he hurt you?"

I shake my head , "we had some closure . The only pain I felt was here," I point to my chest .

He sighs deeply, "Sonja told me to come and get you. "

I nod at him, "okay," leaving my spot next to Dylan . Alex helps me up as my legs buckle.

"How much did you drink?" He asked .

"Enough to not want to drink like that for awhile," I answer as he steadies me .

I look back to where Dylan was sitting , passed out. Although I loved him deeply and immensely , love should have never had to hurt like this . The decisions he made clearly show he wasn't ready for us .

Alex walked me to my room and helped me into bed . I looked at him and smiled, he really is handsome. Still feeling the affects of the wine I reached out and stroked his face . He held my hand to his cheek and embraced that moment . If things were different, I could have really let myself fall for him . But what happened last week was a sharp reminder of how badly Dylan betrayed me . It might not have hurt as much but the action was enough to make me become more careful with him.

"I'm sorry Aria," he whispers to me , "I promise to do better," and he helps lay me down . Alex places a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.

I didn't allow myself to drown in this emotion because sleep took over quickly . That night , I dreamt of an alternate reality . One that I saw myself laughing and feeling the most loved . One that I saw the man that my heart desired the most.