Summary: Y/N has finally learned how to move on from Matthew, but as soon as he hears that she's found someone new, he makes it his mission to get her to remember what they had
Requested: No
Breakups were hard there was no doubt about it. Every time Y/N got her heart broken, she was pretty sure that it would be the last time. Because after a while, 'the one' would come around and save her right? She thought that when she met Matthew, he was going to be the one she spent the rest of her life with.
Boy was she wrong.
Everything about their relationship was difficult, between trying to find time to spend with each other and their constant bickering. The two were always stressed about something. It lead to plenty of arguments and they took their anger out on each other. For two long years, they drug themselves along in a failing relationship.
But it wasn't always bad, during the offseason or bye-week, they had some of their best times. Y/N was adored by Matthew's family, even his father which surprised everyone. Keith had nothing bad to say about his son's girl which shocked the entire family, but it was greatly appreciated. Brady thought that Y/N was a good addition to the family, and Matthew's younger sister was joined at the hip with his girlfriend.
The couple often spent the offseason in st.louis or in Calgary, making up for lost time and really working on their relationship. Even though they argued and fought through the majority of the year, somehow they were always able to work things out and find each other again. Which is why their breakup was such a shock to everyone.
Y/N had ended things out of pure desperation. She was tired of turning around every second and getting into an argument over something stupid. Matthew and her had been trying to make things work but this season was a lot rougher than ever before. The hockey player had a few suspensions which stressed him out beyond belief. The fact that things were rough with him and Y/N only piled on top.
Try as they might, nothing seemed to be going well for Y/N and Matt. Everything they did to fix their relationship was only making things worse. Scheduling date nights and forcing the relationship had brought them to their breaking point.
One night, the arguing had gotten so bad that tears were brought to Matthew's eyes. He hated that he was hurting his girlfriend, but he didn't know what to do at this point. It had become a habit for the two of them to just argue and spit at each other. So when she had finally had enough, he knew that there was no getting her back.
"I can't do it anymore Matthew..." She looked sunk into the couch, bent over her knees as her hands rubbed at her face. She was exhausted, the emotional drain of fighting having taken it's toll. As her weight buried her into the cushions, Matthew suddenly paused his pacing. His eyes whipped around towards her and he felt as though he just got punched in the gut.
"Wha- No Y/N come on..." his voice was low, almost as if he was trying to convince himself he hadn't just heard his girl give up. But when she lifted her head and he saw her glossy eyes- he couldn't help but match them. Making his way towards her, he kneeled in front of her, taking her hands into his own and shaking his head. "We can make it work baby... we always do right?" He tried to reassure her.
A sad chuckle slipped past the girl's lips. Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked up at her boyfriend. His hair was curly and his usually wild eyes were masked by concern and a sense of pleading. "I can't Matt..." She sighed. "All we do is hurt each other, I love you so much- but this relationship is ruining me." She stressed. "It's ruining us."
The man looked down, lips pressing into a firm line. He gave her a hesitant nod and tried to process everything. They had been together for almost three years and now things were gone- just like that. Stepping back, he let her hands slip from his grasp. Matthew ignored the sound of her keys jingling as she picked them up from the counter, she had slipped out of his apartment within a matter of seconds- like a drifting breeze that was gone as soon as it came.
When Matthew finally looked up again, he was lost- within a matter of minutes, he had lost the love of his life.
Before Y/N knew it, six months had passed and she was finally moving on. It had been tough at first, everywhere she went, she was reminded of Matthew. Whether it was due to seeing someone wearing his jersey, or driving past a coffee shop they used to frequent at, there was always something to remind her of her ex boyfriend.
Her friends had been quite helpful in getting her mind off of him though, they spent all their free time with Y/N for the first few weeks- just to distract her from the heartache. Of course they weren't there when she went to sleep and her memories turned into dreams, but they had done more than Y/N ever expected.
They would drag her out to bars for drinks or to movie theatres after work and for a while, Y/N was floating through life. She was letting them take her mind off things and in doing so- she had met James.
He was new and interesting, something to help Y/N pass the time. They went on a few dates here and there and before the woman knew it, she was seeing him more often in her life. There were pictures of the two of them plastered all over her instagram. No one really thought anything of it, but one day she decided to post a picture of James kissing her cheek. They had gone out for dinner that night and the picture was just too cute to ignore.
Within a matter of minutes, a familiar contact had appeared on Y/N's phone.
matty <3: So I guess there is really no chance of me getting you back now is there?
The message came as a shock and as Y/N stared down at her screen, she felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of her lungs. She never deleted Matthew's number, but she was sure that she had at least changed his contact. Maybe there was a part of her that kept his number partially because she thought they could become friends again, maybe she never changed his contact because she was sure they would end up together again. Either way, Y/N went into the settings and removed the heart from beside his name. Settling for a simple and bland. "Matthew"
Her fingertips hovered over the keyboard- she thought of sending him a message, but it didn't seem right. She had been the one to ask for the breakup, it wouldn't be fair of her to start texting him and allow old feelings to resurface.
But the messages kept coming, over the next few weeks, Matthew had sent countless messages to her phone and pictures of when they were together. It was like he was haunting her or mocking her. Either way, Y/N ignored him. It wasn't until she had gone out with James and the girls one night that things went too far.
She had posted a picture on her instagram story which had her location on it. A few moments later, her phone was ringing, Matthew's name flashing upon the screen. "I'm at the bar!" He spoke into the phone, almost in shock. Immediately, Y/N whipped her head around- looking up from the table and towards the bar.
True as day, Matthew was standing at the bar, leaning against the soft auburn would countertop and looking in her direction. His curls were hidden under a baseball cap and he hard a long sleeved shirt on- paired with some jeans. He looked good. Cancelling the call, Y/N excused herself from the booth and made her way towards the hockey player.
A nervous expression wearing upon her face. "Are you stalking me?" She tried to joke. Matthew rolled his eyes and greeted her with an awkward hug. "We used to come here all the time... I must say im offended you've brought your new boy toy here." He scoffed.
Y/N pursed her lips, she knew that Matthew didn't like James. Why should he? The man was dating his ex who he had seemingly not gotten over yet. Glancing back at her date, The woman gave him a soft wave to reassure him that everything was fine. Matthew caught her attention again and frowned. "Why are you with him Y/N... You know that I still love you, just give me another chance." He begged.
Suddenly the girl felt hurt fill her chest. "I gave you plenty of chances Matthew, and you did the same for me... But we weren't good for each other- all we did was." She tried to remind him but he cut her off.
"Fight and argue, yeah I know-" he spoke bitterly, crossing his arms, the man looked down. Shaking his head, he took Y/N's hand and locked onto her eyes. "Tell me that you love James the way you love me... tell me that you would rather be with him than me." He pleaded. "I need to hear you say it... for my own sake." He muttered.
But Y/N couldn't do that. No matter how much she liked James, he didn't compare to what she and Matthew had. "He makes me happy Matthew- I deserve to be happy." She defended herself. "But you don't love him." Matthew finished for her.
Pausing for a moment, Y/N glanced at James who was still sitting in the booth. She sighed in defeat. "I don't love him, I can't love him because every time I start to get close to him- I think of you and what we had... you keep pulling me away from him and its not fair." She stressed.
She wanted to hit Matthew, wanted to scream at him for giving her such a tough time, but she couldn't. She loved him and never wanted to hurt him. Matthew sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. "If you can't love him because you're thinking of me... doesn't that show you that im the one you should be with?" He asked rhetorically.
He had a point.
Looking down into her drink, Y/N sighed. She contemplated it for a moment before nodding. "One last chance Matthew... for the both of us- if things don't work out this time, you need to let me go." She proposed.
Smiling softly at her, Matthew chuckled. "Its gonna work this time."