Edited: 01/07/2022
Walking into the kitchen, I was surprised to find Julie standing near the stove watching the bacon sizzle.
Not wanting to scare her, I cleared my throat before saying good morning.
"Oh, good morning sweetie, I did not see you" she smiled, pulling me in for a hug.
"That is okay, I only just got here."
A comfortable silence filled the air as I set up the table for the two of us. Caleb and Tori both left about thirty minutes ago to take Tori to swimming lessons.
Looking at the relationship that Caleb and Tori had made me think back to Mike and my relationship at that age. The age difference between Tori and Caleb is identical to the age difference between Mike and I. Mike always used to take me to my swimming lessons with Dad as well. We would ride our bikes down to this little pond down the street before going to the pool. It became a regular occurrence to go down to the pond, even when swimming was not on, to feed the ducks.
I remember going home and googling what food was healthy for them and eventually discovered that oats were the way to go.
One day, I had filled my pockets up with oats and road all the way to the pond and all the way home with Mike. Little did I know that the oats had left a trail going the entire way home. Before we knew it, we had several ducks at our front door quacking because they wanted more food.
Smiling at the memory, I picked up our plates and sat them on the table before fetching us a glass of juice each.
"Thank you honey."
Julie grabbed my hands and gave them a tight squeeze, "Bianca, I just wanted you to know that these past couple of weeks have been amazing, you are family, and I would hate for you to stay anywhere else but right here with us."
"You are so amazing" I laughed, trying to blink the tears away.
"You are so incredibly kind and generous for taking me in and I just wanted to say thank you and that I appreciate everything that you are doing for me."
The rest of breakfast went by fast. Julie and I spoke for an awfully long time, well at least until Tori and Caleb arrived home a few hours later.
Running towards them, I picked up Tori and spun her around in the air.
"How was your swimming lesson, you little mermaid" I asked, smiling at her contagious giggles.
Once I put her down, Caleb wrapped one arm around my thighs and another around my waist. Before I could tell him to put me down, he started spinning while Tori tickled my side asking how I like it.
"Stop, STOP! I... cannot... breath...arghhh" I yelled, as I squirmed in Caleb's arms as Tori found my ticklish spots.
"Okay, okay. I think we got her good" Caleb laughed, putting me back down on my feet.
I punched Caleb in the arm for being the ringleader in that situation, "you suck" I laughed.
Times like that, really made me miss my Mum. Thinking about Mum honestly made me so angry. I find it funny how she had time to call and message Mike yet I have not heard from her.
"I am just going to go and call Mum, I will talk to you guys soon" I smiled, winking at Tori, and sticking my tongue out at Caleb as I walked past.
The phone rang a few times before I finally heard her voice.
"Hey Bianca, now is not really a suitable time" she muttered.
Rolling my eyes and biting my tongue in annoyance, "hi, it feels like it is never a good time".
"Here we go again. Bianca I am working, what can I do about that?" she said, her voice containing a certain fire which I knew all too well.
"Honestly, do not tell me that you are working twenty-four hours, seven days a week. There would be at least five minutes either in the morning while you are getting dressed or while you are lying in bed." I yelled in frustration.
"There are people here who need me" she sighed angrily.
"We need you! Your son and your daughter! I am not angry that you are over there helping people, I am angry that you never call".
"Your brother keeps you updated, does he not?" she asked.
"Yes, he does, but it would have been nice hearing it all from you" I yelled in frustration. "And that is exactly my point! You clearly had enough time to call Mike and I know you keep up to date with Julie so why could you not you call me".
"Do not yell at me! I may not be there right now, but I am still your mother" she raised her voice.
A tear fell down my cheek. I felt completely unheard. She does not understand what I am saying at all. Wiping away the tear, I let out a sigh as my head fell into my hands. "Listen, I miss you and I understand that you are helping people. I could not be prouder of you for that, but it hurts knowing that you call everyone else except for me."
"I understand that and I am sorry for making you feel that way. I did not see the problem when I called them. I love you and I will be home soon but for now I have to go"
"I love you too mum" I sighed, hanging up the call.
Laying on my bed, I brought my hands up to cover my face as I chocked back a sob. I hated fighting with my mum. We are complete opposites. Whilst I would rather communicate our problems, mum would prefer to sweep them under the rug. We are so different in every part of our lives including our music tastes, our style, and our sense of humour. My dad and I, however, were almost to alike. The key word is 'almost'. I think that if we had been any more similar, then we would have butt heads. Instead, we were perfectly in sync.
Letting a few more sobs wrack my body, I decided to try and call Will to talk about what happened on our anniversary but instead that just made me more upset. Last night, I was tempted to break up with Will. Will had never made me so upset before. At the same time, I love him with all my heart and I wanted to make this work.
As soon as he answered, I could not stop hearing someone giggling in the background and when I asked him who was there, he told me that it was just his friend from school.
After hanging up, I could not stop thinking that he might be cheating on me. Browsing through Netflix, I decided to put on Jumanji. I knew instantly that this movie would make me laugh and hopefully uplift my spirits a little. But then again, so did the thoughts of Julie's generosity and the memory of Caleb and Tori tickling me and spinning Tori around.
Just as the credits started rolling, there was a knock at my door. Jumping off the bed, I turned the handle and flung the door open.
Tori stood standing there, looking freshy showered and dressed, "we are going to go to the food markets if you would like to come."
"I would love too, let me grab my purse."
The markets were beautiful. They were located right near the beach. The stalls were all lined up with bright fruits and vegetables standing out amongst the wooden timber shops and gazebos.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in through my noise as I focused on the mixture of salt and fruity smells wafting through the air and the sound of the waves crashing against the sand.
My eyes shot open as Caleb bumped his shoulder against mine, "are you going to start walking or are you just going to sit there and meditate in the middle of the pathway."
Staring at his amused expression, my lips twitched upwards into a smile, "yeah, whatever Johnson. Keep walking, you are blocking my path."
"Using my last name hey? Just for future reference, I will only respond to heavenly angel or sexy" he smiled, flashing me his perfect teeth.
"As if" I scoffed, following Julie and Tori.
The walk around the markets was really nice. I ended up buying a few little things here and there but compared to Julie's large shop, it looked like nothing.
I snorted in laughter as Julie passed another bag of fruit to Caleb. It was hilarious because Caleb looked like he was about to drop the entire grocery load.
"Let me go and find some bags." Walking around the corner, I accidentally bumped into a lady who I instantly recognised as Will's mum.
"Oh Bianca, how lovely to see you. You look beautiful."
"Thank you! So do you. How is your brother?" I asked, thinking about Will's uncle who is sick.
"He is responding well to the chemo which is a good sign. A few more rounds and hopefully he will be on the mend."
"That is great news, I hope the three days that you and Will spent with him were okay. I know how hard it can be watching someone go through that" I said sadly as I felt my eyes well up.
Her eyes squinted in confusion, "I think you are confused, Will never came with us, he visited for the day and then came home. He said that he had plans with you."
"That is weird, anyway I have to find some bags but it was good talking to you. I will go and see Will this afternoon".
I walked away completely confused. Why would he lie to me about being away for those three days? The more I thought about it, the more my heart sunk. Surely, he would not cheat on me.
I silently walked back to Julie, Caleb, and Tori, "thank god women, give me the bags" Caleb said, snatching them from my arms.
"I cannot feel my fingers! That is enough shopping mum" Caleb complained.
Despite the thoughts running through my head, I could not help but chuckle.
"What took you so long? One more minute and I would have dropped everything!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry, I run into someone."
The ride home was quick and while Caleb and I sat in the backseat, I explained to him what Will's mum had said. The way that he looked at me made me realise that he had come to the same conclusion as I had.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Caleb asked, leaning against my driver's window.
We had just finished packing the fresh groceries away and I was now on my way over to Will's.
"No, he might not even be cheating and I could just be looking into this whole thing too much. There has to be another explanation. I love him Caleb and I know that he loves me. He would not do this so I am just going to go and find out where he actually was"
"Okay, I will see you when you get back."
Once I arrived, the nerves instantly kicked in as I noticed another car in the driveway which I had never seen before.
It is probably just a friend. I kept repeating that phrase over and over again in my head as I made my way up to the front door.
The front door was unlocked so I pushed it open, calling his name out.
I quickly made my way up to his bedroom as I heard his voice. He quickly appeared outside of his bedroom door without a shirt on.
"What are you doing here? I was not expecting you" he said, combing his fingers through his hair.
"I thought I would surprise you, who owns the car out the front?" I asked, walking towards his bedroom.
"It is a friend's car" he replied, grabbing my hand stopping me from walking any further.
"Same friend who was giggling on the phone?" I asked curiously.
"Umm... yes" he asked as if he was unsure about what the right answer was.
"Same friend that you have been working on mysterious assessments with?"
"Yes, Bianca what are you getting at? She is going through some stuff at the moment and I am being a good friend to her".
After hearing a girl sneeze in Will's room, I turned towards him with tears threatening to spill out.
"A good friend hey? Why are you half-dressed when you have another girl in your room Will?" I asked as the tears built up.
Sighing, he pulled his hair in frustration, "you are exaggerating everything"
"Am I? I really hope I am wrong" I muttered quietly, pushing past him, and opening his bedroom door.
Although I had my suspicions, the sight in front of me made me sick.
"Bianca it is not what it looks like" he scrambled towards me.
Staring at the girl who was naked in his sheets made me feel sick. Her clothes were scattered all over the bedroom.
"But I am the one who was exaggerating and I was the one who was losing my mind yet here you are with a naked girl in your fucking bed!" I yelled.
"Why do cheaters always say, 'It is not what it looks like'. I have eyes Will. I can clearly see that you have a naked girl in your bed. Do not tell me that she just appeared out of nowhere" I yelled.
"Who the hell are you?" the mysterious black-haired girl said accusingly.
"Who the fuck are you?" I yelled out.
"I am his girlfriend" she said as if I was already supposed to know that.
I stopped talking and moving and just looked at Will as a sob left my body. "Girlfriend?" I sobbed.
Will did not say anything and instead looked down towards the ground ashamed.
"Well, it looks like we have that in common, I am his girlfriend of one year or should I say ex-girlfriend" I yelled as tears streamed down my face.
I turned around as I heard her screaming at him saying that he said that he loved her and that the last three months were a waste. My heart was shattered and I could feel myself crumbling as tears stained my cheeks. I tried to make excuses and ignoring what was right in front of me this whole time. I never expected him to ever cheat on me, let alone have a secret girlfriend that he had been seeing for the past three months.
All of the times that he had kissed me now felt disgusting and all of the 'I love yous' were now tainted.
"Bianca, wait" Will said running after me, grabbing my arm.
"Let go of me" I screamed, turning around so that I was face-to-face with him.
"I am sorry" he muttered.
"You are sorry? How dare you, Will. How stupid was I to believe that you really did love me?"
"I do love you"
I scoffed, "You would not have cheated and had a secret relationship for three months if you really loved me. I feel so stupid Will! I loved you and I was fully committed to our relationship. I turned down any advances that were made towards me because I thought that we were together and that meant something to me. Why did you not just break up with me? Honestly, I feel so stupid. I gave you so many opportunities to tell me the truth yet you lied to me every time"
I winced as he tightened his hold on my wrist, "I did not want to lose you babe."
"Well, you just did!" I cried, turning away from him.
"Just answer me honestly" I asked as I stood beside the car door, "were you with her when you were supposed to be with your uncle and did you leave me on our anniversary to be with her?"
It only took one look back for my question to be answered and the truth completely shattered my already broken heart.
"You used your uncles diagnosis as a cover? That is so low Will. We are completely over, do not ever speak to me again"
Just as I reversed out of the driveway, I saw the other girl slap Will across the cheek as she walked out of the house.
Tears streamed down my face as I drove home. The driveway was empty and as I turned off the ignition, I slammed my hands onto the steering wheel and let out all of my emotions. I screamed and cried uncontrollably into my hands.
No one was inside as I run towards the bedroom. Once I stepped inside, I saw all of the photos of us together around the room. Running over to the first one, I ripped it off from the wall and threw it on the floor. One by one, the photos came crumbling down. The last photo remained in a picture frame and it was us kissing on our ten-month anniversary. Knowing that he was dating that girl when this photo was taken made me angry and upset. Screaming, I slammed the picture onto the desk face down, making the glass shatter.
The door was pushed open and a pair of arms wrapped themselves around me.
"Shhh, you are okay" Caleb said, walking me over to the bed.
I was hysterically crying at the thought of the betrayal, the idea of his lips against another person and him being intimate with anyone else made me sick.
Caleb never left my side and I eventually feel asleep crying against his tight hold.
Caleb's Point of View
I walked through the front door and instantly heard a shatter. Running up towards the sound of the noise, I could hear Bianca crying.
I could never prepare myself for the sight that was right in front me.
I knew, judging by her reaction, that Will had been unfaithful. I tried to feel angry but all I felt was sadness as I watched the kindest girl break down right in front of me. I could see how much she loved him and how much this was destroying her. It broke my heart to see her like this.
Wrapping my arms around her and dragging her away from the glass, I sat her in between my legs on the bed and held her as she sobbed uncontrollably.
I closed my eyes, not knowing what to do except to hold her. I kept muttering calming words into her ears and eventually she cried herself off to sleep.
Even once she was asleep, I never loosened my hold on her, worried that she would wake up and start crying again.
A few hours later, she started to stir. When she finally woke up, her bright blue eyes were completely bloodshot and her cheeks were stained with the tears that she had shed earlier.
"Hi" I said quietly.
"Hi."
Her voice was hoarse and dry as she reached for the water bottle that she kept beside her bed.
I was not sure whether to ask what happened or to just leave it for now.
"He was cheating on me" she sobbed, looking directly into my eyes.
I pulled her back into my arms, hoping that I would be able to keep her safe. "Come here".
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked cautiously.
She slowly begun telling me what happened and it was taking everything I had not to go over there and knock some sense into him. How could he willingly give up someone as amazing as this girl in my arms right now.
"What an asshole" I groaned angrily as she finished the story.
"I cannot believe I was so stupid. He had another girlfriend, Caleb! It was not just a one-time thing; it was a three-month relationship" she sobbed as my grp tightened around her.
"Hey, you listen here" I said, tipping her head up so that she was looking directly into my eyes, "you are not stupid. If anyone is stupid in this situation, it is him."
"Whenever I had doubts, he would convince me that I was the one in the wrong or that I was just making connections that were not actually there" she said angrily.
Eventually there was a knock on the door, "come on, I think that is for you" I smiled.
"Caleb, I really do not want to see anyone" she sobbed.
"Come on, trust me" I said as I walked her out of the room.
"I was really worried about you" I stated as we walked down the stairs, "so while you were asleep, I made some emergency calls".
Opening the front door, I smiled as Katie, Noah, Drew, and Matt all came through the front door.
"We are going to stay the night" Noah said wrapping his arms around Bianca.
"We are all here" Katie smiled sadly, kissing her cheek.
Matt and Drew both came up and stood in front of her, "and we are not going anywhere".
Katie and Noah have become great friends of mine and it was only now, as I looked around, that I realised how lucky we all were to have such an excellent group of friends.
Bianca put her hands over her mouth as she slid down the wall sobbing.
"How could he have done this to me" she sobbed.
At first, there was just one crystal tear that fell from her eye but that was shortly followed by several more. The tears fell like rain and she let them.