19th february 2015
16:56
It was a Friday afternoon and Stevie was sat at the kitchen island of her family home, working on her calculus homework. She was starting to feel somewhat uneasy about the lack of effort that she was putting into her schoolwork, especially as she was still yet to hear back from her first choice University.
Her phone buzzed on the table beside her. Seeing that it was from Timothée, she was initially going to ignore it and reply once she had finished her work, however, the message had an underlying tone of immediacy, making Stevie wonder whether he was going to invite her up to Canada to visit him on set for the weekend.
Can I talk to you please?
She unlocked her phone immediately and pressed the call button on Timothée's contact. The dial tone sounded twice and then his voice appeared at the other end.
"Hello?" Timothée answered.
"Hi, babe. What's up?" Stevie rushed out, trying her hardest not to let the excitement show in her voice. "I just got your text."
"Hey, yeah." He responded quietly. "I just needed to talk to you about something."
"Okay." Stevie nodded, unaware of the situation unravelling before her. "Go for it."
Stevie heard Timothée inhale deeply and after a few moments of silence, his voice came back. "I'm breaking up with you."
Stevie scoffed, audibly surprised. Her mouth hung open in shock momentarily until she found the courage to respond. "I'm sorry... you're what?"
"It's just... It's not working." He elaborated. "Like... We're just in two completely different worlds, Stevie." She tried her hardest not to wince as he used her real name, as opposed to his personal nickname of Stef.
"I'm very confused right now... I don't... get what you mean?" She furrowed her brow. He had caught her completely off guard. "Two different worlds? As in what?"
"As in I'm going to be famous." He fired back at the girl. "I'm going to make something of myself. You... You're not. You're just some kid in high school. You don't have a clue about anything."
Stevie moved quickly from the kitchen into her bedroom. She needed a sense of security as this situation unfolded. "Never mind the fact that you were just some kid in high school literally less than 12 months ago. This shit doesn't add up, Timothée. Like what the fuck? Where has this even come from? I literally saw you 3 weeks ago and we were fi—"
"Let's be real, Stevie." He interrupted her, scoffing in arrogance at her words. "I was never just some kid in high school. I've been acting professionally since I was 14 years old. You, on the other hand... You've never once tried to make a name for yourself outside of your brother's shadow." Stevie was at a loss for words now. The malice laced in Timothée's tone was enough to bring bile up in the back of her throat.
"Listen, Stevie. You just need to forget about me." He started once again, not even giving her a chance to talk. "Trust me, I've already forgotten about you. I'm going to do something great with my life and you... You're going to live off of your Mom and Dad whilst you work at some entry level politics job or something..." He paused for a moment, almost as if he was considering whether or not to continue, but when he did, his words cut deep. "Come on... We both know that you were never going to become a singer."
This comment ignited a fire in Stevie's stomach that finally gave her the courage to fight back. "Why are you being such a fucking asshole?" She snapped at her now ex-boyfriend. "Okay. You don't want to be with me anymore, that's fair enough, but there is no reason to be so fucking rude to me about it. Don't make me hate you."
Stevie couldn't be sure, but it sounded almost like Timothée was laughing on the other end of the phone. "Honestly Stevie, I don't really care what you think of me. I haven't for a long time now. I just need this to be over."
"What?" She asked, her voice confident as her whole world fell apart. "The relationship or the phone call?"
"Both."
"Well..." Stevie was speechless. She was completely baffled. Had she really meant that little to him? Had their relationship really meant that little to him? A measly 2 minute phone call to put an end to three years together. "You know that once we hang up this call that it's over? Right? You know that? Once we put this phone down you will never hear from me again. I will never speak to you again. It will be like we never even met. You can't go back on this. Once it's done, it's done. Forever."
Timothée was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, I know that."
"Fuck you." Stevie laughed maniacally at how insane this whole situation was and hung up the phone. She threw herself back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She waited for the tears, but nothing came.
Stevie took a deep breath, her chest shaking as she exhaled. What the fuck had just happened? How dare he do that to her?
For the last 6 months he had kept her on a string, constantly wondering what he was doing, wondering when she'd see him next, wondering when he would call her back. Her mind started to wonder. Was there someone else? Someone with a lifestyle more similar to his? Someone that wasn't as much work as she was?
Stevie thought about his words again.
Forget about me. Trust me, I've already forgotten about you.
Unfortunately for him, she was going to try her hardest to make that extremely difficult for him.