Cleo
Halloween came by in a flash.
It was the evening of, and me, Mila, and Nessa all stood in the living room as we got our pictures taken by Ryland.
I took Nessa's idea of going as a vampire, wearing a velvet maroon bodysuit that had flowy black lace attached to the arms, with a black corset. I wore black lace stockings and black heels that complimented the outfit perfectly.
Mila changed her mind last minute and chose to go as a witch while Nessa wore a cute nurse costume.
I wasn't as excited for tonight like how I was before, but I got an excuse to get out the house and actually hang out with my friends like how I've been wanting to do for a while.
Vinnie decided that he was going to partake in the festivities tonight and dressed up as a vampire as well. He sent me a picture of the makeup he had done and I loved it, but then the question of who did the make up popped up in my head so I asked.
He then proceeded to tell me how his new friend, Melanie, was doing all of the guy's makeup for the Halloween party, so he just asked her.
I didn't speak on it anymore, and chose not to tell Mila or Nessa because I knew their reactions would be way worse than mine. I choose to stay silent about on how I feel whereas they like to confront things head on sometimes.
For the past few days, ever since the movie night, I'd been trying to ignore the joke Kio had made that night, but it kept replaying in the very back of my mind.
"What's got your all caught up in the head." Nessa whispers to me.
We were now sat in the car on our way to the Halloween party.
I shook my head not wanting to ruin the night with my troubled thoughts, and Nessa didn't speak on it again. She just took my hand and kissed the back of it before entwining our fingers together.
The drive to the house was a quick one after we got past some minor traffic. We pulled up to the house and just from the outside, you could tell it was fairly packed with people.
That made my anxiety sky rocket, and all I wanted to do was to find Vinnie and be around him.
We got out the car and Nessa still had our fingers entwined as she led us throughout the house. We were met with most familiar faces and great conversation, which made me feel a little better and more at ease.
It felt like we had been there for like hour before I finally spotted Vinnie.
His tall frame stood across the room, eyes roaming around the place as if he was looking for someone while Kio and Troy seemed to be talking his ears off about something that didn't interest him.
I looked away, as people passed me and began up small conversation before my eyes suddenly made their way back to Vinnie, whose eyes were already set on me.
I saw him whisper something to the boys and they both nodded before he walked away from them, heading directly towards me. "Hey stranger." He smiled, pulling me close to him.
I moved in close to him, not in anyway that would earn looks from the people around us, but in a friendly way.
"Hey... I'm glad I found you, I was really anxious earlier. I don't know, I always get like this at a party but today feels different." I said loud enough for him to hear.
"There's nothing you have to be worried about baby. I'm right here with you. But if you get uncomfortable we can just go home, I'll do anything to make you feel safe." He whispered leaning into my ear. A small smile played at my lips as I pushed him away lightly.
He wore a smirk on his face, which made me shake my head, looking in another direction.
"You look beautiful tonight. The last I saw your wearing heels was when? Your birthday. Aren't your feet gonna hurt?"
"Thank you. And surprisingly these heels don't hurt because they're not like a stiletto kind of heel. They're more on the blocky, platform side. It ties the goth vampire look together way more than a skinny heel." I rambled. I didn't even realize I went on and on about different types of heels to him as if he would even care, ultimately making me feel stupid.
"I'm sorry, I just rambled on about heels to you as if you even care." I say, letting out a awkward laugh.
Vinnie laughs along with me, but he's shaking his head.
"Cleo, I don't mind baby. Nothing you ever say would not be worth listening to. I love your voice, and your rambling. It's cute." He reassured me. I leaned into his body more, my head now laying against his chest as I listened to him hum along to the song that was playing in the background.
That was until a somewhat familiar voice spoke, making me go tense as I pulled away from Vinnie.
There Melanie stood, her dark hair falling down past her shoulders in loose curls. She stood a bit taller than me, but she was wearing heels that gave her more height than me.
I hadn't even noticed but she had fake blood stained on her face and on her neck. She smiled a toothy grin which showed the fake vampire fangs she wore. "Hey, I'm Melanie." She spoke, a slight attitude to her voice.
I stared at her for what felt like forever, but I ended up stuttering out an introduction:
"I-I'm Cleo."
A scoff fell from her lips, but eyes widen in fake surprise. "Oh! Cleo! You're Vinnie's friend, he's mentioned you once... or twice I'm not sure, how can anyone pay attention to a word that comes out his mouth when he looks as good as he does 24/7." She joked, grazing a hand on my arm.
I flinched away from her touch, which only made that smirk come right back.
This whole interaction made me forget that Vinnie was even here behind me. "Hey Melanie, I was looking for you earlier." He says, practically ignoring my existence now.
"I was helping the other girls get ready with their make up and stuff after I got you ready."
I stood there in silence as the two of them talked each other's ear off.
I was jealous, and insecure with her standing in front of me and I knew I shouldn't be but I couldn't help it. Melanie was an intimidating girl, she was beautiful... She was everything I knew Vinnie would like.
Maybe you're being dramatic?
Or maybe I'm not.
"So Cleo... what are your supposed to be? I'm getting a witchy vibe. Something cute like that." Melanie says, turning the attention towards me.
"I'm actually a vampire. My friend Nessa came up with this idea for me an- Um just me." I explained, stopping myself.
"Oh... we'll your rendition of it is... It's cute? Vinnie brought up that he was going to be a vampire and I just thought it would be cool if we dressed up together since we've been spending a bit of time together. He's a great guy to be around." Melanie gushed, holding onto Vinnie's arm now. That familiar pain I felt in my heart after being hurt so many times just seemed to find its way back after almost a year.
I felt myself sulk as she spoke, and Vinnie couldn't even do anything to cover himself. She was laying it all out for me to know and I was hurt.
I couldn't pretend to be okay anymore.
"I'm gonna go." I said just above a whisper before walking away fast through the crowd.
I heard Vinnie call after me but I was already pushing my way through the crowded house of people. I tried to find Mila, Nessa, Dixie, Riley... anybody but everyone had gone off to do what they came here to do: have fun.
Yet I was here, on the verge of tears in someone's fucking driveway.
I sat there on the curb, trying to open the Uber app with teary eyes. After multiple failed attempts, I finally cleared my eyes and got it opened, typing in my address.
I was close to pressing the confirm ride button when Vinnie came running out of the house towards me.
"Cleo! Can we please talk about this, please." He begs me.
"What is there to talk about? Nothing at all. If all you're going to tell me is that she's just your friend over and over again then I don't want to hear it Vinnie. I don't."
"But that is all she is. I wouldn't hurt you intentionally, Cleodora. I've told you this so many times."
"We'll you already did! Do you know how fucking hard it was to sit there and act like I didn't want to fucking scream and cry in there hearing her talk about you like if she's your girlfriend. 'Vinnie's a great guy', 'we've been spending a lot of time together', 'I thought it would be cool to dress up together.' All of those things she said, and you just stood there not saying a fucking word." I yelled.
"What did you want me to say Cleo? That we're together? Because I can't! You made that very clear when we started this relationship that no one could know. So what did you want me to do?" He yelled back.
"Fucking something! You don't have to tell her that you're taken, say you aren't fucking interested because you aren't! Or at least I thought. Maybe you do want her, the hell if I know."
"You know that's bullshit. I wouldn't be out here with you if I wanted Melanie. I care about you Cleodora. Why can't you see that?"
"Because I don't fucking trust you Vinnie! I had so much faith that this was going to work out but how do I know you're really all in?! How do I know that Kio's joke the other day was really just a joke? I don't know and I will never know!" I screamed.
For a moment I regretted telling him that I didn't trust him.
But in the moment it was what felt right. I can't just bottle up my feelings anymore when I'm actually hurting. I care about Vinnie a lot, and I want this to work but he has to give me something to work with. He can't just go m.i.a on me and expect me to not be bothered at the fact that when he comes back he has this new "friend" who acts like she's in love with him.
"So w-what does that mean for us, Cleodora." The way my name rolls of his tongue isn't like the other times that he says it. This time it feels more malicious, and like he can't bother to even say it.
And I can't lie, it hurts.
"I-It means... that I'm going home. You can stay here and have fun with your friends but I'm leaving. We can talk like adults tomorrow when we aren't so mad, but not right now. Not tonight." I stutter out.
With that he gives me one last look before walking inside the house.
I ordered the Uber, and it came within a few minutes. When I got in the car, a piece of me definitely wished that Vinnie would come running back out for me but he didn't.
And that left me in a place of discomfort for the rest of the night.
-
The next morning I woke up with a minor headache.
The events of last night replayed in my mind and all I wanted to do was call Vinnie and tell him that I was sorry and overreacted about last night. Tell him that I let my emotions get the best of me and all.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it and so I didn't.
I sat in my bed for the majority of the morning, until it was 10 am. That's when I got a knock on my door, and Mila came in with a serious look on her face.
The smile I once wore diminished instantly.
"What? Why're you looking at me like that?" I started.
"Cleo, I have to tell you something. I wanted to tell you last night but you were sleeping when I got in and I couldn't wake you up out of your sleep. It just didn't feel right." She says. She was very cautious with her words and it alarmed me, truly.
My heart was beating in my chest at an increased rate and I was just preparing myself for whatever she had to say.
"W-What? What is it, just say it Mila."
"O-Okay. U-Um last night after you left, Vinnie stormed back into the party and he looked really heated. We didn't know what was going on so we asked him where were you and he just said that y'all got into an argument and you left." She tells me.
I nod my head, vividly recalling the argument and everything that took place.
"We'll, we asked him what were y'all arguing about and he said it didn't matter anymore because y'all were done." My eyes widened as I looked at her.
"Excuse me? I told him we would talk today because we were obviously so angry yesterday what the fuck? I never called it off and neither did his so what is he going on about?" I say angrily. Mila shrugs her shoulders as she continues: " I don't know, but that's what he told me and Ryland. But the next thing I knew was he started drinking a bit, not too much to be completely black out but enough and..." She takes a long pause looking at me as if I'm supposed to know what happens next.
"What Mila?"
"H-He left with Melanie last night. One moment they were next to us and talking to each other and then the next moment they were gone sneaking upstairs. That was the last time we saw them before we ended up leaving." She finished.
In that moment I felt my whole world come crashing down onto me.
I felt betrayed, I felt lied to... I felt played.
Everything Chris had told me about Vinnie just started popping up in my head, Kio's joke popped up into my head, everything Melanie told me herself just played in my head on a loop.
I didn't realize it but I was crying.
Tears soaked my cheeks as I cried into Mila's arms. The worst of the worst thoughts popped up into my head and I didn't know what to do. I was lost.
"P-Please j-just leave me alone f-for a few Mila. I just w-want to be alone." I cried into her arms. "I can't do that Cleo. And I won't. You don't deserve this and you need someone here with you. Please just let me be here for you." She pleaded.
I just nodded my head, and continued to cry as we laid down onto my bed.
I cried for what felt like hours, recalling all the talks I had with Vinnie, recalling everything he's ever told me.
Everything just felt like a lie now.
The sound of the doorbell is what brought me back to reality. Mila looked at me, before getting up and walking out the room. I heard her mumble a "oh you have to be fucking kidding me," before she opened the door to let whoever it is in.
"You shouldn't be here. Not after last night. You fucking left with Melanie and that's the last we see of you yet you come here the next day as if shits all fucking peachy keen. Cleo is crying over you. Fucking sweet Cleodora who practically worships you, is crying over you because you couldn't keep your simple promise of only having eyes for her. You don't deserve her. You never did." I heard Mila yell from in the living room.
"L-Let me see her, Mila. I need to explain to her p-please." He begged.
"See her for what?! To tell her you're sorry? She doesn't need an I'm sorry she needed you to be real yet you couldn't do that! What the fuck, Vinnie!"
"P-please just let me see her and I'll be gone. Please I just w-want to talk to her." He begged again. This time I didn't hear Mila speak. I only heard footsteps shuffle towards my bedroom before my once cracked open door was swung open revealing Vinnie.
He looked completely disheveled, eyes red and hair all over the place. He looked like he had been crying but I wouldn't know.
"C-Cleo." He says, voice cracking halfway.
"What did you do." I whispered. "W-What are you talking about?"
"I said what the fuck did you do Vinnie? Did you fuck her? Did you go upstairs and get what the fuck you wanted? Since apparently we're done? Did you have fun? Was it fucking worth it." I yelled throwing the pillow from my bed at him.
"No! I didn't fuck her, I wouldn't do that to you Cleo I told you that so many times. I would never-"
"You would never hurt me. Yeah I fucking know, you've said that a lot recently but it's all bullshit isn't it. One big fucking lie." I sneered. "It was never a lie, I only care about you."
"So what happened Vinnie? You went upstairs and what? Played patty cake? Talked about your hopes and dreams? I wanna know."
"N-Nothing happened."
"No! You don't get to keep shit from me now. Not right now. You're going to tell me what happened. What? You say you didn't sleep with her so then what? Oral sex? You kissed her?" I jabbed, throwing anything out there to see if one would stick.
The only thing that seemed to was the kiss.
"You kissed her. And what was last night the only time?" I was now talking lowly. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't find the courage to do it right in front of him. Tears brimmed the edges of my eyes, yet they refused to fall.
They only clouded my vision.
"Was that the only fucking time." I yelled, my voice breaking halfway through.
He shook his head, tears now falling from his eyes as he looked at me. "Cleo, please let me explain." He whined.
"No, no, no. I-I can't believe it. I let you get to know me, I let you meet my fucking mom. I trusted you! I fucking trusted you and you cheat on me like every other fucking douchebag in my life. Chris was right about you! You're nothing but a player! This was a game to you, I was a game to you." I cried pointing at myself.
"Y-You were never a game. I messed up... I'm sorry." He cried. But I could no longer look at him.
I didn't see him the same anymore.
Someone I once trusted was now a stranger to me. He wasn't worth remembering anymore.
"Get out. Go, now. We're fucking done. And I mean it. Don't call me, don't come over here again because I won't be here. I'm done."
Vinnie doesn't say a word. He just stands in the middle of my room, face red and cheeks stained with tears.
"I'm sorry I hurt you Cleo. I never meant to." He says one last time before he leaves my room.
-
well... would you believe me if I told you I cried while writing the fight scene?
It was a bit emotional, had to tap into some real feelings I once had and brought it all out and put it into our dear Cleodora.
sadly cleodora and vinnie have broken up after dating for 2 months ( in private ) but now this is where the real story gets to develop more. cleo and vinnie are going to have to be dealing with a heartbreak while trying to maintain their social media lives. no one knows they've dated besides immediate friends, so the usual subliminal messages and instagram captions will have to be on hold as they operate their 'normal lives'
i hope you enjoyed this chapter!
give it a share, comment or a vote?
ilysm and thank you all.
mwah😘💖