"Are you alright?" Patrick lumbered into the front door, holding his crushed glasses tenderly in his hands.
"I'm... fine." I could've sworn he was crying, his eyes glossy, scarlet orbs. He rubbed them with the sleeve of his black cardigan. "She's too good for me anyway. Man, she was a bitch."
"I can see that," I agreed awkwardly, gazing down at my shoes.
"Could you do me a favor?" he asked, his voice shaking, making it easy to tell he was about to cry. "Could you get me my contacts from my bedroom? They're on my dresser."
I nodded. "Yeah. Of course." Patrick's room, surprisingly was very clean, his clothes hung up neatly in the closet. And on the dresser, unfortunately, rested a photo frame- of Taylor and Patrick in front of the Hollywood sign. The picture itself saddened me, the mood it was beholding. Patrick was looking at Taylor like she was gold, but Taylor looked away, seemingly ungrateful for the way he loved her. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I throw it away? I knew it would only break him even more. In the end, I ended up carefully tipping the frame over onto the surface of the dresser so it lay face-down. I was so occupied with these thoughts I had almost forgotten why I came in here in the first place. Grabbing the white case containing Patrick's contact lenses, I slowly made my way out of the room.
Patrick sat on the couch, gingerly placing the contacts over his eyes, blinking as he applied them.
"Ow," he winced, rubbing his eyes. I gazed into the corner, my arms crossed against my chest as I sat awkwardly on the couch next to him. I wasn't sure if I was to be silent or give him a hug. Neither felt right.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what she said about you. She always talked about you that way.... I hope you know I never did the same. Whenever I told her to stop.... she..." Patrick swallowed hard and gently took off his fedora, holding it in his lap, revealing his messy golden brown hair. "She talked about my weight a lot. She made me go on long runs.... I never wanted to." That explained his appearance earlier, the breathlessness and panting. I had never seen anybody so hurt before, and it broke me as well.
"Patrick, I'm so sorry. You... you should be happy it's over."
He looked at me with eyes undeniably full of pain. "It's far from over. She'll keep running back to me. She always does. It never ends. She always seems to find a way to mess with my head....." Patrick buried his face in his hands, sighing. "She always manages to find a way to get me back and to make me think that everything's my fault."
I frowned. "Patrick, you were in a toxic relationship. Don't let her control you. She's just a bitch. She shouldn't get in your way anymore, okay?" Getting up to leave, I felt his hand wrap gently around my wrist, causing me to wince in pain.
"Thank you, Melanie- " He frowned, his face laced with concern. "Sorry, did I hurt you....?"
I froze and jerked my hand out of his grasp. "Y-yeah... Just.. a cramp. I'm alright."
"You sure?"
"Yes... Um, I'll leave you alone for a while." I said, not sure what to do, so I gently patted him comfortingly on the shoulder before I disappeared, and could hear his fading voice,
"You're a great friend."
I understand.
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This chapter was super short im sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyhooo thanks so much for all the votes and positive comments. I love you all v much.
- Liesl