Athena felt the tears drip down her cheeks as she was quickly deleting pictures of her and her now ex-fiance, Teddy, from Instagram. It was a hell of a day and the pain she was feeling in her heart felt like it would end her at any moment.
Once satisfied, which included her unfollowing and blocking him, Athena tossed her phone to the side and curled into a ball on her couch. The only sounds in her apartment were those of her loud sobs from the heartbreak she was experiencing.
She wanted so badly to call her sister, Arty, to pour her heart out to, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She was embarrassed with how much she had defended Teddy so blindly, even when her sister pointed out how much of a piece of shit he was at times, and how she didn't listen. Arty also had her own relationship issues going on with her elusive boyfriend, Joey. She didn't want to add her drama into the midst.
Teddy and her got into an argument just hours prior over her continued plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. He wanted her to be a housewife, someone who looked pretty, gave him kids, and was ready for sex whenever. When they first met, he was kind and playful, studying with her their first year together as undergrads and walking her back to her dorm late from the library. That Teddy? He was gone.. Buried by a man now reunited with his own toxic family (hers being no better) and molding into a version of his father, a cold and calculating man who cared about little but money, power, and his reputation.
When Athena expressed her desire to work and wait to have kids until she was steady in her career, he had called her selfish and ridiculous. The strain of their relationship in recent months was becoming too much and Athena told him, "I don't know who you are anymore. Something has changed and it isn't me. It's you. You're so cold and heartless anymore. You only care about yourself!"
Teddy scoffed at that and replied sarcastically, "Says the girl who can barely answer her phone half the time or is too busy studying to stay over.. Yet, can follow NFL players and get them liking her photos and commenting on shit!" He threw back cruelly. "I must not be entertaining you enough if you have to go for a fucking dumb jock with 2 brain cells."
Athena recoiled in confusion at the accusations.. Her brain trying to make sense of it. "What the fuck are you talking about? What NFL player? And I am fucking busy studying and working! I am a teaching assistant and oversee the grading of four undergraduate courses!"
Teddy ignored the second part, focusing only on the first. "Get fucking real, Athena.. Nick Bosa? Name ring a bell? Always liking photos of yours, commenting stupid shit, and then you like and comment back. I'm not fucking stupid!"
Athena glared back at him, suddenly over it all. She was exhausted. Sick of the ridicule, sick of the snide remarks, sick of defending him, and sick of saying nothing. "You know what? You're delusional and insecure, and I am fucking sick of defending you." She yanks the ring of her ring finger and thrusts it into his chest, letting go of it and watching him scramble to catch the engagement ring. "Until you can be a man and stop acting this way, come find me. I fell in love with Teddy Radcliffe, the guy who walked me home at night from the library, not Ted Radcliffe, the man who wants to imitate his father. Good night, Ted, you can see yourself out."
She didn't give him a chance to retort and stormed off to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.
She heard the front door slam shut as she slid to the floor in tears.
As she kept replaying the argument and the events leading to this, she didn't realize her phone was buzzing with notifications.
Finally, after what was probably the fifth notification, she checked her phone and saw she had a few DMs from Nick Bosa of all people.
She couldn't be mad at him. He did nothing wrong. Sure, he was a bit flirty at times in his comments, but never inappropriate. She felt she was to blame for entertaining him because of her own relationship issues.
Opening the messages, she was surprised to see a series of messages from him. They had talked a few times prior in relation to their older siblings and stuff, so she felt comfortable talking with him. It never got to be too much or anything that Teddy assumed..
Nick Bosa
Hey wanted to slide in and say 'hi'.
I saw you've been taking down pics of your fiance.
I know we don't really know each other that well, except through Arty and Joey, but I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing.
Breaks up can be fucking hard to deal with.
I'm here if you wanna talk sometime.
She smiled at that and bit her lip as she thought about how she could respond.
Athena Thermopoli
Hey. Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate it.
It's been pretty rough.. I broke off my engagement with my fiance. We just couldn't see eye-to-eye on things and it wasn't healthy anymore to be in that situation.
Nick Bosa
Glad you stood up for yourself. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but with time it'll get better. I got out of a relationship a few months ago and it was rough. I wish it had ended differently, but I had to learn to move on.
For what it's worth, you seem like a sweet person and if he couldn't respect you or treat you right, then he wasn't the right guy.
Athena dried her tears and typed back.
Athena Thermopoli
Well he was so sure that you and I had something going on because he claimed that you like all of my photos (the ones without him in it) and we apparently 'flirt' too much in my comments section...
Nick Bosa
XD what a fucking idiot. No offense, you're a beautiful woman, and absolutely a top 5 in my eyes, but I wouldn't try to slide in your DMs while you're in a committed relationship. That's not my style. I don't know the full story of your relationship, but it sounds like he's a guy that only worries about himself and his needs more, and has some insecurity issues.
Athena Thermopoli
He for sure did. I couldn't even go to get coffee with my graduate classmate who was a guy - a gay guy at that - without him being up in arms over it. It was exhausting.
Nick Bosa
Sorry you dealt with that. That's bullshit.
Speaking of coffee, hopefully I'm not coming off as being too forward, did you want to meet sometime and get a cup with me? It doesn't have to be a date - especially since you just got out of a long term relationship. Just two people, who have psychotic older siblings that are dating each other, getting to know one another?
Athena Thermopoli
OMG! XD the fucking drama between those two. They're meant for one another - I swear! And yeah, absolutely. I'm actually up in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow to see my friend who just had her baby. Are you back in Florida still?
Nick Bosa
1.They are fucking crazy, aren't they? 2. Congratulations to your friend! 3. Yep. I'm free all day. Whatever time works for you, works for me.
Athena bit her lip to contain her smile, feeling a surge of excitement rush through her over the fact that he not only invited her to get coffee but was equally as eager to meet up.
Confirming the details with him, she decided to clean up, get something to eat and head to bed early since it was an exhausting evening. Her heart was still aching and she had to fight the urge in the shower from crying again.
Heating up her leftover pasta from last night, she checked her phone again, seeing another DM from Nick, this one saying, "I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I hope you have a great night. Here's the location of the place." He added the address for her and she sent him a heart emoji back, telling him "Good night, Nick!"
Putting her phone down, she dug into her bolognese, mulling over what she was going to wear tomorrow. Who knew what talking to Nick might lead to. He was very attractive and unapologetically masculine in how he carried himself. When he requested to follow her a few months back, she had no idea who he was. She didn't even know who Joey was really, and he was dating her sister! She couldn't deny it, and maybe it was her being fresh out of a relationship that was making her feel this way, he was insanely attractive to her. Looking back at some of his pics on his Instagram, she felt a rush of excitement course through her at the thought of seeing him in-person tomorrow... and she had a gut feeling that it was going to lead to more than she was anticipating.
Pushing that thought down and into the back of her mind, she thought to herself, 'It's just meeting a friend - not a date. You just got out of a relationship. This will be nothing more than just us becoming friends.'
What she didn't know is that an impromptu trip to Napa in a few weeks time would be setting her up for an entirely different outcome with Nick Bosa.. neither knew that just yet.