Just like I had suspected, the week dragged on. Fortunately I had work everyday so I kept my mind occupied. I hadn't heard from Harry since Sunday when he had humiliated me after breakfast and had barely spoken to Adam either.
My first day off the week was Friday and naturally, I slept in. There was no need to set an alarm when I had no one who wanted to see me. Holy hell, I needed to make some new friends before I went mad.
I contemplated what I could do to reveal whatever it was Adam hid, starting to get more than tired of the situation. An idea slowly formed in mind and I hurried into the kitchen to make a quick salad.
No matter how hard I tried not to, I was feeling upset about what had gone done with Harry. But I had to push it aside for now. I could deal with him later, I knew where to find him.
Once again I cursed at myself for obsessing over Harry. He had been back less than a month and already I'd let him get into my head. My life was perfectly fine before his arrival. Why did he have to mess it up with his annoyingly good looks and cocky yet charming demeanour?
I tossed the salad into a container and put the lid on, shoving it into my backpack. Pulling on my boots, I headed out and drove off towards Adam's office.
He worked at a lawyer firm right outside town, as an intern I might add. He mostly had to do all the boring paper work and serve people coffee, but whenever someone asked what he did for a living, he didn't hesitate to brag about being hired at the firm.
When I parked the car outside the vast building, a nervous rush went through my stomach. I had the salad as a cover, just in case Adam was working like normal. If he wondered why I had come, I'd say it was to bring him lunch. If he wasn't there — I'd bring my stalking game to the next level.
I got out and crossed the car park, wrenching the heavy glass doors open and nodded to the girl sitting behind the reception desk.
"Hello, what can I help you with?" Her hair was tied into a neat bun, not a strand of hair out of place.
"Hi, I'm bringing lunch for my boyfriend. I know which floor his on," I said and held up the plastic container with a smile.
"Of course, go ahead." She gestured towards the lift.
As I waited for it to reach bottom floor, I suddenly got nervous. Feeling distressed, I decided to take the stairs instead. When I reached Adam's floor, I was panting from the effort, having forgotten how far up it was. I leaned back against the door and breathed calmly through my nose.
Get it together, Ella. It's your boyfriend.
I nodded hello to some suits walking by and they cast me curious glances. Coming to a stand outside the door to Adam's so called office, which really was more of a cubbyhole in comparison to the real lawyers' offices, I took another deep breath before I knocked lightly.
After waiting several minutes, making sure he wasn't there, I huffed and pressed the door open with my shoulder while balancing the container in my hands.
When I stepped inside, I froze on the spot and the salad slipped from my hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud. The content flew out all over the reddish brown carpet but I couldn't care less about that.
Because right in front of my eyes, my boyfriend was having sex with someone. His grey slacks were down by his feet and I could see his bare behind as he slammed into the girl. The only thing I could make out of her was a pair of long legs with red heels, wrapped around his back.
They still hadn't heard me, but simply kept going at it, fully committed to the act. The slapping noises from skin hitting skin and her repulsive moans would probably haunt me forever.
I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what I saw before finally remembering how to speak. "What the actual fuck?"
Adam finally realised they weren't alone anymore and stilled his movements. He slowly turned around as if he suspected the worst and I had never seen such a look of horror on someone's face before. "Ella—" he said and quickly moved away from the girl, pulling his pants up in a rushed movement.
"Shut the fuck up, Adam," I snapped and narrowed my eyes at the girl laying on display in front of me.
Heather. Of course. Why was I even surprised?
Not even bothering to say another word, I abruptly turned on my heels and rushed towards the stairs. Taking them two at the time, it was a miracle I didn't fall head down first. I was seeing red with anger. As I reached the glass doors, receiving a baffled look from the receptionist, I heard Adam call for me from somewhere behind. Increasing my speed, I flew out the doors and sprinted to my car.
Just as I grabbed the handle to throw the door open, Adam took a hold of my arm. "Ella, please just let me—"
"Don't you dare fucking touch me with your filthy hands," I screamed and ripped my arm out of his grasp.
He opened his mouth to say something more but I cut him off. "Don't. Whatever you were going to say, just don't."
Adam took a step forward, his face clouded with a range of different emotions. I put my hands against his chest and pushed him away with all the force I could muster, making him stumble a couple of steps back with a shocked expression. "Stay the hell away from me."
As I slammed the door closed and tore out of the parking lot, I couldn't help glancing back in the review mirror. What I saw made my heart stop completely. Heather had come outside and Adam was walking over to her. He didn't even try to follow me. She followed my car with her eyes, a pleased smirk plastered to her lips. When I was about to turn the corner, she rose her hand and wiggled her fingers in a wave of victory.
.
.
The drive from Adam's work took about thirty minutes normally, but I made it home in twenty. When I stepped out of the car and made my way inside, I started to hyperventilate.
Adam had been cheating on me with Heather and I had no clue for how long. The way he had acted the last weeks suddenly made complete sense and everything clicked. His sudden trips out of town with work, bringing home way too much food for one person to eat alone from the café, not being able to see me on days we usually always spent together. . . the text on his phone from "H".
He had been with her every time.
The thought made me sick and I rushed into the bathroom, almost throwing up. But it never came, so I just sat there by the toilet and shook from anger and humiliation. All this time I had been beating myself up for kissing Harry, something that felt pretty innocent all of a sudden. I had even felt bad for treating Adam unfairly by suspecting his behaviour.
Thinking of Harry made tears starting to roll down my cheeks. I hadn't shed a single one since I caught Adam, not even on my way home. But as soon as I thought about Harry and how he had told me to stay away from him, the floodgates opened.
I cried so hard I started to hiccup and then even harder when I realised I couldn't turn to Harry for comfort this time. I was all alone in this. How bad I wanted to pick up the phone and call him, beg him to come over and help me forget about everything.
A small, selfish part of me couldn't help feel this probably was for the best. I had been suspicious of Adam for a while and also doubted our relationship. I'd even considered the thought of breaking up with him.
Now I didn't have to.
What really got to me though, was the fact that Heather was the one to do it for me. She had them both wrapped around her little finger and I hated her for it. Did Harry know about her and Adam? If he did, I had no idea if I could ever forgive him. And how did Adam meet her? Was it when I left HES that night I met Harry outside?
Question after question clouded my mind, making me feel dizzy. I hadn't eaten anything yet today and I was starting to feel weak. Dragging myself up from the bathroom floor, I shuffled out to the kitchen. My phone buzzed like crazy in my backpack and despite not caring about what Adam had to say, I picked it up.
He had called fifteen times and sent twenty texts. I deleted them all and put the phone on silent before I grabbed a left over pizza slice and plopped down in the sofa. Fresh tears welled up as I remembered sitting here with Harry, teaching him the wonders of eating it cold.
I grabbed my phone again and quickly pressed the digits, letting the call connect while biting on my fingernails.
"Hi, Ella!"
Taking a shuddering breath, I smiled. "Hi, Pam."
"Are you alright? You sound weird," Pam asked.
"Uh, not really. I just caught Adam having sex with someone in his office," I said indifferently.
She was silent for a beat, probably going over whether I was being serious or not. "Are you joking? How can you be so calm about this?"
"Trust me, I'm not. I'm fuming with anger and I want to rip that ugly, brassy hair from her head and make her choke on it," I said and took a bite from the pizza slice.
Pam managed a chuckle. "Oh, wow, okay. Shit, Ella."
"Yeah, kind of what I'm feeling, too."
"Hey, are you free tomorrow? I could come by, spend the night? We could talk about it, if you want," she said.
I thought about it for a second and realised I didn't have work all weekend. "That actually sounds great. When can you be here?"
"Around noon? I can bring lunch."
At the mention of lunch, I felt bile coming up and quickly tossed the pizza away. "I'm not sure I'll be able to eat lunch for a while," I sighed.
"Sweetie, are you sure you're okay? You don't want me to get in the car and drive to you right away?" Pam said, worry lacing her words.
"No, no, I'm alright. I promise. I'm going to bed soon, can't stand another second of this day," I muttered.
"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Just give me a ring if you find yourself questioning the meaning of life," she said and I could hear her grin.
I laughed, feeling the tiniest bit better. "Don't worry, it's fine, I'm fine." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince her or myself.
"I love you," she said softly.
"I love you, too. Looking forward to seeing you."
"Same, Ella. Sleep tight."
"Night," I said and hung up.
Even if Pam didn't know much about the relationship I had with Adam, she would be able to help me bring some clarity to the situation. I had a feeling she would be disappointed when I told her about my secret rendezvous with Harry. Which I in all honesty didn't feel that relevant anymore. After finding out what Adam did, the need to share it with him also vanished.