ASHER
My eyes opened the next morning to my phone ringing, showing my manager at the bookstore was calling. I wasn't even awake thirty seconds before I grabbed the device, dropping it in the process. My arm sleepily reached onto the floor, grabbing the phone which was no longer vibrating. A text appeared on the screen once it stopped ringing.
Nora from work: hey. two people called off and we're extremely understaffed and busy. can you come in?
I groaned, my eyes adjusting to the time. It was almost nine o'clock, and I was too comfortable in this warm bed with Camila laying next to me. Sighing, I began typing a response.
Me: sure. be there in 30.
I leaned towards Camila's sleeping body, placing my lips on her cheek before memories of last night came flooding in. Our conversation about Crystal replayed through my half awake mind, giving me a headache. I couldn't believe that I lied to her; I really wished the conversation would have played out differently. I didn't know what to think in the moment, coming up with a response on the spot so Camila would not feel suspicious. But I should have just told her the truth. She likely would have been mad, furious even, but at least I wouldn't be feeling the guilt that was consuming me now. Crystal did stretch the truth though, she lied to Camila too. I didn't try to kiss Crystal, although she told Camila that I did. I was thankful, though sad at the same time given the fact that Camila immediately didn't believe her, and she trusted me. Camila trusted that what Crystal was saying was a lie, which some of it was, and that I did not go to visit her, even though I did. What kills me is that I did go out of my way to see Crystal, and although I felt some strange feelings given the atmosphere in the room, not once did I try to make a move on her. But I still lied to Camila about our second meeting and for that, I felt like shit.
"Hey," I nudged the sleeping girl beside me, who stirred in her sleep as my hand touched her arm.
"Good morning," Camila smiled, though her eyes were still closed. "Why are you up so early?" she asked as she opened her eyes, peeking at the time on her phone.
"Bookstore is understaffed. I got called in." I gulped, trying to hide the nervousness I was feeling.
"Oh, okay." Camila smiled, before nuzzling her face against her pillow. "I'm going back to sleep. I'll see you later."
"I love you," I attempted to smile, though it was hard due to the way I was feeling.
"I love you too." Camila whispered, sitting up and meeting my lips with hers. I wanted to kiss her forever, and not have to leave. I immediately regretted saying yes to picking up this shift, because all I wanted was to spend the day with her and make up for the lies I created only hours before.
"Have a good day at work," she giggled against my lips, her laugh alone making me feel even more regret. I had to tell her the truth, but now wasn't the time. She was happy, she was in a good mood - and I didn't want to mess that up. I knew that eventually I would have to tell her the truth, and I planned on it, but right now just didn't feel right.
"Thanks," I stifled a laugh, but Camila didn't seem to notice as she rested her head on her pillow again, falling back asleep within a matter of minutes. I sighed, collecting myself before I ventured off to the bathroom, where I took a long, hot shower. I hoped the hot water would take my mind off the shame that was consuming me, but it didn't. The longer I stood there, alone with my thoughts, the worse I felt.
It was clear to me that I wasn't going to feel better until I told Camila the truth.
-
I cursed silently to myself as I walked into the bookstore, which was packed with college students. Half the shelves were half empty of textbooks, where employees would normally be restocking. Though like my manager said in her text, two people called off. And as I came up to the empty shelves, I sighed. Today was going to be rough.
After two hours of restocking the empty shelves, I needed a break. There were barely any customers in the store at this point, and I could feel my stomach beginning to ache due to my lack of food this morning. Once my longer than usual shower was finished, I didn't have time to eat anything. Though just as I was getting ready to take my thirty minute lunch break, a familiar head of blonde hair came into view. My eyes widened, as the blonde ponytail bounced as she walked. Why was she here - why was Crystal here, at the University of Pittsburgh's bookstore, when she could have easily gone to the bookstore at the school she attended?
Our eyes locked, a smile forming against her lips as she eyed me up and down. I felt nothing aside from confusion as her feet walked quickly towards me.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked as she approached me, the smile never leaving her face.
"Carlow's bookstore didn't have this book I'm looking for. You got a book for bio ethics?" she asked, her tone completely calm as if this scenario wasn't weird at all.
"Probably," I rolled my eyes. "Why not just order it online?"
"Because I need the book soon, and it would've taken forever to deliver. Plus, Wyatt told me you worked here so I figured why not pay you a visit,"
"You're the last person I want to see right now," I spoke through gritted teeth. I was mad, so mad about the shit Crystal pulled on Camila last night.
"And why's that?" she appeared to be taken aback by my tone. Her smile slowly faded, as my tone became harsher. I could tell she was slightly offended by my change in demeanor, but I didn't care. She's caused enough chaos and stress within the past few weeks, and although I gave her the benefit of the doubt a few times, I was done. I wanted nothing more to do with Crystal, and go back to how things were before - when she wasn't in my life at all.
"You know why," I rolled my eyes, again. "Why the fuck would you pull that shit with Camila last night? Because of you, I lied to her - "
"You lying to your girlfriend, or wife I should say," Crystal scoffed. "Is not my fault. But I was just doing her a favor."
"What favor could you possibly be doing for her?" I asked, shocked. From the way Crystal was acting, it was clear to me that she hadn't changed at all. When we - hung out, she seemed more compassionate and less controlling. I thought that maybe for a second, she had actually changed and was working on becoming a better person. Though as she stood in front of me, without an ounce of sympathy for causing more stress in my life, I could tell that she hadn't changed at all.
"Warning her - "
"Wait," I placed my hands on my face, as realizations began to hit me all at once. Crystal didn't get what she wanted, and that's why she was trying to mess everything up. "Are you trying to sabotage my relationship because I didn't kiss you that day? When I fixed your computer?"
"You tried to kiss me." She laughed, blatantly lying to my face.
"Are you out of your mind?" I raised my voice, earning looks from the few people scattered throughout the aisles. "You know that's not what happened. You read the situation wrong. Not me."
"Maybe you're right, but Camila seems to think different," Crystal tilted her head to the side, biting her lip to stifle a laugh. I inhaled deeply, frustrated at the fact that she was getting amusement out of this.
"What is wrong with you?" I asked. "You know, for a second, I actually thought you might have changed, because you were actually admitting - "
Before I could finish my sentence, and call Crystal out on her sudden change in behavior, I wanted to scream as she cut me off by forcing her lips upon mine. She leaned in so fast, as I was speaking, I didn't even realize what she was doing until I felt the familiar feeling of her lips touching mine. She moved against me, placing her hands on the back of my neck and trying to pull me in closer. I placed my hands on her shoulder in a feeling of panic, pushing her off me before she had the chance to shove her tongue down my throat.
"Crystal!" I nearly screamed, from the immediate shock that struck my entire body. "What the fuck are you doing!"
"I want you back, Asher. I thought I was making that obvious." she stated, her tone still calm as if she didn't just kiss me.
I opened my mouth to speak, though no words came out. I didn't know what to say, as I placed my hand over my mouth. My lips felt numb, my body suddenly feeling cold.
I needed to find Camila. And I needed to tell her the truth, before more things could go wrong. The guilt I was feeling from before only worsened as I turned away from Crystal, walking away from her as fast as I could. I could barely think straight as I walked through the parking lot, trying to find my car. The cold weather outside didn't bother me, despite my lack of layers, as the only thing I was feeling in the moment was the burning feeling on my lips from the familiar touch of Crystal. As I drove away from campus, I knew I was going to be written up for leaving my shift halfway through without reason, but in the moment I didn't care.
I needed to see Camila, and tell her everything.
-
CAMILA
The smell of McDonald's burgers sitting in my front seat made my stomach rumble, as I sat stuck in traffic on this busy Saturday morning. I woke up confused, wondering where Asher was, quickly realizing he was called into work. He left in a rush this morning, so I doubted he ate anything before he left. I had nothing planned for the day, aside from catching up on assignments, so I figured I could take a break from my work and bring Asher some food to tide him over before he ended his shift.
The drive to the University was much longer than usual, given the typical 11AM traffic. Usually I would find frustration in my car being stopped on the highway, though this time I found myself unbothered by the situation and overall, in a good mood. Despite the weird circumstances from last night, I went about my day as if nothing happened. I trusted Asher, and he wasn't giving me any reason to believe that something had actually happened between them. Crystal was making up fake scenarios, to get a reaction out of me for whatever reason. I didn't understand her maliciousness, or why she was trying to hurt my relationship, but it didn't matter. Asher and I were happy, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
I was relieved when I finally pulled into the parking lot of the bookstore, a smile growing as I was excited to see Asher. It was obvious this morning that he didn't want to leave, so I couldn't help but feel excited to surprise him with an unhealthy but delicious meal. He has definitely been stressed out lately, I was noticing, likely due to the amount of credits he was taking. We hadn't been seeing much of each other lately, with my constant busy schedule and his growing schedule. We seemed to only spend time together at night, though at that point we're both exhausted and ready to sleep. So I wanted to make this short time with him count, given I didn't have a clue as to when his shift was supposed to end.
Warmth consumed me as I walked into the bookstore. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I walked into the heated building, away from the freezing temperature outside. The store was slightly busy, so it took me a second to find Asher through the small crowd of people.
But when I did find him, my jaw dropped. The bag of food I was holding fell from my hand, falling onto the floor. I didn't bother to pick it up, not even realizing it fell as I watched the unexpected scene in front of me.
Tears immediately filled my eyes as the picture of Crystal's hand on the back of Asher's neck, her lips pressed to his played in front of me. I blinked, over and over again to try and wake myself up from the possible nightmare that was happening before me. I had to be dreaming, this couldn't be real. Asher promised me that nothing was happening between him and Crystal. He reassured me when I questioned him, and I believed him. I trusted him.
But as I watched his hand travel up towards her shoulders, tears streamed down my cheeks. My hand clamped over my mouth, stopping the sob that was threatening to leave my lips. My head felt like it was spinning, my body numb as I watched the reality in front of me.
Everything he told me was a lie. No wonder he seemed oddly nervous and slightly defensive when I brought up his ex girlfriend. I thought that maybe - just maybe, he didn't like the idea of talking about her, and that could be the explanation for why he was acting so weird.
But it made sense now. He did see her the day classes started. He did fix her computer, and everything Crystal told me only fifteen hours previously had to be true.
I leaned down, grabbing the bag of food I bought for Asher. The smell of hamburgers filled my nostrils, giving me the feeling of wanting to vomit. Before a loud cry could escape my quivering lips, I turned around, throwing the bag of food in the trash on my way out.
The room spun as I walked as fast as my feet could carry me. As soon as the freezing air hit my hot, tear streamed face, my hands gripped the door handle. I stood there for a second, trying to process the last minute and a half - but the only thought circling my mind was Asher.
Asher. Asher and Crystal. Asher kissing Crystal. Crystal kissing Asher. Asher's lies. Crystal's truths.
I walked back to my car in hysterics, loud sobs escaping my cold lips as I walked. I ignored the stares I was receiving from bystanders as I walked back to my car. My hands shook as I fumbled with my keys in attempt to unlock my car, but once I was inside, I screamed. Pressing my forehead against the cold steering wheel, I cried until I had no more tears to give.
Crystal was right - Asher was going to cheat on me, and he did.
I guess the past really does repeat itself.
-
oh my. bad timing huh?