Brynn nodded her head and turned on the highway to take me home. About fifteen minutes later, she pulled up to my house. She put the car in park and turned to me.

"Do you want me to stay?" She asked.

"Go enjoy yourself. Aiden will be waiting for you anyway." I wiped at my cheeks to remove the tears that clung to my face. I felt so numb that I didn't even realize I was crying.

"Riley, why does Ezra think you and Aiden are messing around?" She asked, looking at her hands on the steering wheel. She looked a bit shaken too. I was too wrapped up in myself that I didn't even notice she looked hurt too. Ezra's jealousy even affected my relationship with my best friend.

"I'm not sure. He has this thing about Aiden and me that he won't let go of. Maybe it's because we are so comfortable together?" I suggested.

"You would tell me if anything had happened between you two, right?" She asked.

"Brynn, Aiden and I have never been together. We have been friends for a long time." I tried to reassure my best friend.

"Yeah, I guess I know that." She smiled back. "I'm sorry, I see how you two are together and I get a little jealous too. He really cares about you."

"I would never hurt you, Brynn. We don't think of each other that way. Now go enjoy your man. I'm sorry my drama ruined your night. Thanks for taking me home." I tried to send her a smile, but it didn't extend to my eyes. I got out of the car and walked towards my house. I pushed the door open and ran up the stairs without stopping to talk to my parents.

"Riley, peanut." My Mom yelled as I walked past her.

I didn't respond.

I slammed the door to my room shut and slid down the back of the door. Tears were pooling in the corners of my eyes. These would be the last tears I give to Ezra Miller. I promised myself even though I knew inside. I would never stop crying over him. I grabbed my phone and looked down at the screen that had constantly been buzzing since I left Bannon's. I had 10 voicemails from Ezra and about 30 text messages. I deleted them all without listening or reading them. I turned my phone off. I was done talking to anyone else tonight.

"Honey, is there something wrong?" Mom asked, knocking softly on my door.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just a horrible headache. I'm going to bed." I pulled myself up from the door and went to my dresser. I pulled out some leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. My skin felt dirty and I wanted to cover myself up as much as possible to hide away the shame.

"Ok, sweetie, if you need anything, please let me know." She didn't sound convinced, but she knew not to push when I was like this. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I just wanted to be alone with myself.

I changed out of the uncomfortable catsuit and threw it in the garbage, I wanted to burn it and every other piece of clothing I wore around Ezra.

I climbed into my bed, covering myself with my big comforter. Maybe I would suffocate underneath it. No one would notice I was missing if I decided to close my eyes and never come out of my room again.

Ezra had played me perfectly like I was just another string on his guitar. I bent to his will, giving him anything he wanted with one brush of his fingertips.

I was so stupid.

My first instincts about him were spot on. I wished I would have listened to myself that first night. Instead, I chased after him willingly. He was a master manipulator. He even had me convinced I was throwing myself at him when he was the one always in control.

My thoughts were becoming too dark. I needed to sleep the feelings away.

"Snap out of it." I told myself as I laid in my bed with my eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Be a big girl and pull yourself together."

Ezra did not earn my tears, but I gave them to him anyway. Just like I gave him my body and heart. I would have given him anything he wanted and he stood there laughing at me as he pushed my head under the water. He would let me come up for a breath and I would beg for him to push me under again.

All night I had nightmares of the girl with the nose ring on top of Ezra. He had a smile on his face and his icy blue eyes stared at me while I watched him take her. I woke up sick to my stomach and barely made it to the bathroom. The images were horrifying, they stayed stuck inside my mind and I could see them every time I closed my eyes.

I picked up my phone and turned it back on. I was surprised to see my history was full of missed calls, texts, and voicemails from Ezra. He must have found time to call me in between his marathon sessions with little miss nose ring.

I deleted every voicemail and all his texts again.

Answering Ezra back would be letting him in again. I was not going to give him a chance to try to break me down. I didn't have much control over myself when it came to him. Getting past this would take space and time.

I spent the rest of the day in bed. My Mom came in and checked on me a few times. I told her I was just drained and didn't feel well. She told me if I needed anything to let her know. I didn't want company right now, so I made up my mind I wouldn't be calling her.

The only time I got up all day was to use the restroom, my stomach was still churning and I felt like I could throw up any second.

Ezra continued to blow up my phone.

The asshole left me 20 voicemails and sent another 30 texts. I deleted every single one of them.

Aiden and Brynn sent me a few messages checking in. I sent them back a lot of one-word replies before deciding I was done and would not answer anymore. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts.

I woke up the following day when my phone went off again.

JD: What happened? Why are you not answering your phone?

Me: Nothing.

JD: You beat the shit out of that girl. It didn't look like nothing.

Me: She started it.

I wasn't going to give him the whole story since I never told him about my relationship—correction—my past involvement with Ezra. No one in their right mind would call what we had an actual relationship. He just fucked me because I was conveniently available and willing.

The little bubbles popped up again on the screen as JD crafter a reply.

JD: People suck. Come over tonight. Everyone's been asking where you are.

I started typing my answer without even pausing to think about it.

Me: Nope.

I threw the phone to the corner of my bed and started to get up. I heard the phone buzz again, but I wasn't in the least bit interested in what JD had sent back.

I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I reached my hand in the water to make sure it was scalding hot. I had to work today and didn't have the option of staying in my bed hiding. I was starting to smell pretty fragrant from the vomiting and lack of taking care of my personal hygiene.

When I got out of the shower, I noticed I had a new message from JD and three new messages from Ezra. I deleted them and then did what I should have done yesterday.

I blocked Ezra's ass.

I was done with him and his bullshit.

At work, I just went through the motions. I'm not sure if I even had one thought that went through my brain. The sixteen-year-old girl who had dropped the sauce bucket was working with me today. She was blabbing on and on about some girl at her summer school and how she got caught in the bathroom with a foreign exchange student. I smiled at her and said, "wow," too many times. I wasn't paying much attention to her story. I felt kind of bad. She was nice and deserved someone to talk to who could actually form a sentence.

"Riley," My manager roared, snapping me out of my daze. "You messed up another pizza. They didn't want onions on their supreme. Are you even paying attention to what you are doing?"

I looked down and saw I had placed heaping handfuls of onions on the pizza. Doesn't everyone order onions on their pizza? It felt like it anyway.

"I think you need to go take a break. Splash some water on your face and be back in 10 minutes. What is with you today?" He shook his head in disbelief.

I dropped the handful of onions back in the bin and went to the back to clear my head. Now this situation was even getting me in trouble at work. I had to find a way to get over this fast. My current coping mechanism was not really working for me.

I came back from break to finish out my shift. I messed up five more pizzas before my manager screamed at me to clock out and go home. I stormed to the lockers and grabbed my things, not even pausing to wash my hands. I slammed the locker shut and stomped out the front door past a woman and her crying child. I didn't even stop to smile at her like I would normally have done under different circumstances.

A couple more days passed in a daze, I didn't hear from Ezra and everyone else had gotten tired of me not answering them back, so they all eventually stopped calling and texting me. I was turning into a little old cat lady without the cats. I spent my time sitting in my room, talking to myself, reading books, and staring at the walls.

I somehow managed to catch some sort of stomach bug. I'm not sure where since I never went anywhere other than work. It started when I was prepping the pizza sauce for the shift. I opened the can and leaned over the prep trash can and lost what little I had in me. The smell was too much for me.

I chalked it up to the stress I had been under. My obsessive thought could never handle stress well. My immune system was bound to be run down since I wasn't taking very good care of myself. I ended up with a migraine that lasted me for four whole days. It kept me in my room with my lights off and my head tucked underneath a blanket, trying to drown out the noises in the house. I even called into work because I couldn't move.

As much as I wanted to forget Ezra, he was always there in the back of my mind. I went through the motions at work when I finally went back, I smiled at the right times when customers came in, and then I went home to hide in my fortress of solitude.

I ended up just sleeping a lot.

My Mom sent my Dad to come to check on me periodically. I had yelled at her to leave me alone so many times that she finally gave up and sent him, knowing I wouldn't treat him the same way.

JD and Anna both tried to call me again a few days later, but I hit ignore and went back to sleep.

Brynn called me and I sent her straight to voicemail. Aiden called me a few seconds later and I finally just turned my phone off. I decided at that moment I would never turn it back on again.

I made it another full week and a half without seeing anyone other than the people I worked with or my parents. I was getting really good at avoiding people. I still hadn't turned my phone back on either. There was no one I wanted to talk to. I found comfort in my new routine. I got up, got a shower, went to work, came home, and went to sleep. Lather, rinse and repeat. This was how I was going to cope with this. I was going to hide away from the world. I would hide until Ezra Miller went away.