[chapter five]

James told her that it was just a summer thing. He broke the silence after following Betty, they eventually stopped at the alley, away from the parking lot. Away from Augusta

His rushed explanation says a lot about what he did. For some reason, Betty couldn't cry her eyes out.

Summer thing was a stupid reason to pull out and he even dragged Augusta into a total mess.," You took advantage of what you had with Augusta, she is not to blame. You are!" Said Betty while rubbing her chest from pain and total discomfort.

"We were just hugging-

"And kissing! You kissed her!" Said Betty, cutting him off. She streamed her fingers on her scalp and resist crying. Silence filled their distance.

"This is too easy to figure out. This must be the end." Betty suggested while staring at James full of remorse and regret. Betty had no choice but to accept the fall of their relationship.

She couldn't stand everything at once. Ines was right, he is seeing another girl.

"You can't do this to me." James slowly shook his head out of dismay. "Just please... we will fix this-"

"Why would I fix the mess you made!?" Betty was indulging with disappointment and disbelief, the more he talked, the more she was fueled. Their perfect storms brewing in every fiber of her being and she found herself torn between screaming and crying.

He knows that he has to explain more. "I didn't mean to, and the summer thing was just... a silly thing. Trust me." James's words shattered and hesitant to cover them with lies. "You are the one that I like. Despite Augusta, you're the one that I yearn for. I dreamt of you all summer long. And-"

"Clearly you weren't certain! So, was I a rebound all along?"

"Of course not!" James reached for her warm hand. "Would you be so kind enough to calm? We can't talk this out like this." Given that Betty is smart, she would calm herself down. They remained still as well as their gazes.

Betty can't even look at those lying orbs anymore.

"I am not calm. I still am." She broke the silence between them, "I am shattered. And you did this." Betty promised herself before to not cry in front of a man.

Boy. Not a man.

He admitted, "I know. And I can't lose you yet." A small smile crept on his lips as he cooed. "We can't end this yet. I still love you, so much that I could die. Betty, there is more to these problems, and I will fix this to win you back."

"All I ask is for you is to stay. I still have a lot of plans in mind. So many parties to attend while holding your hand. I still have to kiss you on the Poarch in front of our friends. I still have to dance with you at your party-

"And you won't be there." Betty coldly clapped back.

"What if I show up?"

James loves to play with his words. And now it is making sense for Betty how clever his lies were. She had been dumbing all along by being allured how he execute conversations. Every realization, Betty lost a piece of herself. Debris was falling to her shoes as her tears followed.

She could be a sucker for lies. Betty chose not to. "I am done with your wordplay." Struggling a lot to not mumble for she is a cry baby. "I can't just fix this one. Not ever will be."

"I wondered how this agony, that you caused, wounded you as well."

How lifeless it was to face James as of the moment. Completely helpless, cold, and blue. Nothing could warm him but the cardigan that Betty knitted just for him.

"And I think we are done here,'" and in her faintest voice, she declared. Fixing her crimson scarf, she gripped on her belongings and slowly walked away.

For the last time, she fixed her gaze on the cardigan that James wore which turned out to be his favorite thing to wear.

But it was the cardigan that he used to warm Augusta with his embrace.

Betty felt the cold gust in her neck, she forgot to wear her scarf. Her eyes closed to feel the breeze that quivered her senses from crying and ending a bruised relationship. She had no idea why it was quick.

She was feeling everything. It all pushed her to end everything between him. And now she ended up walking alone in their favorite alley. Where she liked her lips to be kissed, and intimate conversations to occur.

Betty could've told him stories about how they won the Pop Quiz. James always affirmed her with words that her ears needed, telling her how smart she is.

That's the thing about illicit affairs, it creates a loophole that destroys everything.

"Maybe I was smart," Betty whispered as she walked which seems like forever.

© Leo Polaris