Theo

I huff in exasperation at my unbearably boring act of lying on the bed, and then realise that the movement I have heard in the house in the past two hours means I can commit to the plan I have cooked up. It must be Eliza, I think to myself, and not Rosanne. Because surely Rosanne would come and talk to me to see if I have let her dirty little secret slip to her daughter.

I am motivated to head to Eliza's room, but not before staring straight into space and internally kicking myself before doing so. I can only hope that I don't say the wrong thing, or something that will make me sound and look like an even bigger dick than I already do.

I knock on the closed door to the response of sheer silence, which slightly excites me into thinking that there is a possible chance she is not in, and I can go in quickly and do what I aim to.

I open the door softly, to be greeted by absolute darkness, but I am shocked to switch on the light and discover the figure of Eliza sitting still on her sofa. She doesn't turn to look at me.

"Um, hey. Sorry, I thought you weren't here. But, um... I know you hate me, but I really need to use the computer. Please." She still doesn't look at me, and outrageous concern flows throughout my body, mixed with the fear that Cooper told her my blackmail approach toward him. I would definitely get kicked out after that, I think to myself. "Eliza?"

"I thought it would work this time," she says quietly.

"You thought what would work?"

"Me. And him. I thought we were going to try harder." She wipes her eyes, which instils the knowledge in me that she is crying. My heart sinks, as I think to myself how similar this is to my dream.

"Aren't you?" I ask, moving closer to her.

"I was. I thought he was too but-- Why the hell am I even telling you this? You don't care about me."

"That's not true."

"Don't lie to me. You told me yourself."

I purposely avoid her last words, at the hopes of rectifying myself later on. "So what did Cooper do?"

"I'd rather not tell you, so you can gloat about it."

"Eliza, do you really think I'm that bad of a person?" The silence in the room confirms the answer I don't want to hear. "Okay, don't answer that. I'm not though, just so you know."

"So why did you use me just to stay in this house?"

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did. That's what you told me, Theo. Today. Do you suffer from memory loss as well as asshole syndrome?"

"Eliza, I didn't--I--Look, we can talk about that after, but I just want to know that you're alright first."

"I'm fine. So we can talk about it now."

"What did Cooper do?"

"Nothing."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"So why are you crying?"

"I guess I'm just an easy person to make cry. You should know." A sensation of exhaustion overhauls me at her complete incorrect conception of everything at the moment.

"So, if I go and find him now, and kick his face in, he won't be wondering why?" I ask, humor overriding my tone, to relay an aura of peace within her.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because he upset you."

"And so did you earlier today. When you told me that you pretended to like me just to have something that you already have. So don't come here trying to play the big guy when you're just as bad as Cooper."

"Eliza, the only reason I said that was because--"

"Because what? Because you meant it?"

"No, because--"

"You know what, save it." She stands up to face me. "Because you're just the exact same as him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Cooper... He told me that he was talking to his friends about us, and they said that he couldn't get me back if he tried to. And he told them that he could. And so..."

"What?" My mind goes into overdrive as I try to divulge what I am hearing. That wasn't part of the deal, I internally roar.

"So it was basically just a dare. He was already coming here to see his family, and he thought it would be the perfect time to try and fool me that he wants to be back together. I guess that's what you guys have in common. No wonder he calls you Cooper number two."

"What? Why would he say that?" I think aloud, genuinely wondering why he didn't give the simple excuse I provided him with.

"Because he's a jerk, like you."

"No--no, Eliza I am nothing like him."

"Oh? Let's see. You pretend that you like me, you pretend that you love me, and then you tell me it was all a stupid ploy in the harshest way. Yeah, sounds a lot like him if I'm being honest."

"No, he... He is a jerk for that. But I need you to know that I would never do something like that to you."

"Theo--"

"I know what you're going to say. That I basically did. But that's where you're wrong."

"I'm not wrong, I know that-"

"I lied!" I shout out desperately.

"About what?" She screams out.

"What I said. I told you that it was all just pretence... But it wasn't. I do li--I--I don't know the exact specifics of how I feel, Eliza. But I know it's strong. And I know it's something I've only wished to feel once upon a time. I thought I was helping and protecting you by pushing you towards Cooper. Because he can give you everything, and I can give you nothing. But now, now I realise... I can't just pretend that I don't feel the way I feel about you. I'm sorry," I finish, and the silence that ensues gives me a slight hope that she is just thinking about how she is going to word her response. But, her actions tell another story as she smacks the palm of her hand against my cheek so fiercely I hear the echo of it in the room. I turn my head to the side slightly.

"Eliza--"

"You really are trash aren't you? What did you think I was going to do? Run into your arms and tell you that I feel the same way, and that this is all I've been wanting to hear for so long?"

"No, I--"

"So why did you tell me?" She yells.

"I didn't want you to feel bad about yourself... Think that there's something wrong with you because of the way you're being treated."

"Well there must be when I know boys like you and Cooper."

"Stop putting me and him in the same category. You might not see it, but we're different, Eliza. I actually care about you, and you might not see that either, but I promise you will." She doesn't say anything, which motivates me to carry on. "I'm going to show you that I mean it. I promise."

She turns to look at me with absolute annoyance in her eyes. "How about you do me a favour, and don't bother?"

"Eliza--"

"Don't. Bother. Because just in case you didn't realise: I don't believe a single word that comes out of your mouth."

"I get that. But you will soon. I just need to use your computer."

"What? For what?"

"I can't say yet. But it's important."

"Do you also want to saunter up in the sky, sit on the clouds, and bring you a little box of cookies that's waiting there for you?"

"Is that a no?"

She doesn't respond yet again, and I feel slight aggravation at this minor setback. "Okay, well... Can I at least have your key? I'm going out, that's important as well."

The habit of no words coming out of her mouth becomes natural at this point, as she simply just grabs her keys from her bedside table and throws them my way.

"Eliza--"

"Please just leave me alone, Theo."

I throw my hands down in defeat, and nod slightly, before offering one last glimpse at her, and turning to the door. I arrive into the room assigned to me, and stare at the black blazer, black trousers and white shirt on the bed. I smile hopefully, before realising that there is one major mishap to this plan - I have no shoes to go with it. The only shoes I have are my own trainers and the black and white Vans shoes Cooper lent me with the outfit I wore last night. I develop an insatiable fit of rage, resulting in me fiercely punching the blazer down onto the sinking bed.

Eliza

My eyes remain immersed on the movements occurring on the TV in front of me, although my mind is in a complete other dimension. One part of me feels total devastation at Cooper breaking up with me, but what shocks me more than that happening is the reason why I feel so heartbroken. When Theo told me how he supposedly felt - that everything that happened between us was false and just a grand ploy of his to get him to continue living here, I felt as if everything I had hoped and wished that could happen between us became the unwanted pieces of a ravenous pigeon's breadcrumbs. It affected me so much that I came to the stupid conclusion that I don't want to be alone - and knowing Cooper was still available gave me unnatural relief. I invested so much time and energy into attempting to make a relationship between us work that it really did wound me when he ended it - but more so, that I was back to square one. Which leads me onto the other part of me - the part that just heard Theo outright say that he was lying about everything he said. It was everything I wanted to hear at the time, everything I longed to make the dimming of my brain so worth it. But all hearing those words swim out of his mouth did for me was send me to into a frantic frenzy of fury that I cannot beat. So now, I am only left with two questions that my tired brain could not possibly concoct the answer to: was he telling the truth just now, or earlier on? What do I do now?