"Y'all are lookin' pretty good out there." Cody slow clapped, walking towards the arena fence. 

            "Thanks. I think Stryker has finally gotten used to this arena." Maleena said, pulling her horse to a stop next to Cody. Both Maleena and her horse were breathing hard after their runs. 

           "You goin' to run around once more? I can film you this time." Cody offered, smiling at Maleena, something he noticed himself doing every time he was around her, or even just when she crossed his mind. He had come to realize that he had serious feelings for her, but knew he could not act upon them since she had a boyfriend. Either way, Maleena would never like a guy like him, based on the fact that Dillion is the complete opposite. Knowing he could take better care of Maleena than Dillion ever would made his heart hurt a little; he hated the fact that she was getting hurt by a guy who did not treat her right, but it wasn't his place to say that. 

         Maleena pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "I would love to, but I have to get goin'." She dismounted from Stryker, leading him by the reins out of the arena with Cody beside her. 

          Maleena's voice brought Cody out of his thoughts. "Where you goin'? Got a hot date tonight?" Cody teased, giving Maleena a playful wink.

          "Actually, kinda. I am fixin' to go surprise Dillion at his house tonight. He has no clue I am coming over, so it should be fun." Maleena spilled her plan. 

          "Oh, so y'all are still together?" Cody tried to not sound disappointed. It was the first time that Maleena had even mentioned her boyfriend the whole week. 

          "Yeah. Why?" Maleena heard herself getting defensive.

          Cody stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets as they walked to Maleena's truck and hitched trailer. "Well, I just assumed that after how he treated you last week at the rodeo that you would call things off with him." He stated, matter of factly. 

           "I mean, I am goin' over there today to talk to him, but I don't think we will break up." 

           "Oh, okay. Well, I have been praying for y'all." Cody faked a smile. He knew a toxic relationship when he saw one, and Maleena and Dillion's relationship was just that. However, he knew it was not his place to tell Maleena that, or encourage her to break up with him, even though he knew that was what's best for her well being. 

           "Thank you. I appreciate it." Maleena grinned, closing her trailer doors after Stryker was safely inside. 

           Cody walked to Maleena's truck, opening the door for her. "Well, text me afterwards and let me know how it goes, please." He smiled at her through her open driver's window. 

           "I will." She smiled back, turning on her truck, pulling out of the dirt lot, heading back to her house to drop off her horse. 

           Knowing she had to take it slow on the drive to her house since her horse and trailer were in the back, Maleena drove slower than she wanted on the back roads, impatiently tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as she drove home. The second Maleena got home, she backed her trailer beside the barn, leaving her truck running as she backed Stryker out, turning him out into the side pasture. After she unhitched her trailer, Maleena began speeding off to Dillion's house. She knew his parents were out of town, and he had the day off from work. When she had texted him earlier, he had told her he had no plans except to stay at home the whole day, so what better way to spend his day off than with his girlfriend. They definitely needed some time to just talk.  

           Unsure why she was so excited to see her boyfriend, Maleena sped to his house. Seeing his truck in the driveway only made her smile more. However, her smile was turned upside down when she saw a small white car parked next to Dillion's lifted, over souped up truck. Maleena had thought that she had seen that car before, but not at his house. Trying to not over think it, Maleena parked her truck next to the white car, checking her hair in the rear view mirror before she shut off the ignition, taking a deep breath as she walked up the sidewalk. 

         Maleena was just about to drop a couple knocks on the screen door when she heard two people's voices inside. Standing to the side of the door, so the people inside couldn't see her, but she could see them, Maleena looked in through the open door. Her jaw dropped with what she saw. 

         In the living room, Maleena saw the blonde haired girl from the ice cream shop that Dillion had taken her on their first date. Sarah, her name was. Dillion's arms were tightly around Sarah's waist, very low on her back. Looking up at Dillion with stars in her eyes, Sarah leaned against Dillion's chest, tilting up her head to him.

          Just when Maleena thought things couldn't get worse, she watched her boyfriend continue to cheat on her as he bent down, passionately kissing Sarah's lips. It was obvious that this was not the first time that they had kissed. As Maleena watched the scene she began to think about these past few weeks with Dillion. There had been multiple signs that something was up, but Maleena never would have imagined that Dillion was cheating on her. Looking at it now, though, everything made sense to her. Every time that they had had a big fight, Dillion seemed to go MIA, turning off his phone for the night. Based on how Dillion and Sarah were kissing, it was obvious that Dillion had been receiving more than just kisses from Sarah, as bad as that sounded. 

           Maleena was completely taken aback. She turned to walk off the porch, never wanting to see Dillion again, but just as she turned, Maleena heard Sarah giggle then say, "I have to go home before my parents start askin' me where I have been all week." Maleena slowly turned around, seeing them still wrapped up in each other. 

           Dillion, responding with, "You don't have to go. Let your parents talk. They know we are friends. Just tell them you were stayin' at Katy's house, or something. They will never know that you stayed here practically every night these past couple weeks." 

           Sarah pulled back, playfully swatting Dillion's chest before dropping a kiss on his cheek. "Is that all we are? Just friends. Aren't we more than that again? Or is that girlfriend of yours still in the picture?"

            Dillion let out a sigh, his arms never leaving Sarah's slim waist. "Yes, Maleena is still very much in the picture, and I have no plans on calling that off any time soon. You know that I am in love with her." 

             Sarah seemed to think over his comment. "You really do seem to care about her more than you ever cared about me when we were dating, that's for sure. But either way, this really isn't smart of us. If Maleena ever found out-"

           "Maleena will never find out. And even if she does, I will just get her those flowers she likes and take her out on a really nice dinner and movie date. She will forgive me in an instant. But, let's not worry about that right now. Gimme a kiss before you leave." Dillion leaned down to kiss Sarah, but something in Maleena snapped.

            Maleena flung open the screen door, stomping into Dillion's house. "Really? You think that dinner and flowers will make me forgive this?" She was shaking with anger; the look on both Dillion and Sarah's face showed utter surprise as they both tore apart from each other. 

             "Maleena, this isn't what it looks like." Dillion said the rehearsed line, taking a step towards Maleena, but Maleena stepped back, putting her hand in front of her as a defense. 

             "Oh, so it doesn't look like my boyfriend is cheating on me with some other girl? Someone he has been sleeping with?! Why? All because I wouldn't kiss you or anything? You really are as much of a scumbag as everyone thinks you are." Maleena was so angry that tears began to raise in her eyes, but she refused to let Dillion know this hurt her that bad. 

           "Baby, please don't do this. I love you, Maleena. Come on, I'm sorry." Dillion pleaded, tears rising in his own eyes. 

             "I don't want to hear it, Dillion. We are done. Have fun with your new girlfriend." Maleena took one last look at Dillion and Sarah before turning on her heels, stomping out of Dillion's house, slamming the hard wood door so hard behind her that the glass rattled, threatening to break, just like her heart did.