Page 53 of My Fake Fiancé

“Hey, that was pretty quick. How did it go?” She asks quickly, wanting to know all the details then she goes quiet, waiting for me to respond.

I barely get a word out before I burst into tears. I speak to her with broken sentences, “It…it di-didn’t go-o well…” I get out, barely audible, my voice catching at the end. I tilt my head down, pulling my hair to cover my face like a curtain. I feel ashamed for crying in public, for crying at all really.

“Oh sweetie,” she says, her voice calm and steady. It helps me calm down.

“I wa-wa-waited for hi-him. You know? A-and and he came in with Ashley!” I hold out until the end of the sentence then I burst into tears, again. I sob, trying to keep my cries quiet but I notice people giving me looks. Some are sympathetic, others are glances of annoyance. I take a napkin and dab at my eyes, I need to stop crying over him. I sniffle a bit and try to calm down enough to listen to Tatyana.

I hear her gasp and she says one word, “Dick.” I nod but instantly feel bad. He really isn’t a dick. I messed up his and Ashley’s relationship. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t come around and opened my big mouth, they would probably still be together. What happened tonight was probably a normal occurrence. I sigh into the phone. “Okay, Juli, come home. I’ll wait up for you.” I nod eagerly, forgetting that she can’t see me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, barely able to speak. My tears have turned into hiccups but I’m starting to feel better. Tatyana tells me that she isn’t at the apartment but the key is still hidden where it always is. I thank her and apologize for being so weepy. She promises everything will be okay and tells me we are going to fix things when she gets home. I accept her proposition then we say our goodbyes and hang up.

I look around the coffee shop and everyone has gone back to their conversations and meals, officially blocking me out of their lives. I stand up and throw away my completely full cup of coffee before making my way to the front door. I exit the shop and let the cool breeze of the early morning air, brush away my tears.

Chapter 47

Kurt

I groan, stretching in the bed. My hand brushes against soft hair and I jump up, looking over at the figure sound asleep next to me. The naked figure at that. Unable to see her face, I scan the room, looking for clues to who she is. I can’t remember much of last night. After Juliana left, everything went to shit. I couldn’t help myself, all I wanted to do was forget Juliana and how upset I had made her.

I lean my head back on the headboard and groan, remembering how upset Juliana was and how I just left her when she was vulnerable. Part of me still hoped the figure in my bed wa s Juliana but I just don’t think after what happened that we would end up in bed together. Anyway, I wouldn’t want our first time together to be something I couldn’t remember.

“Good morning, baby,” a familiar voice says, startling me and taking me away from the thoughts in my head. I look at the girl who looks up at me with triumph in her eyes. Crap, why is Ashley in my bed? Why does she look so happy? I think to myself. My face must look horrified, this makes Ashley chuckle. “Don’t worry baby, you told me you and that other girl,” she practically snarls, “aren’t together anymore.” She grins happily and sort of evilly and I get up out of the bed quickly.

“You need to leave,” I tell her and quickly put on my boxers then I begin to gather her clothing. She just laughs and rolls over stretching, making the sheets fall away from her body, exposing herself. “Ashley, now,” I say and busy myself by putting on more clothing. Once I finish, I gather all of her clothes and set them on the bed for her. “I’ll leave the room while you get dressed,” I tell her and then before she can protest, I leave the room, escaping to the living room and shutting the door behind me before I freak out in front of her.

Once alone in the living room, I spin around. I look around at the room, now void of anything that had belonged to Juliana. What the hell happened last night? I rake my hand over my head, an old habit I still haven’t shaken. I hear Ashley grumbling as she gets dressed and I look around for any more of her things so she doesn’t have to stay any longer. I go into the kitchen and notice something on the floor. I bend down to pick it up and look at the little Eiffel Tower keychain. “How did this get in here?” I ask out loud, standing up.

“What is it?” I look up startled and see a dressed Ashley standing above me. I hold the keychain out for her.

“Here you dropped this.” She squints at it and then crinkles her nose.

“That’s not mine,” she says then the edges of her mouth turn up in a little smile before she turns and prances away. I look at it more closely and notice that one of the legs on it is twisted, not fully broken off though. I pocket the item and push aside the emotions that begin to arise when I realize who it must belong to, Juliana. I make my way back into the living room and see Ashley sitting on the couch putting her shoes on. I sigh.

Walking over to her, I hand her purse to her and the jacket she brought. She looks a little put out but I can’t have her in my apartment any longer. I feel so guilty. I know Juliana left and I know it was never real but I still can’t help but feel guilty.

Ashley leans in and gives me a long kiss on the lips, catching me off guard. I push her away gently and give her a stern look. “I’m sorry for whatever happened last night. It was a mistake. And I really need you to leave.” I tell her firmly and an emotion of rejection flashes across her face before she plasters a fake smile on it.

She keeps the fake smile on for a few seconds then she sighs and rolls her eyes. “Nothing actually happened.” She chuckles. “But Juliana thinks something did.” She opens the door with that last sentence and then waves happily. “Bye! Good luck with everything!” Then she laughs and slams the door behind her.

“Wait, what the hell,” I say to no one in particular. “Nothing happened? Juliana was here? Crap.” I look around the room again panicking and take the Eiffel Tower out of my pocket, rubbing it between my fingers as if a Genie will pop out and grant my wish. I toss it onto the couch and then let my legs give out, allowing me to collapse on the couch as well. “What can I do?” I need to do something.

What can I do? I messed up. I didn’t listen to Juliana and then I went to Ashley to try to forget about her. If Juliana was here to talk about it and she saw Ashley and I together, she probably felt betrayed.

I shouldn’t have walked away during our argument, I just saw the wedding dress and freaked out. I like her and I was enjoying spending time with her. I felt like our relationship was becoming real but then I saw the wedding dress and everything hit me. We were lying to everybody we loved, and they were so happy for us which made me feel even more guilty.

I argue in my head, taking on both sides of the debate about whether to go after Juliana or not, then I get my lazy ass off the couch and grab my keys. Rushing to the door, I grab a light jacket and then shut the door behind me.

Chapter 48

Juliana

I let myself into the apartment, carrying my remaining bags from Tatyana’s car into the apartment. I make it as far as the living room before I give up and let my bags slide off my drooping shoulders, landing on the floor with a thud. I rub my shoulder that held the most weight and look down at my things. I’m too tired to unpack now. I sit down on the couch and prop my feet up on my bags. I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling until I feel dizzy. I let the blood rush to my head and begin to feel the pounding in my ears. I let the pain begin to numb me then I quickly sit up, getting a head rush. I groan and then reach for the remote.

I spend the next hour or so flipping channels, trying to kill time and take my mind off of everything that happened in the last 24 hours. I was still reeling from the break-up and the betrayal I felt from seeing Kurt bring Ashley home, the same day I left. I couldn’t believe he had done something like that. The fact that it probably wasn’t even a break-up doesn’t help at all. This morning I came home and Tatyana had bundled me into the apartment and left all of my stuff in her car, too exhausted to deal with it. At the time, I went straight to bed and Tatyana didn’t try to talk about any of it, thankfully. Now, I had finished unloading all of my things out of her car and reality was sinking in.

I curl up on the couch, feeling my body begging for some peace. I cry myself to sleep and only wake up when I feel someone shaking me.

“Kurt?” I mumble, opening my eyes, hopeful. Tatyana’s face appears in front of me, blurry. I blink a few times and see her worried expression. Mike is standing a few feet away, looking worried but he doesn’t say anything. The sight of him standing there looking so worried makes me feel even worse. I have caused such a chaotic situation and everyone is suffering because of it.

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