Sharp Hint of New Tears

“Come on Yvette; tell me, it can’t possibly be that bad!” I said as a laughed and handed her a cigarette. I couldn’t stand her for shit, especially after she brazenly hit on Seximus Prime the morning after we’d been together, but what girl can resist some juicy gossip?
She paused as I lit it for her. She sighed as she exhaled. “I wouldn’t be telling you this if I wasn’t smashed, you’re just lucky you saw me before you left.”
We were standing outside the local bar near uni, I was all set to leave until she saw me and came rushing towards me with the promise of a good story that I knew I could laugh about with the girls over coffee the next day.
I giggled and shoved her playfully, “out with it then, I haven’t got all night, I’ve got to go home and study for my paper tomorrow.”
“I slept with him babe.”
She paused to take a drag of her cigarette.
“I wanted to tell you but I wasn’t sure how to. You know what I’m like when I get drunk…”
I nodded, not fully aware of myself, not fully understanding the words I was hearing. She couldn’t mean who I thought she did. I mean, she is the biggest slut around, her sleeping with someone was no shocker, but she could NOT possibly mean who I thought she did.
“It was that night, you know, the last time you saw me… last week was it?”
I didn’t need any clarification, the memory was still fresh. Her throwing herself at him right in front of me, knowing exactly how I felt about him and what had happened between us… knowing that things were getting better between us…
I took the cigarette from her, took a long drag and flicked the ash away. She reached into her pocket to get her phone. She opened her inbox folder and handed it to me. I read the explicit messages from him, describing in detail what he wanted to do to her… some of the things he’d done to me… Blinking back tears, I handed it back to her. Faking a laugh, I said, “He’s quite the charmer isn’t he?”
She slurred something and laughed, it sounded like a witch’s cackle to me. I didn’t ask her to repeat herself. As I put the cigarette to my lips one more time, it somehow slipped and fell, narrowly missing my toe. Only then did I realize how numb I was.
“I’m sorry. I knew you guys were having a thing, even if you weren’t quite together. It just… happened…”
I half – smiled as I lit another cigarette. Don’t worry about it, he’s all yours.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. I brushed it off and breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t seen it.

As I turned to walk away, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see T.D.H looking at me, a concerned look on his face.
“Are you ok?”
I shook my head, afraid that if I spoke, more tears would fall.
“Come on, I’ll take you home.”
I shrugged and he took my bag from me as we walked to his car. He tossed it into the back seat where his already was. That instant, I remembered where he lived; I was totally putting him out. For a second, I considered taking a taxi. As if he could read my thoughts, he held the door open for me and gently nudged me.
I looked at him and he smiled at me.
“Get in silly, or do you want to run behind me all the way?”
Trust him to make me laugh even when I felt like shit, I got in and shut the door, and watched him walk around to the driver’s seat.
As we pulled out. I looked back, and caught a glimpse of Yvette chatting animatedly on the phone, oblivious of how deeply she'd just hurt me.
No, not oblivious.
Just unconcerned.

[Listening to: Poke – Frightened Rabbit]