Page 136 of You + Me – Against the World

to you?]

[You made me believe in a perfect love story…

and then you tore my heart out.

Are you proud of yourself?]

In the darkness of my room, the harsh glow of the screen burns my eyes. And yet, I can’t tear my gaze away from the bodies of Cheyenne and Vadim. So beautiful, so close… so devastating.

Tears blur my vision, but it doesn’t matter—I already know the image like the back of my hand. It’s printed beneath my eyelids, tattooed onto my pupils, engraved into my heart. With a chisel.

Damn you, Arcadi.

I don’t have the strength to run to Vadim’s place and scream at him to relieve my pain. My disappointment. My hurt. I don’t have the energy to call him and hopefully discover that all of this was just a dream. He might not even bother to explain himself or reassure me. He could just hide behind his freedom to live as he pleases and blame it on my constant insecurities.

All I could manage was those two short messages, which I wrote with my fingers trembling, my chest tight, my cheeks wet with tears. Three clichéd sentences that he’ll undoubtedly find banal. I reread them, then toss my phone to the end of my bed. I stare at it for a few long minutes, until it starts vibrating.

[?????]

It vibrates again.

[Lancaster, did you have a

nightmare or something?

Are you delusional?

Are you on drugs?]

[You’re the only one who finds that funny.]

[What are you talking about, Koala?

Should I call a doctor?]

[I know everything.]

[And I don’t know anything at all.

If you could explain it to me,

it would be easier for us to

communicate.]

[So, you’re too much of a coward to confess?]

[The photo says it all.]

Vadim <3 appears on my screen. He’s trying to call me. I let the call go to voicemail. Three or four times.

I’m going to have to delete this stupid heart from my contacts.

[Alma, if you don’t answer your

cell, I’m coming over to

your place. Pick up the damn phone!]