“Oh my God, Shayla..” Jo came rushing over to me when she saw me on the floor. “Shayla? Shayla, look at me. Fucking hell, you’re freezing. Aimee!” She shouts out, and her brown eyes look down at me again. “Shay, what’s wrong? Shayla!” She yells, shaking me.
“What? What?” Aimee comes rushing out of her room and stops when she sees the state of me. “Jesus…”
“Aimee she’s freezing,” Jo tells her worriedly, and Aimee comes beside me and pushes my wet hair off my face. “What do we do?!” She shouts at Aimee, who was looking around the apartment.
“I don’t fucking know! What the fuck happened to her?” She retorts and Jo shakes her head shrugging.
“I don’t know. I just saw her like this. She’s hasn’t said a word, she’s not even responding to me.” Jo explains, looking at me, worriedly. It was such a weird
“No, she’s not.”“Aimee don’t lie to me. I just want to talk to her.” He says pleadingly, and I feel my heart aching.“She’s not here!” Aimee snaps hotly, and I can imagine her glaring at him menacingly.“You’re lying, her bags right there. Shayla?!”“Haven’t you done enough?!” Aimee shouts angrily. “I have never in all my years of friendship with that girl, seen her this broken!”“Aimee, I love her.”“Then let her go, Cole. If you genuinely love her, like you say you do, let her go, because you’re no good for her. She’s a fucking wreck, and I don’t even know where or how we’re going to help her pick the pieces this time.”“Please let me see her, just for a second.” He begs wretchedly, and I whimper unable to control the sob that escapes me.“You hear that? That&
“Great,” I utter, looking at him. “I’ll be at my desk then.”“Good.” He replies, staring at me intently. I tear my eyes away from his before I turn and walk out of his office. The next few weeks, I was required to work long days and nights alongside Cole on this hotel project. I sigh, dropping my pen in frustration, I rub my temples tiredly. Cole lifts his eyes off his sketch and looks at me with a little frown. “What’s the matter?”“I’ve tried multiple times to get this bit right, but it’s not working.” I groan, closing my eyes. Cole gets up and walks around the desk to stand over me from behind.“Show me.” He says, placing one hand on the table and leaning over me so he could see my sketch.“Here.” I tap my pen on the part I was struggling with. Cole’s eyes narrow while he studies my sketch, he bites his lip, and his hand covers mine that wa
It’s been over a week since Shayla, and I parted ways again. I thought walking away from her before was hard, it’s even harder now I’ve realised I’m in love with her. I can’t believe what a mess I’ve made of everything. I’ve lost her. Every single night I jump out of my sleep to the sound of her anguished sobs. Watching her shed a tear was always hard for me, but hearing such despair and suffering in her cry still haunts me. I don’t know what I was thinking, keeping the engagement from her. If I just told her from the beginning, she would be with me right now, but I was worried about her reaction, and instead, she got blindsided entirely and thought I was lying to her—which I wasn’t. Christ, I’m a mess, and I’ve never felt so low in my life. As hard as it is to admit to myself, Aimee was right with what she said. After hearing Shayla sobbing and the look of defeat in her eyes, when I saw her that day in her apar
I exhale and rub the back of my neck, agitated. “No, it’s not just that, Sophie. I thought we could get back what we once had but we can’t because I realised that what I want has changed. I’ve changed. All the yacht parties, and you and all your fake socialite friends pretending to like one another, when secretly you’re competing with one another. Who has the best clothing line, who will get married first, who has a bigger engagement ring? It’s shallow and materialistic bullshit, and I’m over it. I want to be able to come home after a long day and relax with my girlfriend— but I can’t do that with you, because you always want to do something, you always want to be somewhere. It’s exhausting. Your whole lifestyle is gruelling to me now.” I clarify openly. I wasn't lying. I was honestly so tired of all of it.Sophie stares at me for a long moment. She nods and wipes her tears away before she pulls something out o
“Sophie's pregnant.”I stare at Cole numbly, while my fingers lose the grip I had on the glass, which slips and smashes on the tiled floor. Did he just say Sophie is pregnant? Did I really hear him, right? I don’t even think I was blinking while I just sat there staring at him like some kind of an idiot. I think I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.“Oh. Wow. Congratulations. I should, uh, c-clean the glass...” I mutter pathetically while I kneel on the floor attempting to pick up the shards of glass with my trembling fingers.“Shayla, what are you doing?” I hear Cole say as he hurries toward me, kneeling in front of me while I pick up the broken pieces of glass.“It just slipped out of my hand when you…uh, God, I’m so sorry.” I apologise.“Shayla, leave it. Stop, you’re going to hurt yourself, just leave it.” Cole frowns and reaches out to touch me, but
Cole shakes his head and looks into my eyes; his fingers combing through my hair, “Please don’t go. I’d rather see you every day, and have it kill me. I’d rather love you quietly from afar than have you walk away and never see you again, please don’t.” He pleads sorrowfully. “I know I have no right to ask this of you, if you have to hate me, hate me, I’ll take it. I’ll take you hating me any day over losing you completely.”“I wish I had it in me to hate you, Cole, it might have made this constant aching in my heart more tolerable, but I don’t think I have the strength to watch you get married and have a baby with her,” I sigh with a shrug. “I just can’t.”Cole drops his gaze from mine to my bleeding hand and licks his lips, “I understand.” He whispers woefully and frowns when he unwraps the cloth and sees more blood oozing from my hand. “The bleeding won&r
He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “No, I’m not. I’m going to fuck it up like I have everything else. I’m so fucking terrified Shay.”I lift my hand and stroke his jaw, “It’s okay to be scared, but you’ve got this.” I assure him, and he presses his lips to my forehead.“How do you still have so much faith in me after everything I’ve done?” He questions, pulling back and looking into my eyes with such devotion it stole my breath.“Because I love you, you stupid boy,” I whisper, and he smiles a little, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.“And I love you, you silly girl.” He whispers back and leans in kissing me softly on the lips. I sigh when he pulls back, and his eyes search mine for a moment.“You should go,” I tell him, and he shakes his head.“No, I’m not leaving. I’m staying with you.” He declares reta
I moan when I feel something softly comb through my hair. “Get up you goof.”“No,” I mutter my voice muffled my face currently pressed into my arms which are resting on my desk.“Cole, I need the blueprint, but your giant forehead is covering the part I need to see,” Shayla complains and taps my head with her pencil a couple of times. I smile into my arms and peek up at her, not fully lifting my head.“Excuse you, this forehead has expanded to capacitate the knowledge and wisdom my brain has accumulated over the years,” I tell her and Shayla narrows her eyes at me and tilts her head to the side while her lips curl into a smile.“Uh-huh, looks like a receding hairline to me, but whatever makes you feel better, big boy.” She says, pulling on the paper and glaring at me playfully when I don’t move. “Let go.”I grin at her, and she blinks at me. “Big boy?”