"I'm done." I snarled heatedly.
"Rachel please listen..." Dalton begged me.
"No! I'm done with your pathetic lies. I will not let you do this to me anymore." I threw my wrinkled shirts from their wire hangers into my beaten down suit case. The worn leather was cracked at the corners exposing the contents of my luggage.
"Don't go, Babe, I'm sorry." he told me wrapping his arms around my waist. At the feel of his touch my my emotions turned into an uncontrollable rage. I twisted around in his loose grasp. I swung my tensed up arm back before allowing my hand to collide with the skin of his cheek. His head snapped to the left exposing a perfect red hand imprinted on his deceiving face,
"You're a liar!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
"It was an accident!" he muttered said through clenched teeth. He tried to hide the physical pain he was experiencing without success. My hand was still tingling with the intensity of a thousand fire ants burying their way into my flesh.
"Oh, so you 'accidentally' screwed the neighbor for the fourth freaking time?" I shrieked. "That I even know of."
"I don't even care about her! I love you!"
"Bull crap! If you loved me you wouldn't treat me like a piece of trash!" I paused forcing back the oncoming tears. "I trusted you, you son of a b****." I zipped up my suitcase crossing off every item on my mental check list. "Bye." I muttered slamming the door so hard behind me that the neighbors peeked their prying eyes out of their apartment doorways.
"What are you loOKing at?" I sneered at the skank next door, Cassandra. She works as a full time striper at the local club. Her dull hazel eyes showed the true psychopath beneath her candy coated exterior.
"Oh, nothing much. How's Dalton?" she winked slipping into her apartment like a sly snake. My bubbling anger fizzed into an intolerable pain. My dizzy head went numb with the overwhelming emotional distress.
I sauntered down the newly abandoned hallway with my wheeled luggage trailing behind me. My fingers grazed over the elevator button. I was tempted to just take the stairs, but my wobbly legs disagreed. An all too cheery ding greeted me as the metal doors slid open to reveal the contents of the elevator. A young couple happily walked into the hall holding hands. Awkward sobs were coming out in heaves that matched my flooded face.
The elevator toOK its sweet time descending the fourteen floors to the lobby. I quickly wiped away the wetness on my cheeks to disguise my interior feelings. I walked out of the whizzing revolving doors still wiping my cheeks.
The city lights blocked out the darkness of the 7:00 night. The Chicago streets were still filled to the brim with life. People bustled around trying to get from point A to point B with as little hassle as possible. I picked out a glistening street bench to rest on. Its rain drenched seats soaked the bottom of my jeans. Burying my head into my hands, I allowed the sorrows and distress of my day poor out into the open. I went light headed form the dehydration after losing ounces of water through tears.
The bench tilted a little as another person's weight pushed it down. I lifted my head slightly to see the fellow pedestrian interrupting my self-loathing pity party. At first, my vision was blurred. It gradually cleared up with each blink allowing me to catch a glimpse of the boy next to me.
"Marcus?" I mumbled in shock. The young man turned his ruffled black haired head towards me in confusion. His face lit up at the sight of his old closest friend.
"Rachel? Is that really you?" he asked me.
"Yeah." I smiled in surprise. I wiped away the last few tears of my day before surrounding him in a hug,
"How long has it been? Eight years?" he asked pulling back to take a loOK at me. My image was reflected off of his eyes. I loOKed as though I had just been hit by a bus.
"Are you OK?" he asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine."
He loOKed unsure. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked me comfortably. It was like we had never been apart. Our friendship had disintegrated a while ago, but it still left a lasting impression on the both of us.
"No, really I'm fine."
"Rachel, talk to me."
"I just sort of brOKe up with my boyfriend. Again." I added trying to make it seem like no big deal.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, he was a jerk."
He nodded understandingly. "I really missed you." he scooted closer to me. Our thighs casually touched. He rubbed my back with his firm hand and pulled me closer.
"I miss you, too."
"We haven't really talked since... you know." Yes, I knew all too well. That stormy night after prom was a memory I would never forget. He was referring to those few moments we had spent together on the grass beside Lake Michigan. The city lights were casting beams of colorful light onto water creating a beautiful scene. We had both just come home at one in the morning after ditching our dates. We had been the best of friends since Pre-K so I had thought nothing it when he asked me to meet up with him. The rain was pouring down drenching our hair and expensive prom attire, but we didn't care.
We were laughing care free just like we always did. Suddenly, he leaned in and whispered a confession in my ear. He expressed his undying love for me, and then he proceeded to kiss me so sweetly not even chocolate could taste better than his lips. I was so shocked that I tore off running away from him. I hadn't known what to do, but that wasn't what I should have done. I haven't seen him since.
I bit my lip angry at myself for letting Marcus slip through my fingers 8 years ago. "Marcus, I've waited 8 years to tell you this." I loOKed deeply into his vivid brown eyes. Fate had brought us here at this very moment. A million people had the option of sitting down on this seat next to me, but out of all of those people it was him by my side.
"What?" he asked curiously.
"I love you."