2 Minutes, 23 Seconds

2' 02"

Drew briskly walked outside the building and to his car. The elevator itself suffocated him and he couldn't handle another minute in that place─his girlfriend's unit. His hand accidentally brushed against the small box inside his pocket and the touch was electrifying that it triggered his tears that he still mightily held back. Before someone even sees him and before he breaks down at the side of the road, he entered his car with haste and slammed the door shut. The engine roared with anger he couldn't voice out.

He was trembling the whole time that he wondered how he managed to drive although he ran the red light twice and exceeded the speed limit. His chest heaved rapidly as his eyes continued to sting. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he kept on honking his horn too many times even when unnecessary. Rage was building up in his system—he was mad at himself and not at his girlfriend. One more tear filled with frustration told him he can no longer drive without the probability of causing harm to himself or to other people, especially when images of his girlfriend kissing another man kept on taking away his sanity.

And when he couldn't take it anymore, he veered carelessly to the side, almost hitting a car on the right and the one behind it. He might as well die, he thought when he realized that he was a second away from an accident but he also knew that it would not help the situation in any way even if it was actually killing him inside. He hit the brakes harder than he meant to do which caused him to knock his head on the steering wheel. It wasn't hard enough to cause him to be unconscious but it was just enough for him to realize what he's doing. First, he forgot to put his seatbelt on. Second, he was letting his emotions take over him. He knew well that he had to think properly and he has to calm down for him to accomplish that.

He breathed in and out like he ran a hundred meter dash and that's when it came back to him. She cheated. His girlfriend cheated on him. He kept repeating his girlfriend in his head as he felt like it is only where he can claim that she is a part of him. Maybe it wasn't her intention to cheat on him. Maybe she did not intend to kiss someone else other than him. Maybe she did not intend to cheat on the very day of their anniversary. Here he is, defending his girlfriend. He took some more time to think, even if it meant torturing himself. His heart knew from the very beginning of their relationship that there was someone else. That man might not be there physically but he felt it ever since.

Eury always felt so distant.

She might have been his but mentally and emotionally, she was somewhere far away. Now that man showed up and proved to him how pathetic he had been all these years. Who was he even? He wanted to get mad at both of them but he couldn't bear to do it somehow. His mind kept pushing it to him that that man might have come in her life earlier than he did. Who knows anyway? He would have to talk to her about everything but not now, not today.

The tears stopped but his eyes were still stinging that it felt like it was bleeding. He took out his phone with shaky hands and went to call his girlfriend. Could he even still call her that? His mind is a mess but maybe, just maybe, what he saw wasn't true. It might be the wrong room. It might not be her kissing another man. It can't be her. It can't be Eury because he knew her. He knew her very well that he's starting to doubt himself.

He patiently waited for her to answer the call. Every ring sent his heart thumping harder, mainly because he knew what he saw and he was damn afraid that she won't deny it if he asked.

Where did he go wrong in their relationship? Maybe his efforts were not sufficient. He must have said or did something, or maybe he did not and she thought it meant he loved her less. Damn! His thoughts were not helping him a bit. It only made him dizzy and sick. The endless ringing made him more anxious by the second.