"I'm not saying that I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy."
When I said that there was no way that my life could possibly get any worse, I was kidding. I didn't actually expect...
"I've always known who you'd pick. It's a feeling that I can't block. For she was always your tick and I was only the tock."
—Nadine Rose, Secondhand
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It had been exactly one week since I had been back at work. Surprisingly, Jamie and I were getting along pretty well. Even Connie didn't bother me as much these days. I had an inkling that it had to do with the fact that I was no longer at that awful post-breakup stage where all you do is cry all night and yell at all the happy people around you, and therefore I was no longer a nightmare to work with. But you know, as fate would have it, my happiness was always fleeting.
I had just finished with my work for the day and was about to leave when Brian walked in. I have to admit that when I saw his face, I lost my breath a little. But I didn't crumble like I would have six months ago. I found it a little hard to focus with all the pounding in my head as I stared at him, wondering what on earth had possessed him to ambush me at the one place that didn't reek of reminders of our relationship.
"Taylor, wait up," he said when I brushed past him. I held up two fingers and motioned for him to follow me. I had no intention of causing a scene. If we were going to finally hash it out, I'd rather not do it in the presence of my coworkers, and most importantly, Jamie.
"Just know that you don't deserve this minute that I'm giving you," I said when he finally caught up to me in the parking lot. I unlocked my car and got in, but left the door open. "So, make your point and make it fast."
"Oh," he said, running his hands through his windswept hair. The familiar sensation of wanting to neaten the mess that he'd created caught me off guard. I didn't think that I could still feel anything for him after all that had transpired and it unnerved me.
He smiled a sad smile. "I didn't think that I'd get this far, actually. Now I don't know what to say." Instantaneously, he put his hand out to thwart my efforts to lock the door. "Okay, wait. Just... just hear me out. Okay?"
"Thirty seconds, Archer. Make it count." I could feel my anger rising to the surface. I knew that I'd regret this moment in an hour when I'm at home replaying the afternoon's events in my mind, wondering why I just didn't keep walking.
"You should know that I never meant to hurt you." He said it with such an earnest look that it took me a few seconds to gather my wits. "I promise you that, Taylor."
"Then what the fuck did you mean to do, Brian? Huh? You didn't mean to hurt me." I scoffed. "That has got to be the dumbest thing that you've ever said. Tell me, how does asking my sister to marry you, not hurt me?"
