Two weeks had passed since Adaline and Joseph broke up. She felt like she was finally doing better. She listened to her favorite singer's CD on repeat in her car, doing what her mom always told her: sing when your heart cannot cry. She was tired of crying, so she was going to sing her heart out. She had been avoiding Joseph at school, especially in her art class. 'Why did I think it'd be a good idea to sign up for a class with my volatile boyfriend?' She kicked herself in the butt every time she had to walk into class and see his smug face sitting across the room. She moved to the easel at the back of the room, the farthest away from him, which received a lot of curious looks from everyone in the class, they hadn't exactly kept their relationship secret previously. She didn't think she'd ever regret everyone knowing she'd dated him. She did her best to ignore him and focused on finishing her final project for the class.
Finally, the day came to present to the class. She presented her series of paintings she had made describing her life as a twin. A sonogram showing two little bean-shaped beings, a boy and a girl playing happily, and finally, her and her brother hugging and smiling out into the audience. She loved those paintings. She felt proud of herself for the first time in a long time...but that happy feeling didn't last for very long. It was Joseph's turn. The sound of his voice sent chills down her spine and made goosebumps form on her arms, her stomach making flips uncontrollably.
"I made this for my precious dog. It's a vase with flowers. It reminded me of her when she passed. As for this other one, there's not much I can say about it. I used all of the heartache I've felt over the last few weeks to create this and I am leaving it open to your interpretation." He shot a glance at Adaline to see her reaction only to see she had turned her back to him, shoulders shaking slightly. 'Is she laughing at me?' It wasn't until she reached her hand up to her face did he realize she was crying. He felt a pang in his heart.
Adaline on the other hand was furious. 'How could he humiliate me like this? How could he air out our dirty laundry like that to the entire class?' She fumed and angrily wiped the tears away as she thought of Joseph's "masterpiece." A heart. An anatomical heart squeezed between two hands, dripping blood into a shot glass. He had just told everyone that she was the one that broke his heart, trying to make HER into the bad guy. The professor caught on to the tense situation quickly and rushed him to his seat, practically begging for the next student to present. After class, all of the girls in the class approached Adaline, all talking at once and holding her hand for comfort.
"That was such a crappy thing of him to do!"
"What a jerk!"
"I can't believe he'd do something like that!"
Adaline started at these ladies that had never once spoken to her, who were close friends of Joseph, yet here they were, comforting her, taking her side. It made her heart feel warm and she gave them a smile and a small, "Thank you." She ran to her car and cried until her next class.
A few days later, she received an email from none other than the bastard himself. She felt the hot tears rolling down her face as she read: "Adaline, I don't know if you will even read this, but I'm desperate. I had to try. You've blocked me on everything and I didn't know what else to do. I miss you... Please meet with me. I'm going crazy without you." Her school email. He had sent it to her school email. She had never given that to him, but since he worked for the school, he must have found it somehow. She felt her body going hot and the world was spinning, bile threatening to come up with every breath. She should just delete it and ignore it, yes, that's what would be best. And yet, she had already typed and sent a response saying, "meet me by the fountain near the math building at 5."
'What is wrong with me?'
The time came and Adaline was sitting on the edge of the fountain, sweat dripping down her back and her stomach in knots.
"Adaline." His voice still scared her. She turned to see him looking down at his feet and playing with his hands. She wanted to drop-kick him that instant.
"You stalk me around campus. You humiliate me in front of the entire class. You find out my school email. What is it you absolutely need to say?" Her cold voice stabbed him right in the heart over and over. Did she no longer love him? He had to know.
"Addy, do you still love me? Can you ever forgive me?"
"Joseph, you treated me like shit for the 9 months we were together and yet I loved you. I told you the only thing that would break me was if you ever said you didn't love me, and that is exactly what you did. Not only that, but you made me out to be the bad guy!"
"I know....I'm sorry....but I love you."
Those words. How easily his words could sway her. She burst into tears. "Of course I still love you, but I don't want to go back to what we had. I can't. You were so abusive. I was terrified of you."
"Addy, baby, my ducky, I've changed. I promise."
Ducky. He knew that nickname always got her. He gave her that name after she gave him a box of cookies she made for him. The first thing she ever cooked for him. She had been so excited that she drew a cute duck on the box with hearts on it, mostly because she only knew how to draw cartoon ducks. She loved that nickname. Joseph knew that would get her. He slowly walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "Please forgive me Ducky."
She was done.