Lee is stressed. No, he's beyond stressed. Every time Liya's eyes meet his, he feels as if he's the most heartless boy. He wishes he could bury himself in a little hole and never get out. He has promised himself he won't lead her on, but he doesn't know how to end it either.
'Tonight' he thinks. 'Yeah, I'll do it tonight' he promises himself.
He's sitting on his bed, playing with the paper he crumpled. He groans, his mind cluttered with thoughts and 'what if's.
Lee's too deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear his phone ring at first. He jumps when it rings the second time. He checks the caller ID, his heart racing once again after reading the name.
He picks it up hesitantly and says, "Hey," in a faint voice,
"Hey love, everything alright? You sound a bit off," Liya asks worriedly,
"Yeah, of course. Just tired. What's up?" he changes the subject,
Liya, not sure if she should believe his words, continues, "Well, are we still on for tonight? Movie night, remember?"
Lee can't say no. Mostly because he needs to talk to her tonight, but also because he can't turn her down after hearing how excited she sounds.
"Sure," he replies more enthusiastically,
"See you tonight. I have to go now. My mom needs me downstairs,"
"See you later!"
Liya hangs up, leaving Lee to his thoughts all over again. Lee decides it might be a good idea to get some sleep before the big disaster tonight. He drifts off as soon as his head hits the pillow, leaving his phone on the nightstand beside his bed.
~~~~
"What?" Liya whispers, not wanting to believe what she just heard,
"I'm so sorry. I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but I just didn't know-how. I don't feel the same way as I did when we first started dating. I hope you understand," Lee explains, his voice quivering.
Liya doesn't say a word. Instead, she walks out of the living room, into the kitchen. Lee follows her steps into the kitchen, completely bewildered by her actions.
Just as Lee steps into the kitchen, Liya comes out, bumping into him.
Lee notices a knife in Liya's hand and tries to run but his legs wouldn't move. He feels stuck in his place. He tries to call for help but nothing comes out of his mouth. He tries to scream but his voice comes out as a whisper.
Just as Liya was about to push the knife through his stomach, he jumps up and finds himself in a different room. His room.
"Are you okay, love? You were screaming," Liya rubs his back from the corner of the bed.
Lee scurries away from her, still not over the nightmare he just had.
"Lee? What is it?"
"I'll be back," He rushes and locks himself into the bathroom.
He looks at himself in the mirror, noticing sweat all over his forehead, his hair entirely messed up. His eyes have tears in them and his hand is shaking too much. Lee splashes cold water on his face and calms himself down before shutting off the tap and walking out of the bathroom.
'It's just a dream' he tells himself as he makes his way into the living room, where Liya is waiting for him.
He's hesitant about telling her, but that won't stop him from telling her either way.
"Hey, how do you feel now? You seemed pretty scared back there," Liya asks once he enters the living room,
"Great. Just a nightmare, nothing too serious," he offers her a small smile,
"What are we watching tonight?"
Lee never had the thought of choosing a movie as his mind was too crowded with thoughts of breaking up with her.
"Anything you want,"
Liya giggles happily and turns on the television.
'The Notebook' She clicks on it, grinning widely.
Lee groans as a response, "We've watched this way too many times,"
"But I love it, and you said whatever I want,"
"Fine,"
Liya smiles proudly. She clicks play and puts the remote down, fully concentrating on the movie.
~~~~
The movie is over. Liya's face is stained with tears and Lee also seems to have cried a bit, but not as much as Liya.
"It was great," it wasn't a question. It was a statement Liya felt like declaring.
"Sure,"
"You sound off again. Lee, you can talk to me, you know that right?"
"Yeah,"
"Then? What is it?" Liya isn't sure if she wants to know as it seems pretty serious, but whatever concerning Lee is also her concern.
"I'm so sorry, Li. Please, don't hate me after this. It wasn't meant to hurt you nor make you hate me," Liya listens intensely as Lee stammers over his words, "I-I'm breaking up with you. It's nothing you did, I promise. I don't know, I-I don't feel, like, the same as I felt 2 years ago. I'm so sorry,"
Lee waits for Liya to say something, but nothing comes out of her mouth.
When Lee almost thinks she's not going to say anything, she speaks, "Give me ten days," in a broken voice,
"What?"
"Ten days. Please. Let's keep dating for ten more days. Then I will leave you alone like you want me to,"
Liya gets off the couch without uttering another word and walks out of his house. Lee sits still, confused as ever, but thankful she didn't lash out at him or do what she did in his dream.
Lee puts his fists up in victory. He's happy that he had the courage to finally tell her. Ten more days with Liya and he's free...forever.