Chapter 1: Heart break stinks
"Oh my God, this is so hilarious. What were you even thinking, you piece of shit?" the girl spoke even louder, her voice filling the entire hall as people began to gather around.
Everyone had known that I used to date Evelyn Rose, the heir to the Rose Foundation. People always said I was lucky and that they wished they could be in my position.
And as you would expect, it went straight to my head. It was like I was living in the clouds for a full two years.
Yes, you heard me right. It started from my very first year in college. I had turned her down a couple of times, but she was persistent.
And after I finally gave in, we started dating.
I gave her everything. I took out student loans just for her, and whenever she offered to cover something for me I would refuse, telling her I was capable, that I would work hard, finish college, and build myself up to her level.
Well, I guess I was just a big fool, because here she was now, acting like none of it had ever meant anything.
"Evelyn, tell me. Please tell me this isn’t true," I said, tears running down my face.
"Well, it is, Logan. I’m sorry. I fell for your best friend Andrew in the third week of our relationship, and I couldn’t say anything because Andrew was certain it would completely break you," Evelyn said as she touched Andrew’s face in a way that made my stomach turn.
Andrew was my best friend. Despite coming from a much wealthier background, we had always been close.
"I’m sorry about everything, bro. I kept looking for the right time to tell you, but..." Andrew paused to kiss Evelyn before continuing.
"...honestly, I was just looking for the most painful way to do it," Andrew said, laughing openly.
"You know, the only reason I even got close to you in the first place was because you were friends with Brandon, the class genius. I needed someone to handle my assignments.
But look how things turned out. Brandon isn’t even your friend anymore, so I guess I have no use for you either."
I clenched my fist. Brandon had warned me about Evelyn, and I had cut him off immediately, convinced he was trying to take her from me. I had seen him helping her once or twice and caught them smiling together, and my mind immediately made him the villain.
I was that naive. I was that foolish.
He had been trying to protect me, and I threw him away for it.
"It’s honestly ridiculous to think you could ever keep up with people like us. Isn’t it unfortunate? I am the son of the general military commander and Evelyn is from the Rose Foundation. But you..." Andrew said with a deliberate pause.
"Oh right. You’re the guy drowning in student loan debt." The entire hall had erupted in laughter by this point.
It felt like the floor should just open up and swallow me whole.
My hands were trembling. I wanted to hit someone.
I caught Brandon from the corner of my eye, his glasses sitting at the bridge of his nose, and for the first time since I had known him, his eyes were anything but calm.
For the first time in two years, Brandon looked genuinely angry and disappointed, and it wasn’t long before he walked out of the hall entirely.
Today was supposed to be a peaceful end-of-month party.
Instead it had turned into a disaster. Our second year in college was wrapping up, and Evelyn had hosted a party to celebrate, one I had felt I needed to show up and support. So I had handed her a thousand dollars to help cover the costs.
And now it was clear they had only been using me as a bridge to Brandon, and I had let it happen without question.
Brandon was the sharpest mind in our class, and unlike most people, he never made it complicated. If you were his friend, or even a friend to someone in his circle, he would show up for you whether it was assignments, tests, or exams.
Brandon always came through for the people he cared about.
But now it seemed like the people around him didn’t truly care about him at all, and I was part of the reason why.
"Me and Andrew are getting married right after school, so you really don’t need to worry about any of this..." Before she could finish, I lost it completely and swung my fist directly at Andrew.
I was furious. This was not the first time I had been treated this way. I had gone through almost the exact same thing in high school.
That was why trusting Brandon hadn’t come easily to me. Trust issues ran deep. But Andrew was going to feel this one.
Except before my punch could land, everything went dark.
---
My eyes slowly opened to the harsh sunlight pouring through my window.
How did I get back home so quickly?
Despite how badly my face and eyes hurt, I forced myself to sit up and look around. That was when I saw him.
Brandon was sitting just a few feet from my bed.
"Brandon, man, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what came over me, please—"
"You need to rest. Your eyes are hurt. That punch sent you crashing through the room, and even after you passed out he kept going. So please, stay in bed. You need to recover," Brandon cut me off immediately.
"And Logan, it has been good being your friend, but I need some space. From here on, I don’t need any calls from you, and please keep your distance. I already did you a solid.
With how badly you were beaten, I genuinely think you might not have made it if I hadn’t come back to that hall," Brandon said, standing up and walking out of my small makeshift apartment.
Before I could say another word, the door had already shut behind him.
I had known Brandon for two years, and somewhere in his heart I was sure he still cared.
But I had messed up in a way that was hard to come back from.
I lay on my bed for what felt like a long time, as if waiting for something to happen.
The room was a mess.
Unwashed clothes were scattered everywhere and empty cigarette boxes littered the floor.
My life had always been this way.
No woman, no money, and now I was lying here beaten up like a common thief.
In just a matter of hours, I had lost everything. And on top of all of it, I now owed various student loan organizations close to four thousand dollars in total.
Was any of this even worth it?
The tears finally came, not just from the intense physical pain spreading through every part of my body, but from the feeling of my chest caving in on itself.
Then my phone buzzed.
I painfully reached into my pocket and pulled it out.
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