Chapter 7: My Life In Boxes
Rylee knew the crushing sensation of loneliness. When Blake left, she found herself in a house full of memories, overwhelmed by the ideas of the future. She didn't make enough to afford the bills on her own, and she didn't want to be stuck there anyway. When Tara offered to split a place with her, Rylee quickly agreed. The move was fast, and disorganized. Everything was dumped into boxes, piled into a room, and the door was slammed shut. Working took most of her time, and it was too painful to sort through the remnants.
The only piece of that life she held onto was her grandfather. Well, Blake's grandfather. After so many years, he was family, and Rylee refused to give that up. The elderly man was in a nursing home by the time the breakup happened. Alzheimer's was already taking hold, and most of his family had distanced themselves. Despite everything, Rylee made an effort to visit him every week. After work, she would bring painting supplies and sit with him, or join him for dinner. It didn't matter if he sometimes forgot names, or places, or even told her conspiracy stories about the nursing home trying to take his shoes. She was there for him, until the day he finally stopped remembering who she was.
The funeral came shortly after, and Rylee went, despite the fear of seeing Blake. She sat in the back of the chapel, trying to hold in the emotions she felt. But she wasn't prepared when Blake came through the door with THAT girl on his arm. The way SHE held Blake, territorially, it sucked every last breathe from Rylee's aching lungs. It was a funeral! She was there for grandpa, not to be distracted by this, home wrecker his grandson brought! After the service, Blake had the guts to walk up to her, looking for comfort. Rylee backed away, disgusted.
"You never visited him. He waited and you never came!" She accused, glancing over his shoulder. "And you do THIS at his funeral?!" She left before she could cause a scene, her ears ringing with rage. She shed tears over him in the past, but this was the first time they came because of anger.
That night, Rylee checked his social media. It was empty of all signs they had been together. It was like she had been erased from existence. She found the girl's page instead, and there in the relationship status was a date. Rylee's mind spun, sickened. They had been dating 2 months before they Blake even moved out.
2 months.
'I need some space,' he had claimed.
Like hell. She was so blind. So naive. She trusted him while he backstabbed her, and all she could see was that girl on his arm, who knew all too well she had stolen Rylee's happily ever after. They were engaged, planning a wedding, and he was seeing someone else? How could she not have known. How could she have been so stupid.
If she was a different woman, she would have sought revenge. She could have hacked his email. She could have keyed his car. All the petty anger and heartache balled up inside her, until she became blissfully, comfortably numb. She packed her boxes, moved to a new home, got a new dog. With every item, she swore to never be that blind again.
He was her best friend, but the only way to move on was to sever ties completely. She blocked his number, his social media, his email, and with grandpa gone, there was no reason to keep any of them in her life. She worked until she was too tired to cry, and she learned to pack up all her feelings just like those boxes in the spare bedroom.
The only disadvantage was that eventually, that room would have to be opened. Then there was no telling what she would find.
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