Final
Heartbreak She Didn't Deserve
Shiga Lin – I’m Still Loving You
“Ah, it’s so cold outside,” Aeri shivered, rubbing her hands together in order to receive heat for her frozen fingers. She buried half of her face into the scarf wrapped around her neck and continued her walk home from her college classes. She sighed quietly to herself, mumbling, “I wonder where he is right now.”
Once she arrived in the warmth of her apartment, she let out a tired sigh, “I guess he’s not home again.” She stared sadly at the photo frames that decorated the cabinet near the front door. He must be hanging out with her again, Aeri thought before she trudged to her bedroom.
She plopped down on her bed after taking a warm shower. Dressed in a sweater and a pair of sweats, she hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly as she huddled under the blanket. Maybe he’ll be back after I take a nap, she thought with a yawn, eyes drooping before she drifted off into dreamland.
-
Baekhyun shut the door to the apartment quietly, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness of the atmosphere. He had come home from his friend’s house, and he decided to come home after what he called a day. “Aeri?” he called out carefully, listening intently to pick up and sounds of life.
“Baek, is that you?”
His ears pricked up a sleepy voice before he saw his girlfriend walk out of their shared bedroom. To him, she looked so endearing in sweats and a sweater while hugging her stuffed bear that he had gotten for her on her fifteenth birthday. “Did I interrupt your sleep, babe?” he asked, his eyes filled with worry as he walked closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead before looking down at her with a warm smile, “Let’s get you back to bed, okay?” She gave him a tired smile as she rubbed her eyes, “Did you just get back from your friend’s house?”
“Yeah,” he nodded before ushering her back to bed, “Now back to bed you go. I’ll be right there after I take a quick shower, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered back, her eyes on him as he left into the bathroom. Her vision became blurry as she drifted back into dreamland once again.
After he finished taking a shower, he walked back to the bed, crawling under the sheets and lied beside her. He took one of her hands in his, linking them together as he stared at her sadly. With his free hand, he ran his thumb under her dark circles. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, placing a soft kiss on her cheek before falling asleep.
---
“How are you doing?” Yixing asked cautiously as he placed a cup of coffee in front of Aeri. She let out a tired sigh, running a hand through the hair that ran along her back, “I don’t know if I can take this anymore.”
“Why don’t you-”
“Break up with him?” Aeri finished, letting her hand drop on her lap. She shook her head, “I don’t know why I’m not even though I should. I still love him, you know.”
“And he still loves you, I know,” Yixing let out a sigh, placing his chin on his palm as his elbow rested on the counter top. He stared worriedly at the girl in front of him, “But you can’t let him do this forever. You know that you can never have two of the ones you want.”
“I know, I know,” she crossed her arms above the table and buried her face into them, “but as I’ve said, I just can’t do that. I don’t deserve this, but I can’t break up with him.”
“Aeri,” Yixing sighed again, patting her head softly, “You’ll figure out a way. You always do.” She lifted up her head to look him in the eyes, giving him a broken smile, “I guess I do.”
-
“Hey, Baek,” Aeri spoke up. Baekhyun looked at her curiously, “Yeah?”
“I’ve been thinking,” she bit her lip, wondering how to phrase her question, “Actually, never mind. Forget I said anything.”
“Are you alright?” he asked, frowning, “If you have something to ask, you can always say so.”
“I was just…,” Aeri stared at the floor, not able to meet his eyes, “I was- Well-”
“Calm down, Aeri,” Baekhyun chuckled softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. He gave her a bright grin, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
“If I asked you about a break up, what would you say?” she blurted out. She bit her bottom lip as she glanced up timidly, looking at his confused face. “Break up? What for?” he questioned, frowning, “Where did you get such an idea?”
“It’s just,” she sighed, “You are a great boyfriend and all, but you’re always spending time away.”
“Are you jealous?” Baekhyun let out a snort of amusement, eyeing her with a smile, “You don’t need to be jealous. I’m only with the guys-”
“I know about Dahae,” Aeri spoke quietly, looking at him through her lashes. He froze, his words caught in his throat, “What- How- I mean-”
“I saw you guys holding hands and kissing at the mall the day I was there to buy something,” she said, shuffling her feet.
Baekhyun bit his lip, his thought jumbled as he stared at the girl in front of him. He thought he was being careful, but the truth was half out now. “There are a few things that you need to know, actually,” he confessed, “Sit down.”
“To be honest,” Baekhyun started, choosing his words carefully, “The only reason I decided to date you was because my parents didn’t approve of Dahae.”
Crack. There goes a piece of her heart.
“They approved of you, so I thought that if I pretended to date you, my parents would stop questioning me.”
There goes another piece of her heart.
“We’ve been seeing each other ever since this relationship started,” Baekhyun admitted.
“So,” Aeri swallowed down the lump in , “I was used in order for you to continue dating her?” Baekhyun bit the inside of his cheek, if you put it that way, it sounds bad…really bad.
Aeri stood up abruptly, pulling Baekhyun out of his thoughts. He stared at her confusedly as she walked quickly into their shared bedroom, “What are you doing?” He followed after her, mildly shocked to see her packing her things. “Where are you going?” he asked, following her as she walked towards the door. She spun around, shocking him. Her tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffed, “I’m leaving.” He stared at her with a frown.
“If you had told me that you liked her,” she began, choking on her words, “I would’ve kept my distance and made sure that I didn’t fall for you. I would’ve made sure that I wouldn’t get hurt, and you two would be happy. But you didn’t tell me.” Her tears dripped faster, and she began to sob, her hands covering her face. He approached her cautiously, trying to comfort her. She hit his chest, trying to get out of his hug. Gathering the strength she had left, she pushed him away, “I don’t want to see you ever again. I hope you’re happy with Dahae.” With that, she ran out the door, leaving the male to stare at the closed door.
-
She had no idea where to go. She wandered around lifelessly, mumbling silent apologies to those she bumped into. Pedestrians glanced at the young girl with a pitiful stare. She must have looked hideous, but she didn’t care at the moment. She didn’t deserve being treated like that; it was too cruel, too selfish of oneself to treat an innocent addition in the equation like that.
“Aeri, what happened to you?” Yixing’s voice lingered in the air as he caught up with the younger girl. It was an understatement to say he was shocked to see her pale face and the tears that ran endlessly down her cheeks. He had a pretty good idea on what happened, so he didn’t question anything; he’d let her do that when she was ready. Instead, he carefully laid his arm on her shoulders and guided her to his apartment.
---
“Aeri?”
The said girl froze, unable to move. She turned around slowly, meeting eyes with the same guy who gave her the heartbreak she never deserved. “Baekhyun,” she mumbled, bowing a little. He frowned, “You don’t have to bow, you know.” He walked closer to her, “Congrats on graduating.”
“Thank you,” she bowed again politely, causing the male to frown again, “Aeri-”
“Aeri, there you are!” a voice called out in glee. The two turned towards Yixing, who was running towards their direction with a broad smile and a bouquet of flowers. His grin faltered when he noticed the other male, “Oh, Baekhyun. I didn’t know you knew Aeri was graduating today.”
“Actually-” Baekhyun was interrupted by another voice, “Baekhyun!” They all turned towards the voice coming from a younger girl.
“I guess we’re all here,” Aeri forcefully chuckled. “Aeri,” Dahae chirped gleefully, “You know Baekhyun, too?”
“We were acquainted,” the mentioned girl muttered quietly, “Yixing and I will get going first then.” She turned towards Dahae, forcing a grin, “Congrats on graduating.”
“You too!” the latter smiled happily before linking arms and smiling up at Baekhyun, “Let’s go, Baek.” Aeri bit her bottom lip before tugging on Yixing’s sleeve, “Let’s go, Xing. We’ll be late.” Yixing bowed slightly to the other two before intertwining his fingers together with Aeri’s, giving hers a slight squeeze of reassurance. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, squeezing back.
Baekhyun stared as the two walked away together. “Baek, are you okay?” Dahae’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked at the latter and shook his head, “I’m alright. We should go.”
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