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Exception

Who Ever Said “Three Was A Crowd”?

By Robyn WelbornePublished 6 years ago 20 min read
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Exception

-R.Welborne.

_________________________________

» »“Good Morning, my Luv.”

I typed. My cellphone made its usual ‘ping’ noise, indicating that the message has been sent. The digital clock on my nightstand had just clicked to ten-thirty in the morning when I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

* * * * *

Strong rays of light escaped through the white downward slits of my window blinds, directly hitting my face. I scratched the crust from my eyes and tried to open them, but the sun was too bright. My ‘messy-bun’ looked even messier now because of all of my tossing and turning. “It must be 2:00pm,” I thought as I squinted to get a better look at my clock, “the sun’s only this bright around 2:00pm.” It was only eleven o’clock. As I fumbled around for my contact’s case, I found myself unconsciously unlocking my cellphone instead. Three… Four… Six… Four. I had skillfully memorized my touchscreen buttons to the point where I could unlock it with my eyes closed. I did not pay too much attention to the numbers themselves, but more so, because they spelled a name; his name: D-I-M-I. ‘No New Messages’. My heart fluttered. I closed my eyes. “Why am I feeling like this? I've only known Dimitrius for two months now, and already I have butterflies…” I let my mind wander for a few minutes, thinking about why has he not texted me back yet. “What am I doing? I have a boyfriend. Yet, this random social media ‘ConnecThem’ boy has my feelings spinning… I used to be a lot stronger than this,” I squinted my eyes tighter in anger, “I used to be a lot emotionless than this. I can't keep playing with fire… It needs to stop.” I suddenly reopened my eyes, and finally put my contacts in. I closed my inbox and opened up my Photos App. I stared ridiculously at numerous pictures that I had saved up in a special folder, labeled: ‘My Dimi <3’. What was it about him that occupied my life more than Valen? They both had the same body frame, the same skin-tone (well, Dimi was a little darker), and color of hair. I stared harder and more tenderly at the pictures. Then it hit me. The main factor about how I could tell them apart. How Dimi acted the part better. How he fit the profile better. Dimitrius was a thug… and for some reason, I adored that. From his sagged jeans, to the way he cocked his Chicago Bulls SnapBack to the left side of his head, Dimi fit the part---and, he fit it well. Even every outfit, in the vast collection of pictures I have of him, was always on point. I let out a deep sigh, “Valen was a thug too, but, not like this… Not like him.” I closed out all of my apps and wiggled out of bed.

* * * * *

I knew it had just turned twelve-thirty in the evening because my favorite show “Riding Ninja Waves” was coming on. I wanted to watch it, but I already had plans for today. Reluctantly, I gave in, which set me back now one hour. It was one-thirty, and I frantically ran for a towel. I needed a shower, but time was quickly slipping away. Yet still; somehow, every second I found myself checking my inbox for messages that were not there.

I closed the bathroom door and ran the water. I heard scratches on the door's wooden frame, which made me reopen it to a crack large enough for Snickers, my mop-of-a-dog, to squeeze through. She sat in the part of the corner where the doorstop touched the wall, and curled up under the vent. The water was squirting out short episodes of hot and cold water. Then I knew, it was a signal that the hot water was running out. Undressing, I had put one foot in the shower when my cellphone buzzed: “New Message: Dimi<3”

* * * * *

I could not quite remember just how exactly I started talking to Dimitrius, but one thing was for certain---I loved him. Even more than Valen Tankley my ‘boyfriend’, or was he, I wondered at times. “He was a good guy,” I let the lukewarm water slide down my back as I turned up the heat, “so, why am I doing this to him? Why can't I stop hurting Valen…” The hot water scorched my back, but I did not mind. It sent a cold chill shooting down my spine. I shook it off. I liked the heat, and it numbed my senses. “This has been going on for two months now, yet still, I felt no sympathy… Why can't I stop?”

I could feel random droplet of cold water spurting out from the nozzle head, which made me rush my shower. My skin developed goosebumps. I was getting cold. I shook my right hand off and reached for my cellphone that was sitting on top of the toilet seat. As I wiped the water and soap suds from my case's screen, I unlocked my cellphone. Three, four, six, four. I swiped the Messages App to my inbox:

»Don't call me that. -___-

My heart sank to the soles of my feet:

» »“Wait, what? Did I do something wrong? Tell me so I can apologize properly.” I replied back. I stood there motionless underneath the icy cold shower water. Confused? No. That word barely scratched the surface of what I was feeling. I could not explain the range of emotions that had burst through my body: anger, sadness; whatever they were, my mind was flooded with them.

I wrapped up in my cold towel and stepped out into the steamy bathroom. Snickers wagging her ‘many tails’ wildly about the floor. She walked over and laid her dirty fur on my feet; I nudged her away. I stared blankly at my cellphone screen until the background light went dim. I managed to catch the time: ten minutes to three. The screen went black. I tossed my phone down onto my pile of clothes that were scattered in front of the bathroom door. It bounced once, then sank like a rock to the bottom of the pile. It made a heavy thud when it finally touched the tiled floor. I had wondered for a moment if it had broke, but I did not care at all about it. I only had one hour left before four o’clock, and I was not going to miss my date. My heart was still heated, but I dried off and opened the bathroom door. Steam floated out in little cloud puffs as Snickers zoomed past me. I followed her into my bedroom and closed the door behind me.

* * * * *

Four o’clock came and went, yet I was still severely behind time. I did not care anymore. I will get there when I get there. My cellphone rang that same old annoying default ringtone that I have grown used too. It is not that I had disliked the tone, I just never got around to changing it yet. I went back into the bathroom and searched through the pile I still had on the floor. It was Valen.

“Hey, baby.” I quickly pulled my voice together and straightened down my hair (not like it mattered, he could not see me anyways). “What's up?”

“Hey, babe. Class let out early, and my next professor got sick. So I got a free evening.”

“That's great, that's great.” I cleared the nervousness out of my throat, “I mean like, that's awful he got sick, but good that you're free now.”

“So is our date still on, Ali?”

I froze. My words just could not escape my mouth to respond to his question. Thoughts flooded my mind, “Why am I doing this? Am I really going to agree to continue this date? And then there's Dimi. How does he fit into this picture…” I checked my messages again. ‘Empty’.

“--Alyssa?” Valen’s tone grew more impatient and worried that I might last minute cancel on him.

“…Well, I'm about to find out.” I cleared my throat and gave Valen an answer, “Umm, yeah. Yeah. We still-- *ping ping* --” I looked at my cellphone: “New Message: Dimi<3”. Once again my heart jumped. “Umm, babe. Can you hold on real quick please?”

“Yeah, sure.” He said as I put him on hold and went to my inbox:

»You know what you did. Everything you told me was a lie. I mean, hell, is your name even Alyssa Wesley? As much as you've lied to me…

I did not even bother to read the rest. My face had turn completely red with anger. Without even thinking about it, I hung up on Valen and focused all my energy on Dimitrius Connor.

* * * * *

It was a quarter to five now, and I still was not dressed. I was still rattled about what Dimi said to me, but I tried not to let it bother me too much. I felt bad about hanging up on Valen, but that sudden feeling of sorrow came and skated right over my icy heart. I had no idea what I was going to wear. I just threw on the first things that I had gotten my hands on. Surprisingly, they matched. My mind was still scrambled over Dimi, and I had to reply back.

I needed to brush my teeth, but where was my flat iron? My head was all over the place, jumping from one thought then over to another. I reopened my inbox:

» »“If I knew what I did then why would I be asking you in the first place?” I sent back.

I know it was not much, and clearly I had a whole lot more to say; but, I just did not know how to say it. I had to pick and choose my words carefully, before I destroy everything that I had with him. I did not understand how it happened or the reason why, but somehow Dimi had become my life. “Why did I just lie to him? This is not helping my case at all. But, what choice do I have? I kind of had this idea about what he was talking about, but… I just could not let him win.”

My mind was so wrapped up on the idea of how desperately I was going to ‘keep Dimi’ that I had unknowingly flatted my hair downwards instead of up. So, with a little makeup and another flat-ironing session, I was finally ready to hit the road.

My phone buzzed rapidly *ping ping, ping ping*: “Two New Messages: Dimi<3”. I felt like crap. Here I am all dazzled up about to go over Valen’s house, yet I get flustered everytime this guy texts my cellphone.

* * * * *

I drew in a deep breath and opened my messages:

»I saw the comments. I read what he said. Don't play me, Alyssa. Don't call me baby, babe, my love, boo, none of that anymore. You will call me by my name when we talk. All of our conversations will be in general as mutual friends.

»You lied to me. All this crap about you two were on the verge of breaking up, yet you still had ‘business’ to settle first. You had already told me this same crap the last time and yet you guys are still together. I thought you said that he was no good… What happened to that lie?

I just could not believe what I was reading. I sat my keys down on the table and took a seat. I could tell how serious Dimitrius was about this, but never once did he raised his voice in ALL CAPS to me. This made me even more nervous to keep my cool and to not blow up on him. Valen's date! I knew I was going to be late, but I had made up my mind. This conversation was more important to me now, and I was hoping that Valen would understand why I was not on time.

As I reread the messages over again, it finally hit me. I realized what Dimitrius was talking about. Online on social media: ConnecThem. The picture! The comment! My face paled as I let my cellphone screen go dark. I did not even worry about replying back--I had to go check that picture! I clicked out of my inbox and opened my ConnecThem App login screen. I clicked on my profile button and scrolled through my pictures. I found the one I knew he was talking about and tapped on it. I read through the comments, and almost dropped my phone. “How could I have been so stupid? To let this minor mistake slip by!”

I closed down my profile, and reopened my messages. I had to reply back… I had to say something, but what? For once I was scared that I have lost, but that still did not stop me. Dimitrius was right… but, I was not prepared to lose this war just yet. Lying had got me this far, yet I was still pushing it on how much further it would carry me. If lying were a gold medal, my shelves would be filled with them. I replied back:

» »“How did I lie to you? Everything that I told you was the truth. We were broken up. And yes, I did have business to settle but it involved his family and mines. Why do you not believe me?”

I shook my head. "That was such a terrible lie," I thought, "but at least I had said something back. I hope it buys me a little bit of time to think." Our conversation went on for what seemed like forever, and the more I replied back, the more disgusted I felt inside. I was in love with Dimitrius, yes that part was true; yet, I was playing Valen. Where was my heart? Did I even have one, I questioned? My cellphone kept buzzing like crazy as waves of ‘New Message’ replies came crashing through my hard-drive:

»I never believed you from the beginning. Something about what you told me just never felt right. I mean like, what girl leaves her boyfriend that she’s known for years for someone she just recently met on the Internet, but never in person? It makes no sense--

» »“But, I do like you! I’m not lying to you. We really are broken up. I’m just doing me, but no matter what I say, you’ll never believe me.”

» --And another thing, that whole crazy lie about you having “business to settle”… Who are you trying to play, Alyssa? The way he claims you so strongly, that’s not how someone would act if they were broken up. You’re obviously still with him.

I know I should not have, but I lost my cool. That last reply from Dimitrius had my blood boiling hotter than Hell in the middle of July. I was not mad at him, nor was I at myself. The point that got me mad was the fact that we came to this argument over something so petty as a few words that I could not control from someone else's mouth. I was ready to tell Dimitrius my true feelings… no matter what lies my venomous mouth was spewing out in the mix:

» »“Look! I did not lie to you. What purpose will that serve or what will that gain me? I am who I told you I am. But if you can’t believe that. Then I don’t know what else to tell you. If you didn't believe me then why did you pretend like you did! You told me from the beginning not to catch feelings… But why are you talking to me as if it were you who was the one who caught feelings?”

At the rate I was going, I was hot enough to melt the whole continent of Antarctica. All grace went out the window, and I was out looking for blood. I was arguing over Dimitrius as if I had already claimed him… as if Valen did not exist in my world anymore. “I had been living this lifestyle for years, so why did Dimitrius have to be such a challenge for me? My charm has worked on many guys… so why not him?” The more I thought about it, the more angrier it got me, “‘Side-piece’, or not… he WAS GOING to be mine.” I stood up and began to walk around because my legs had fallen asleep. I do not know how long I had been sitting down, but this conversation became intense. I stop and read the final message:

» I think you should leave me alone and focus on your relationship.

At that moment, the war was over… I had lost (of course, I was never going to admit it, but the odds had left my favor). With that simple reply message back, it was obvious that there was no changing his mind about me:

» » “Ok.”

I did not know what else to say. I had lost. But more importantly, I was too riled up to get any of my thoughts straight. It was about six-fifteen now, and grabbing my keys once more, I went to my car.

* * * * *

I hopped in my car, started the engine, and drove towards Valen’s house in the town of Eastbrook, located within St. Rachel's County. My cellphone buzzed again, *ping ping*: ‘New Message: Dimitrius Connor’. I rolled my eyes as I clicked open the message:

»Don’t talk to me unless it has to do with general life. Nothing personal anymore. Nothing sexual, of course.

In Between red lights, I responded back to his messages:

» »“I’m sorry. I apologize for whatever it is you’re saying I did. I’ll leave you alone but for how long? Is this permanent or just until your animosity subsides?”

I was tired. The fight had ended; the war was over. There was nothing more I could say or do that would win Dimitrius back over to me. I was not expecting a reply back, but I was surprised when he did:

»Don’t talk to me as if you care until you’re single.

I felt a smile creep onto my face, and a sigh of relief shoot through my body. I do not know why; but somehow, that last message gave me a bit of hope. Dimitrius never said that I had to permanently leave him alone. Maybe I had read that wrong? But, even that did not kill my mood. It still gave me hope.

* * * * *

I had arrived at Valen’s house and pulled into his driveway. I sent Dimitrius my very last text, before I called Valen:

» »“I have to go now. I will leave you alone… And let you talk to me first when you are ready. Bye.”

I rang up Valen’s number while honking my horn several times. I got out of the car--not for him, no; but, mainly to show off my outfit. I had on my short mint-green and black studded dress that cut off just above my knees. It hugged every curve and soft spot that my body possessed so precisely. How it showed off my hips. How from the neck swooped into a gentle cut across the front that revealed just the right amount of cleavage. My long auburn hair rippled in curls down my shoulders and back. My high-heeled five-inch black gladiator stilettos (that helped me reach his six-foot-four height) complimented my smooth chocolate-brown calves, and newly pedicured toes. My sparkling brown eyeshadow and mascara highlighted and brightened my hazel eyes. Even my nails were trimmed and painted to perfection. Everything matched… and I was feeling great. Valen paused dead in his tracks. He was stunned. He was amazed… and I could tell it. I noticed him too. Valen wore his usual gray sweatshirt that had a black and white American flag on the front. His tinted aviator sunglasses dangled from the neckline. I never really cared much for that sweatshirt of his, but it did have a few redeeming qualities that I liked. How it showed off his muscles in all the right places. Or plainly, just how it represented his personality and style that had attracted me to him all those years ago. His burgundy jeans cuffed at the top of his all-black high-topped Converse Chuck Taylor's. He had this ratty, retro-styled army jacket tied around his waist. His curly black hair was neatly trimmed up… he was cute, I thought. His light-skinned completion evenly balanced with my darker skin tone. His deep coal-colored eyes seemed to devour me the more he stared at me, I noticed. I will admit, his eyes were beautiful, and sparkled with every sun ray that hit them. Valen did not make any special attempt at his wardrobe, but that did not matter. I was ready to go. He hopped in the passenger’s seat, and said nothing the whole drive to the club. One side of me felt relief that Valen did not ask or question why I was late, but another part of me felt guilt (which, that side of me did not last long since I shrugged it off right away) about how I had basically deceived him these past couple of months.

Our date went perfect, and we even shared a couple of laughs together; but yet, I still found myself thinking about what had happened earlier today. A couple of hours past before I took Valen back home. We did not worry about the time, or how dark it had gotten outside. All that mattered right now was that we were in the moment, and there was no one in the world but us two. We both exchanged romantic looks before Valen had hopped out of my car.

“I love you.” He said right before he closed my car’s door.

Without even thinking about it, I automatically replied back, “I love you too.”

He smiled, and I rolled down my window. “Call you tonight, babe?”

I thought about it, “No, maybe tomorrow, my baby. I’m kind of tired.” I looked away, “I cannot tell him what happened today… he's too nice. And so, I never will.” I let out a huge sigh of disappointment.

“Ok.” Valen reached in and held my righthand that rested on the gearshift. I blushed, “Get home safely, my love. Have a goodnight.” He leaned in, and we shared a nice passionate kiss.

“Valen’s such a good guy. Never once he questions me, or ever thinks twice about anything I do. Maybe I do love him…” The thought made me smile back harder as I wished him a goodnight and rolled my window back up. I watched him get safely into the house, before I started my engine and pulled off down the road.

* * * * *

I arrived back home, and look at the digital clock that was on my car’s dashboard. It read ten o'clock p.m.. I was tired. I clumsily unlocked the door, and dead-bolted it back. I leaned against the door frame and pressed my car alarm button. I waited to hear it's *beep beep beep*, before heading to my bedroom. I sloppily threw my belongings and high-heeled shoes onto my floor, and plopped down on my bed. I blankly stared at my digital clock that was on my nightstand: ten-thirty p.m. it read. It made me raise an eyebrow, “Déjà vu… Why does this seem so familiar?” I tried hard to remember, but my brain was already too fried.

I checked my cellphone one more time, erased all my messages, and hooked it up to its charger. I took my contacts out and laid my head on my blue furry pillow. “I have to forget about Dimitrius. ‘Dimi<3’ never happened… ‘We’ never happened.” I could not promise myself and my heart that ‘everything between us was over’ just yet, but I was certain that 'nothing will ever happen in the future' either. I cooled down long enough for my ‘Arctic Heart’ to re-freeze its permafrost again. I closed my eyes, and finally let the urges of sleep overcome me. I slept surprisingly soundly that night… Dreaming.

About Valen.

humanity
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About the Creator

Robyn Welborne

I am an aspiring creative writer who is currently working for my double Associate’s Degree in English. My writing has no limits and no filter. Anything and everything from all genres; if I think about it, then I will write it down. Enjoy!

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