Chapter 1
Mia Johnson looked on in horror and disgust as Reid Garwin, the boy she was in love with, was on the couch of the lounge in their dorm with Kira Snider. Reid's shirt was on the table behind the couch and Kira's was down the hall. Mia was just about to leave until her eyes met Reid's' and he immediately stopped and jumped up. "Mia, I…" was the only thing he could get out before Mia turned and ran down the hall way. Reid hurried to catch up with her, putting on his shirt as he followed his girlfriend down the hall to her dorm room and leaving Kira alone on the couch.
When Reid finally got to Mia's room, he knocked on the door hoping that she would answer it. "Knocking, Garwin?" Reid said to himself silently. "I wouldn't answer the door if I was her either. I'm so stupid." When she didn't answer, Reid started knocking again. "Baby, please. Just open the door." Reid yelled into the door. "Let me explain. It wasn't….." was all that he got to say before she opened the door, her eyes already red and slightly puffy from crying. Mia moved to the side and ushered him inside.
Most of her room was packed since there was only three more days on campus before everyone went home for the summer. Reid looked around the single room, in which he spent countless hours with Mia, noticing how different it looked without most of her stuff. There was only a few things still out. Her laptop, a few of her favorite books, the stuffed bear that Reid had won for her at a carnival on one of their first dates, and some pictures that she hadn't taken down from her wall yet.
Reid stopped and looked at the pictures for a while. Most of them were family and friends of Mia's from back home. Others were of Mia's friends on campus. But the majority was of Mia and him. Times when they were hanging out, on dates, and when he was actually being a good boyfriend. 'I'm so screwed' he said to himself as Mia closed the door and started staring at him.
Reid stared intently into her eyes, trying to figure out exactly what was running through her mind. "I don't know what you're going to say" he started to say when he realized she wasn't reacting. "But baby, let me just say I'm sorry. I know I'm an ass and that I do stupid shit all the time." She started to laugh when he said that. She wasn't going to let him talk his way out of it again. "Stupid shit, Reid??? When you cheat on the girl you claim to love over and over again, 'doing stupid shit' is an understatement."
Reid stared intently at the girl he keeps hurting. At that moment, he realized that he finally pushed her to her breaking point. 'There's no getting out of it this time, Garwin' he thought to himself. 'All I can do now is beg and plead for her to forgive me. I can't lose her.' "Mia, I'm sorry. How can I fix this?? I don't want to lose you."
"You don't want to lose me??? Reid I think that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say!! If you're not hooking up with random girls, you're chasing and flirting with anything in a skirt!! There are times when I think you forget you have a girlfriend!" Mia screamed at Reid. She was so happy that they weren't outside, because she was never one to make a scene. This was so out of character for her, but she had to get this off her chest. 'I'm done with his bullshit' Mia thought to herself. 'I love him, but I can't keep doing this to myself. It hurts too much.'
"I've put up with this for almost a year, Reid and what do I have to show for it?? The countless nights I've cried myself to sleep? Having to walk the halls and deal with the snickering and whispering behind my back, knowing that everyone's laughing at what an idiot I am?? Reid you keep making a fool of me!! I can't even count how many times you cheated, gotten caught, and apologized. And like the fool I am, every time you've apologized, I've taken you back because I thought that maybe, just maybe, you loved me enough to change."
Reid hung his head low as she spoke. He knew that he had hurt her over and over again, but he never really knew how hard she took it. "Baby I do love you" Reid said. He started walking towards her until they were face to face and pulled her close to him. "Mia I love you more than anything. You're the best thing I have in my life." Tears started forming in both of their eyes. Normally, Reid would try to hide them, but he let them fall freely now. Mia was one of the few people besides Tyler, Caleb, and Pogue that he didn't have to hide in front of.
Mia let her tears fall also. She hated saying these things. But she had to. She was tired of being taken advantage of and despite her feelings; she had to put a stop to this endless cycle. "If this is how you treat the people you love, I wish you didn't love me. It would make this a hell of a lot easier on both of us."
Reid cupped her face and looked directly into her hazel eyes. "Can you honestly look me in the eyes and say that you don't love me?" Mia sniffled and cupped his hands around her face. "This isn't about whether or not I love you, Reid. I do love you. If I didn't, do you think I would have stayed with you for so long???" Then that's when Reid saw it. That glimmer in her eyes that told him that he might be able to save this. "Mia, what do you want me to do?" Reid said. "I'll do anything you want me to. Just baby please, don't leave me."
Reid had never made himself feel so vulnerable before in his life. The big "Reid Garwin" was never one to beg for anything. He was well known as the cocky, arrogant jerk that got anything and everything he wanted. Especially when the opposite sex was involved. Girls usually threw themselves at him and his "brothers", a fact Reid usually took advantage of. But that's the very thing that got him in the position he's in now. And the one girl who didn't throw herself at him, the one he actually wanted, was the one he's in jeopardy of losing.
Mia was different from any other girl he had ever met. She was quiet and shy, yet adventurous and spontaneous. She was always up to try anything at least once before she judged it. She didn't dress slutty like the other girls or cover her face with make-up all the time. She was her own person and that's one of the things that made her special. In a way, she was like his opposite, but in reality, Mia made Reid the person he wanted to be. That was one of the things he loved about her. 'I need Mia in my life.' Reid thought. 'You're gonna do whatever it takes to keep her. Anything she wants you to do, Garwin, you're doing.'
"I want you to change, Reid." Mia started. "I want you to be with me and only me. That's what I've always wanted. I don't want to have to share my boyfriend with basically half the female population of out class." Reid was about to say something but she stopped him. "But I don't think you can do it. I don't think it's possible for you to just be with one person." Mia moved Reid's hands from her face and kissed them as she let them go.
"Reid, I can't keep doing this to myself. It hurts way too much. "Tears started to fall from her eyes as she spoke the words that had been in the back of her mind for months now. Reid started shaking his head. "Baby, please no. Don't do this." Mia looked him hard in his piercing blue eyes with a devastated look on her face. "I'm sorry, Reid but it's over." Mia walked towards her door and opened it. "Baby, please." Reid said, tears streaming down his face. "Let me prove it to you. Let me show you that I can change." This is usually the part where Reid gets her to change her mind. But, not this time. Mia just held her head down, not trusting herself to look at him and hold her ground. "Please just leave Reid" Mia said; her voice barely above a whisper.
Reid turned and started walking out the door. Once he was in the hallway, Reid turned around and looked at Mia. He knew what she did was a good decision for herself because he's been a terrible boyfriend to her. All the lies he told her and the girls he messed around with. Yes, he had his "good boyfriend" moments but they didn't outweigh the bad times. And he knew that, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. She lifted her head as he looked at her and he realized that she was feeling the exact same way he was. "I'll see you in September, Reid." Mia said before she closed her door.