Author's note: picking up from chapter 20 in a different point of view.
Tuesday, June 28, 11:00 AM, Honeymoon Avenue Apartments, First floor, apartment eight
Robbie's POV
Another day with no Cat. Yay? Look, I'm still extremely mad at her for doing what she did the other day, but I feel like I just get mad at her in the heat of any argument we have. Living by myself has been great. You can sleep anytime you want, cook and eat whatever you want, you name the rest. But even though I hate to admit it, I miss living with Cat. I miss her warm hugs, her laugh, her singing at the top of her lungs every time she wakes up, just her in general. I can't believe I told her that I was dating Gabriella. Of course I'm not! I haven't even talked to her once. I just told her that because I was angry. My emotions always steal the show, and I hate it. I better go and apologize. We might not be on the best terms right now, but she's my best friend. I still remember the first day I met her.
(Flashback to 10 years ago in narrator POV)
Robbie and his family couldn't believe it. They finally fulfilled their dream of living in Los Angeles with their seven year old son, who had to transfer schools, obviously. He was always afraid of new people, and it was no different this time. It was his first day of school and people made fun of him right off of the bat, calling him the meanest insults a seven year old could think of. He was on the brink of crying, until a little red headed girl in a white dress stepped in front of him and stopped everything. "Hey, buttheads! Don't talk to him like that, I'm gonna tell Mrs. Baylor! Now scram!" Everyone ran away and she helped him up off of the ground and smiled. "Don't worry about it. They always run when I say that I'm gonna tell on them." Robbie got up and wiped the gravel off of his pants. "Thanks. What's your name?" The girl spoke to him softly. "My name's Caterina, but everyone just calls me Cat. Nice to meet you...?" Robbie wiped his hand on his shirt and stuck it out for her to shake. "I'm Robbie. You look really pretty. And cooties aren't real, my mom told me that." Cat giggled and shook his hand. "Thank you, my mommy did my hair today. I don't think cooties are real either. I can ask my mommy and daddy if you wanna have a play date with me." Robbie nodded his head. "I would like that a lot, Cat. If we could, then see you later." They became close friends right after that first meeting.
(Back to present day in Robbie's POV)
I miss her. I'm such a fucking idiot for bringing her down. She's probably scared of me, angry at me, or whatever. The last thing that I want to happen is her getting hurt, either physically or verbally, and I'm bringing her down piece by piece. I wanna kill myself right now, but I can't. Knowing Cat, she wouldn't want that to happen to me. I love her too much to let myself go. I'm doing everything for her from this point forward. I do believe that we'll be married, have kids, and be good parents. We just have to wait. Buzz. There's the bell, and now I have to get up shirtless in my boxers. Great. "Who is it?" I ask raspily. "It's Cat, we need to talk." This isn't gonna end well. I buzz her in and we talk inside, still standing near the front door. "You just made me experience the worst day of my life!" Cat slapped me in the face as she said that, and I just wanna disappear. "Don't you have anything to say? I feel like a worthless bitch because of you. Don't you know that what you say rubs off on me? Huh?" I literally have nothing to say to her. I hurt her feelings, so I should be taking this heat. "Hello? Anybody home? Whatever. Have a good day, Robbie."
All my words come under my breath. "I'm sorry." I say, muttering. Cat marched back to my apartment door. "Yeah, right. Apologies not accepted right now. Isaiah was the worst thing that's ever happened to me." I sigh and look behind me so that she can't hear me when I say what's in my head right now. "I love you more than you'll ever know, Cat." And I'm crying. In front of my ex. Whoop-de-fucking-doo. I could hear her voice break a bit, but I could tell that she's done with me. "Robbie, I-I-I...forget it. Bye." I pull out my knife. Screw it, I'm cutting. Yeah, just an indent right on my tattoo. I'm satisfied with the amount of blood that's out right now. I'll just make a group chat with her and Tori and see what she can do. But as of right now, my main goal is to get Cat to love me again. I still have a picture of us on our first date. I pick up my guitar and play a little jig before putting it back down. I can't play without thinking about her. Her smile, her hair, her everything. I guess I'm writing a song. *guitar ringtone plays* Oh, great. A video call from Tori and Cat. I can finally get my chance to explain myself and apologize.
"Hey guys! Why'd you invite me to your little chat?" Tori asked with a grin on her face. Good for her, she's happy. I'm obviously not. "Cat and I just wanna talk to you, you know?" Cat snugs her head under her hoodie as Tori keeps on talking. My God, she's adorable. "Great, so how has your summer been so far?" Cat's voice started to raise. "Both of you already know what happened to me yesterday." I feel terrible. She probably thinks that I failed her. "Look, Cat and I got into another fight and I moved out in anger. I said some things that shouldn't have been said, and I broke her heart. And Cat, I am so sorry. Please forgive me." Bad move, Shapiro. Cat fires back with ice. "Robbie, you tell me 'I love you' one day and break my heart the next. I mean, what am I supposed to believe? I have so much more to tell you, but I don't think I can tell you. I can't trust you right now. End the call. Now." I had to. I felt so bad. I love her, and she can't even trust me. We've changed as people, and I have to accept that fact. But I don't know how to tell her that I love her without me getting rejected. Kill me now, please.
Author's note: the next chapter is going to end this saga of heartbreak and dishonesty.