Chapter 23: Sorry Isn't Good Enough
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"Listen, Aya, I'm..."
Marron stepped forward, stammering nervously under Aya's unreadable gaze.
"What I mean is.."
She stopped, shook her head, tried again.
"I'm..uh..What I mean to say is.."
"Marron, shut up." Aya cut her off bluntly. "Just...shut up."
"Maybe Trunks should explain."
I tore my gaze from Aya, blinking. Uub was smiling faintly, obviously relishing the fact that I was in the situation I was in. If the circumstance were different, I'd be justified in being angry with him, but as it was, I guess I'd got exactly what I deserved. Let him enjoy seeing me cringe, he was entitled to do such a thing.
Call it karma, call it my own silly fucking fault for being such an asshole, call it whatever you want to call it.
I said nothing.
"Maybe he should." Aya snapped, folding her arms across her chest and shooting me a glare that could have rivalled my mothers in sheer "Make Trunks feel as small and as wretched as is humanly possible" intensity.
I sucked in a breath, taking a few steps forward and shoving my hands in my pockets.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled, feeling like a five year old who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Aya let out a short laugh, tucking her hair behind her ears and re-folding her arms.
"Is that so?" she asked. "And what exactly are you sorry for?"
"This is ridiculous." I said irritably.
"Trunks..." Marron said lowly.
I lowered my eyes.
"I'm sorry for...uh...well, leading you on I guess..."
Wrong answer.
"Leading me on?" Aya asked incredulously. "What's you idea of leading someone on?" She stepped forwards, eyes flashing. "You had sex with me, Trunks. You said you'd call me. You arranged to date me."
The exasperated sigh from Uub didn't go unnoticed by me, but I chose to ignore it for now.
"I know, but..."
She held up a hand, silencing me.
"You know, I knew it was a one night stand. When I walked into the kitchen in the morning and saw you and your friend, I was all ready for you to say that it'd been fun but that was all. But you didn't."
Her voice cracked, and the angry expression melted from her face to be replaced by an altogether miserable one.
"I really thought you..." she stopped, turning to Marron. "How could you do that? How many times did I call you and... You told me you'd talk to him... You said he'd..."
She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at us both.
"Aya..." I said softly, reaching out to brush her hair from her face, feeling like the biggest bastard in the world. She jerked back from my touch, throwing me a poisonous look.
"I should have never..."
"Don't"
"No, please, just listen. This isn't Marron's fault."
"Trunks!"
"Just let me explain. I should have never done what I did, any of it." Both Marron and Aya looked at me, confused, while Uub folded his arms and looked positively furious.
"I...I just..I wanted to make myself feel better... I needed to forget everything for a while...so I - "
"Used me." Aya spat.
I gave her a hopeless look, but nodded.
"Yeah, I guess I did... But then I felt guilty, so I tried to set things right. I thought that if I - "
"Why are you telling me this?" she interrupted angrily.
"I don't..don't know. I thought it would help..."
"Well it didn't. Congratulations."
"I'm...sorry."
"I'm fed up of hearing you say that!" Aya cried, turning away. "Just don't bother!" She turned again, glaring at Marron. "Either of you!"
"Aya, don't be like that!" Marron cried desperately.
"You know, Maz.." Aya said softly, glancing at me, "You're worse than him." Marron's expression darkened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off again. "Because you said you'd look out for me."
Then she turned on her heel and stalked off, Uub following her with a face like thunder. Beside me, Marron choked back a sob, and before I could reach for her, she had set off running.
"Marron, hold on!" I called after her.
"Don't!"
"Mar, please!" I set off after her, gritting my teeth.
Well, I hope you're proud of yourself, Trunks. You've just made Marron's night. It's all my fault this happened. If I'd not screwed around in the first place, with her best friend of all people, maybe things'd have been different. Trunks, you fucking idiot, you don't deserve her. I slowed a little, eyes trained on the ground, my body growing numb. How could things get so screwed up?
A sharp cry jolted me from my thoughts, and I looked up to see Marron sitting on the pavement, holding her right foot, her expression twisted into a grimace of pain.
"Mar?" I hurried over to her, noting the broken glass scattered around nearby. Marron gave a soft sob, blood pooling around her hands, her body trembling slightly, most likely from the shock. As I stood there like a fool, she took one of her hands away, and grabbed the protruding end of the shard of glass embedded in the sole of her foot.
"Jesus." she groaned softly.
"What're you doing?" I asked in horror.
"Pulling it out." She locked eyes with me, and then did just that. Dropping the piece of glass from her shaking hands, she burst into tears, and I dropped to my knees beside her, folding her into my arms and placing kisses all over her face, her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, her hair. My eyes filled with tears then, and I stroked her hair from her face, biting my lower lip.
"I'm sorry Mar." I choked out, burying my face in her hair as she sobbed. "I'm so...I'm sorry..." I tried to say more, but my throat tightened and I couldn't speak. I just hoped she knew that I was sorry for a lot more than her injured foot.
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A/N: Quick update for once! Hehe, I got inspired finally! Hope you liked how everyone handled everything, I wasn't sure whether I wrote it okay, hopefully it isn't too bad. Would've updated yesterday, but it was my birthday. *grin* Thanks and squeezy hugs to my gorgeous reviews, luv ya!
Aerith
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"Listen, Aya, I'm..."
Marron stepped forward, stammering nervously under Aya's unreadable gaze.
"What I mean is.."
She stopped, shook her head, tried again.
"I'm..uh..What I mean to say is.."
"Marron, shut up." Aya cut her off bluntly. "Just...shut up."
"Maybe Trunks should explain."
I tore my gaze from Aya, blinking. Uub was smiling faintly, obviously relishing the fact that I was in the situation I was in. If the circumstance were different, I'd be justified in being angry with him, but as it was, I guess I'd got exactly what I deserved. Let him enjoy seeing me cringe, he was entitled to do such a thing.
Call it karma, call it my own silly fucking fault for being such an asshole, call it whatever you want to call it.
I said nothing.
"Maybe he should." Aya snapped, folding her arms across her chest and shooting me a glare that could have rivalled my mothers in sheer "Make Trunks feel as small and as wretched as is humanly possible" intensity.
I sucked in a breath, taking a few steps forward and shoving my hands in my pockets.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled, feeling like a five year old who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Aya let out a short laugh, tucking her hair behind her ears and re-folding her arms.
"Is that so?" she asked. "And what exactly are you sorry for?"
"This is ridiculous." I said irritably.
"Trunks..." Marron said lowly.
I lowered my eyes.
"I'm sorry for...uh...well, leading you on I guess..."
Wrong answer.
"Leading me on?" Aya asked incredulously. "What's you idea of leading someone on?" She stepped forwards, eyes flashing. "You had sex with me, Trunks. You said you'd call me. You arranged to date me."
The exasperated sigh from Uub didn't go unnoticed by me, but I chose to ignore it for now.
"I know, but..."
She held up a hand, silencing me.
"You know, I knew it was a one night stand. When I walked into the kitchen in the morning and saw you and your friend, I was all ready for you to say that it'd been fun but that was all. But you didn't."
Her voice cracked, and the angry expression melted from her face to be replaced by an altogether miserable one.
"I really thought you..." she stopped, turning to Marron. "How could you do that? How many times did I call you and... You told me you'd talk to him... You said he'd..."
She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at us both.
"Aya..." I said softly, reaching out to brush her hair from her face, feeling like the biggest bastard in the world. She jerked back from my touch, throwing me a poisonous look.
"I should have never..."
"Don't"
"No, please, just listen. This isn't Marron's fault."
"Trunks!"
"Just let me explain. I should have never done what I did, any of it." Both Marron and Aya looked at me, confused, while Uub folded his arms and looked positively furious.
"I...I just..I wanted to make myself feel better... I needed to forget everything for a while...so I - "
"Used me." Aya spat.
I gave her a hopeless look, but nodded.
"Yeah, I guess I did... But then I felt guilty, so I tried to set things right. I thought that if I - "
"Why are you telling me this?" she interrupted angrily.
"I don't..don't know. I thought it would help..."
"Well it didn't. Congratulations."
"I'm...sorry."
"I'm fed up of hearing you say that!" Aya cried, turning away. "Just don't bother!" She turned again, glaring at Marron. "Either of you!"
"Aya, don't be like that!" Marron cried desperately.
"You know, Maz.." Aya said softly, glancing at me, "You're worse than him." Marron's expression darkened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off again. "Because you said you'd look out for me."
Then she turned on her heel and stalked off, Uub following her with a face like thunder. Beside me, Marron choked back a sob, and before I could reach for her, she had set off running.
"Marron, hold on!" I called after her.
"Don't!"
"Mar, please!" I set off after her, gritting my teeth.
Well, I hope you're proud of yourself, Trunks. You've just made Marron's night. It's all my fault this happened. If I'd not screwed around in the first place, with her best friend of all people, maybe things'd have been different. Trunks, you fucking idiot, you don't deserve her. I slowed a little, eyes trained on the ground, my body growing numb. How could things get so screwed up?
A sharp cry jolted me from my thoughts, and I looked up to see Marron sitting on the pavement, holding her right foot, her expression twisted into a grimace of pain.
"Mar?" I hurried over to her, noting the broken glass scattered around nearby. Marron gave a soft sob, blood pooling around her hands, her body trembling slightly, most likely from the shock. As I stood there like a fool, she took one of her hands away, and grabbed the protruding end of the shard of glass embedded in the sole of her foot.
"Jesus." she groaned softly.
"What're you doing?" I asked in horror.
"Pulling it out." She locked eyes with me, and then did just that. Dropping the piece of glass from her shaking hands, she burst into tears, and I dropped to my knees beside her, folding her into my arms and placing kisses all over her face, her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, her hair. My eyes filled with tears then, and I stroked her hair from her face, biting my lower lip.
"I'm sorry Mar." I choked out, burying my face in her hair as she sobbed. "I'm so...I'm sorry..." I tried to say more, but my throat tightened and I couldn't speak. I just hoped she knew that I was sorry for a lot more than her injured foot.
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A/N: Quick update for once! Hehe, I got inspired finally! Hope you liked how everyone handled everything, I wasn't sure whether I wrote it okay, hopefully it isn't too bad. Would've updated yesterday, but it was my birthday. *grin* Thanks and squeezy hugs to my gorgeous reviews, luv ya!
Aerith