Mending the Heart
Part Two
He was done living this farce.
Two years. Two fucking years he'd had to stay away from her, just to keep her safe. Never had he thought that getting involved with her would bring this about—he had never had an inkling that that bastard could be so cruel as to ruin something that no longer concerned him. Then again, that redheaded son of a bitch had always been a sore loser and apparently, that was reason enough to destroy the one good thing Archie had had in his life.
He knocked back his fourth shot of vodka and reclined in the chair in Shelly's living room. He had a high tolerance for alcohol, which was a seriously bad trait to have when all he wanted to do was to drink himself into oblivion.
"Her graduation was yesterday," he told the raven-haired woman, who was cooking scrambled eggs in the kitchen. "I fuckin' missed it."
"Her parents would have been there. You're not exactly the kind of guy good girls bring home, hun," Shelly commented as she pierced the eggs with her spatula. "And it's way too early for you to be drinking like that. I'm going to throw out all the alcohol in the house if you don't quit it."
Archie slumped back in his chair, but didn't pour himself another shot. "This is so fuckin' fucked up."
"I still think you could have handled it better," Shelly told him, splitting up the eggs onto two different plates just as the toaster ding and popped out two slices of toast. She divvied them out between the plates and then carried both into the living room. Placing one in front of Archie, she said, "Eat, or I'm going to shove it down your throat."
"Fuck, woman, I'm a grown man. I can goddamn take care of myself." Nevertheless, he picked up the toast and took a bite.
"For all the 'grown man' you are, you certainly require about as much care as a baby," Shelly replied. "You could have just asked her to leave Harvard and go to a different school."
Archie glared at her. "Yeah, and ruin her entire life? Ain't no man out there worth changing schools over and I would never be that selfish."
"How noble of you," Shelly replied dryly, although Archie knew she agreed with his statement. "Still, there were other options. Now she probably hates you and even when she graduates with her Masters she probably won't take you back."
"Who says I'm going to ask for her back," Archie snapped, eyeing the bottle of vodka at his feet.
"You'd be stupid not to, since you haven't moved on yet. I got you a million and two dates and you screwed up every single last one. I can't say I feel sorry for you, because that was your own fault. But you had other options, especially once you left Aqua."
"It doesn't matter now. She's with that kid from the geology department or whatever. Steve or something." Archie snorted. "Pretty boy type. You'd like him."
Shelly hummed noncommittally. "Interesting choice. Perfect rebound, don't you think? Guy that's just the opposite of you, really."
"Fuck, Shell, you don't have to make this any harder than it is."
"I'm just trying to get you to get out of my house and do something with your pathetic life."
Archie rubbed his temples. "It's been two fuckin' years. She's infected me with something, I swear to god. It's like a fucking cancer or something."
Shelly laughed. "It's called love, sweetheart. I thought you knew this already."
Archie rolled his eyes and grunted. "You can quit with the therapy shit already. I'm not drunk enough for this."
"Yeah, well, personally I thought you had gotten over it, since you hadn't talked about it for a while. Obviously, you still need my help because you're still in love. I'll be your therapist all I want and by the way, I'm going to start charging if you don't get your ass in gear."
"Fuck you."
"Have you thought about leaving Cambridge altogether? Maybe some fresh air will get your head on straight. The Bahamas, maybe, or the Caribbean. Go back to your roots on the high seas," Shelly suggested.
"We already talked about this," Archie said.
"And I'm starting to think it's the best idea I've ever had. You have to get away from here."
Archie sighed and looked at the bottle of vodka longingly. He missed her, so much. The age difference didn't matter to him, it never had. However, he knew she had been insecure about it so he used it as the weapon he needed to ruin the relationship irrevocably—so that she could move on, even if he couldn't. He'd never been one to sacrifice himself for someone else, but that had changed when he met May Andrews.
But maybe Shelly was right. Maybe it was time to move on.
"Get your laptop," he said, tearing his eyes away from the vodka. "I'll see what I can find."
"There's a good boy," Shelly cooed.
Archie flipped her off.
"Steven and I broke up last night," May commented casually as she and Brendan walked down the road towards a Dunkin' Donuts. Her tone gave away nothing of her opinion on it—she didn't bother to pretend to be sad about it around Brendan. Her best friend had been with her the entire time through both relationships and he knew the truth. He would probably be able to see right through her even if he hadn't been kept in the loop the entire time.
Brendan didn't act surprised, nor did he seemed disappointed. In fact, he mirrored her tone perfectly. "Oh, okay. Was it rough?"
May shrugged. "He brought up how he moved on and basically asked why I hadn't. He didn't try to be mean about it, but sometimes the tone of your voice doesn't have to say how you actually feel." She knew this better than most.
"Does he deserve to be punched?" Brendan asked seriously. He smacked a closed fist into his open palm. "Cause I totally will."
May laughed and it was sad, which meant it was probably real. Brendan had said the same thing when he broke up with her, only May had had to beg him not to because that man could probably break him in half with his little finger. "No," she replied. "He doesn't deserve it. I was the one who ruined it, not him."
"Because you couldn't love him?" Brendan asked neutrally.
"Yeah."
"It's probably a real dickhead thing to say 'I told you so', but I did tell you not to date him so soon after the breakup."
May only smiled. "What's done is done. I'm meant to be alone, anyways."
They were silent as they entered the sweet-smelling establishment. They ordered two coffees and an assortment of donuts before sitting down at one of the tables.
"I'm going to Australia," May said suddenly.
Brendan looked up from his donuts and grinned, his mouth full of chocolaty pastry. "Oh, that's good," he said through the food.
"Gross," she said, wrinkling her nose at the sight of partially-chewed chocolate donut. "Close your mouth, you dolt."
Brendan swallowed and gave her a cheeky grin. "Love you too."
May rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, they accepted me into the program. If I give a final confirmation, they'll have me ready to go by June 19th. I have everything sorted out, my visa and everything. I wasn't sure if I was going to go when Steven was around, but…"
"Now there's no one to tie you down," Brendan said with a smirk. "I'm glad you're doing this, May. It's a good choice."
She nodded, taking a sip of her steaming coffee. The bitter flavor kept her mind clear and stopped it from wandering to painful places.
"I'll miss you, though," Brendan said.
"I'll miss you, too. I don't know what I would have done without you all this time." May smiled sadly.
Brendan shrugged her off. "You would've survived. You're strong enough. But my awesomeness definitely helped things."
May swatted at him and laughed. This was…this was good. She could feel that the laughter, the teasing, was real. It was…refreshing, to be able to feel again.
Even if there still was that gaping hole in her chest.
May sent off her confirmation to the Australian program as soon as she and Brendan returned to her apartment. She had moved from the one she had shared next to him during the summer between her sophomore and junior year, the pain of seeing that door every day overwhelming her. He hadn't lived there anymore and shortly after it was vacated, a friendly couple had moved into it. May had interacted with them a few times, but she missed Kyogre's loud barking in the morning and seeing him after she got off work. They used to have dinner together in his apartment almost every night. In truth, by the end of the relationship May was spending more time in his apartment than in her own and it was almost implicit that it was her home, too.
She left Maxie's Bakery one month before the breakup, having gotten a job at one of the many museums around the university, and May still wondered if that was why things had spiraled downwards. Her hours took time out of what she could spend with him and perhaps that was what had spurred him to go to Shelly—someone who could be there with him as often as she liked, since she worked whatever hours she chose.
There was no use thinking about it, anyway. As she had told Brendan, what was done was done and there was nothing she could do about it.
After sending off the email that would start the new chapter in her life, May went to meet up with her parents, who were flying out later that afternoon with Brendan in tow. She wanted to tell them about her decision face-to-face instead of over the phone. She knew they would be a little worried and her mother might object, but her father knew a good opportunity when he saw one and would be completely supportive of her endeavors.
She exited her home and locked the door behind her, imagining that the door was actually her years at Harvard and she was leaving them behind forever.
The conversation with her parents went down exactly as she had expected it to. By the end of it they were both all-for her idea and then they had to rush off to catch the plane. Brendan had made her promise that she would call when she arrived in Sydney, which May was not adverse to at all.
Now, three weeks later, she was packing the last of her bags and preparing to leave the country within the next forty-eight hours. She couldn't deny that she was a little stressed, the reality of her life-changing decision starting to hit her. She wasn't sure whether she would return to the United States any time soon, but she certainly knew that she wouldn't be coming back to Cambridge, Massachusetts, ever again. She had nothing left here.
She hadn't reapplied to Harvard for her Master's degree, nor did she have the intention to. Even if she didn't get accepted to the school in Australia, she wouldn't be going back to Harvard. Not with all the memories there.
Just as she was zipping up her suitcase, her cellphone began to ring. Frowning, as she wasn't expecting any callers at two in the morning, May stood up and went to retrieve it.
She didn't recognize the number, but she supposed it wouldn't hurt to answer. She picked up the smart phone, swiped the screen to accept the call, and then put it to her ear.
"May Andrews speaking."
"May, honey," came a sweet but concerned voice over the phone. "It's been a while."
May froze and her stomach dropped into her gut. Why—why? Why was she calling after everything that had happened? She hadn't heard from that woman since he left for her, so…why? She hadn't gloated, because that wasn't her way, but…why?
"Sh-Shelly?" she stammered, her heart racing. She wasn't sure if it was anxiety, anger, or jealousy that was currently destroying her insides, but it made her want to puke.
"Yeah," Shelly replied cheerily. "I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry I haven't contacted you sooner, but since change is in the air, I thought you might want to see a certain someone before he leaves the country."
She was frozen and at the mention of her ex, tears flooded her eyes. "Why would you even bother?" she demanded. "He has you, doesn't he?" A tear spilled over and May quickly wiped it away, taking a deep breath.
"Well, yeah…" Shelly didn't sound like she was bragging, though. She sounded confused. "But I've seen him every day since he ruined his own life, unfortunately for me. He's leaving the country tomorrow and even though you're going your separate ways and all, I thought it might be good for you two to get closure. Unless your boyfriend-"
May was so confused that the only thing she could respond to was, "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh!" Shelly was now excited. "Well, that's great. 'Cause Archie's been a total downer since you two broke up. You should have seen him after your graduation day. He was a mess."
The anger and jealousy was leaving her as confusion took over. "Okay, so I don't think we're on the same page," she said slowly, closing her eyes to keep further tears from escaping. "He said that he was leaving me for you. So I'm not quite sure why you're calling me so that we can get 'closure'. As far as I'm concerned, he's gotten all the closure he needs."
There was silence on the end of the phone line for so long that May thought Shelly had hung up. Then, suddenly, there was a growl of fury.
"He told you what?" Shelly demanded.
"He said that-"
"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID!" the older woman growled. "Oh, shit, that man is in for an ass-whoopin' he'll never forget."
May's brow furrowed as her heart suddenly felt lighter and pained all at the same time. "So…he didn't leave me for you?" she asked. "So then…he lied?"
"Of course he fucking lied! I wouldn't get between the two of you if someone paid me a million dollars!" Shelly was beside herself with fury, all but shrieking into the phone. "And here he was, all depressed 'cause he left you and boo-hoo 'I can't get over her' and he fucking told you that he left you for me?"
May swallowed and wasn't sure what to say anymore. Archie had lied about Shelly when he broke up with her, and apparently hadn't been taking the separation as well as she had assumed he was. So…what else was she missing?
"He said he needed a 'real woman'," May quoted. She wasn't sure if her heart was thundering in her chest so fast she couldn't feel it or if it had stopped altogether.
"That little dipshit," Shelly growled. "And after all I've done for him…" Suddenly, as though a switch had been flipped, Shelly was calm and collected again. "So, apparently stories need to be set straight and I know a man who's going to get the honor of doing so. Archie has a five o'clock flight and he's already on his way, since I was planning on surprising him with you. Minor change in plans, apparently, but how pretty do you think you can get in the next thirty minutes?"
Now May knew her heart was thundering. "I-"
"Unless you don't want to get pretty," Shelly mused. "I wouldn't blame you."
"That doesn't matter," May said, although she was already in her bathroom, brushing her hair fervently. It was a mess, since she hadn't seen a reason to take care of her looks when she wasn't going to see anyone that day. "I want to see him…even if it's just to-to say goodbye. I want the truth, if nothing else."
"Well, apparently there's a lot of truth you're going to be getting," Shelly said. "I'm on my way, so get ready. We have to catch him before he goes through security."
"Okay. You'll need my address. I moved," May said, trying to apply eyeliner with one hand.
"Shoot."
May told her the address and then they quickly hung up. She took deep, calming breaths, trying to cool her elation and simultaneous heartbreak. He was leaving, she was leaving…they were going their separate ways when the entire time there was no reason for them to not have been together.
Why?
Archie wasn't quite too sure how an airport could be pack at three in the fucking morning, especially when all he wanted to do was get on the plane so he didn't change his mind. It was a good idea to get out of here, the city he had called home for the past fourteen years, but leaving May behind somewhat halted his thought processes. Even though they couldn't be together, just knowing that he would be half a world away from her made his insides twist. Still, this was how it had to be. He had already gotten accepted for the job and there was no turning back now, so that was that.
After he finally checked in his luggage—what little of it there was—Shelly was still nowhere in sight and she had promised him that she would be there to say goodbye. Frowning a little, he walked over to a Starbucks at the front of the airport's enormous lobby and took a seat. He wasn't tired, but he planned on sleeping during the flight, so he ordered a plan vanilla rooibos tea. The moment he took a sip he gagged, knowing then and there why he never ordered anything but coffee, but then decided that he would choke it down nonetheless. If nothing else, his nerves needed to be calmed.
He watched the sliding doors for any sign of his friend and begrudgingly sipped on his tea. This was bullshit—he didn't understand why Shelly wouldn't just drive him to the airport herself. It wasn't that he was concerned about being late so much as chickening out. The flight wouldn't leave for another two hours, so he had plenty of time to spare. He just didn't like the feeling of being in limbo for so long.
Finally, a tall, voluptuous woman with black hair and blue streaks in her bangs walked through the door. Finally, Shelly was here. She had someone with her though, someone much shorter with short brown hair, stunning blue eyes, and…
Oh shit.
Archie choked on his tea with a vengeance.
