Chapter 8

"I CANNOT BELIVE THIS!" Cristina screamed as she walked into her apartment. She had texted Stacy earlier asking where she was. They needed to talk. ASAP. "I can't believe you didn't tell him. And you let him stay over."

Cristina took of her shoes and tossed her jacket on a chair. She was prepared to make Stacy suffer. She had prepared a whole speech. But the moment she stepped into the living room and took in the view in front of her, she could neither move nor say a word. Her mind was barley understanding what her eyes were seeing. There, in her own apartment, sitting on her couch, was sitting her ex-boyfriend, Preston Burke. He was supposed to be a senior, but had managed to graduate a year earlier and had taken a job in London. They had been dating for almost twelve months and for the first time in a long time Cristina had felt happy. She could even envision a future with Preston. Then one day, he had made reservation to a fancy restaurant. Cristina, thinking that he might actually ask her to move in with him, was very excited for the date, but nervous. She had spent longer than usual getting ready, picking out the perfect dress and doing her hair. The dinner had gone well, although the couple hadn't really talk. Cristina thought that her boyfriend was just nervous. Moving in together would be a big step for both of them. Then came dessert and Preston told Cristina all about the job offer in England and that he had already started making the necessary preparations to leave in a couple of weeks. Cristina was shocked. This was not what she was expecting, especially since he had never mentioned it before. She tried to ask what that meant for their relationship, but he was quick to add that he didn't think they should continue seeing each other with 7723 km between them. He wanted to start fresh, with nothing keeping him back. At that point, Cristina had been on the verge of tears. He had just told her that their love wasn't strong enough to survive and that she was getting in his way. Without saying a word, she had thrown her wine in his face and walked out, leaving the whole restaurant staring at both her and the drenched Preston.

Cristina's mind came back to the present moment. She felt like running again. What was he doing back?

"Hello, Cristina." He said, standing up.

Cristina was aware that it was her turn to say something but couldn't find the words. Say something. Anything. You look stupid. Use your words to form sentences.

She looked to Stacy for help, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Cristina?" Preston said again.

"Yes? Oh right, sorry." Cristina mentally scolded herself. Focus, Cristina, focus. "Hi." She was finally talking but couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.

"How are you? You look good." Preston continued, when he saw that Cristina wasn't going to add anything.

"I'm great. Sorry, can you hold on for a sec?" Cristina turned to Stacy: "Stacy, can I talk to you?"

"Sure"

"In the other room." Cristina added, tilting her head toward the other part of the apartment.

"Oh, right." Stacy finally took the not-so-subtle hint and stood up.

"Be right back." Cristina smiled politely at Preston as she hurried her friend into her bedroom.

"What the hell is he doing here?" She asked as soon as the door was closed.

Stacy looked unsure at first but finally spoke: "Look, don't be mad-"

"What did you do?"

"Well, Preston called a week ago, but you weren't home so I took a message. He said he was coming back because he had some unfinished business to take care of and would like to see you. Before you say anything, I didn't tell you because I knew you weren't going to agree to meet with him."

"Of course I don't want to see him, Stacy! He broke my heart. He moved 10 hours away from me and didn't care enough about me to even keep in touch. I spent that past six months trying to fix something he broke." Cristina was almost screaming.

"I know and I'm really, really sorry, but you haven't been on a date since you broke up and you rarely have fun. I thought maybe you need some closure. I just wanted to help."

Cristina couldn't really say anything. Even though she was angry at Stacy for hiding this from her and going behind her back, she was actually right. Cristina did need closure.

"Are you mad?" Stacy asked in a low voice. She was preparing herself for screams.

Cristina exhaled and said: "No. I'm not. But you have to do something for me."

"Anything."

"Tell Owen. He doesn't deserve to be lied to."

"I know. I was going to do it last night, but I chickened out. I didn't what to say. But I finally came to a decision."

"Which is?"

"I'm going to break up with him." Stacy said candidly

"Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Are you sure?"

"I've been thinking about for a while now. We just don't fit. Don't get me wrong, he's super hot and amazing in bed," she said with a laugh, "but we never talk and we never do anything together."

"Do you want me to stop hanging out with him?"

"No, of course not, he's your friend too. It might be a bit awkward for me at first, but I would never expect you to cut him out of your life, just because it didn't work out between us."

Cristina gave Stacy a big hug. "You're the best, Stace. I'm proud of you for making such a grown-up decision."

"Okay, stop with the sentimentalities and stop staling! Go out there and talk to him. I have something important to go do."

Stacy left, leaving Cristina and Preston to deal with their own relationship. Or ex-relationship. Whatever. It was extremely awkward either way. They talked of a while, exchanging pleasantries, asking about each other's lives.

"Cristina, I have a question. I know this might be a bit bold of me but I made reservations. I hope we can talk. About us." Preston said.

"First of all, there is no 'us'. And secondly, those were statements, not questions." Cristina snapped back. She was feeling protective and even after all this time, she was still hurt.

Preston smiled and shook his head: "You haven't changed. And yes, I realize there is no 'us' but I'm hoping we can change that. So my question is: Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Cristina wasn't sure how she should respond. She wasn't sure if she even wanted an 'us" to exist again. But hearing him ask her out again, made all of her old feeling come rushing back. With knowing what to expect she agreed to meet him for dinner.

After getting his response, Preston gave her a slight kiss on the cheek. "Reservations are at 7. I'll come pick you up at 6:30." Then he left.

Cristina popped her head through the kitchen door to check the time on the microwave clock. It was already 3:30. She had spent 3 hours with her ex. And all she'd eaten was a few crackers. You're thinking about food? You just agreed to go on a date with the man who broke your heart. What had she gotten herself into?