Worse Than Nicotine

The last thing Holly had said to Alex in his apartment was that she needed time to think about his offer. The last thing Alex had said to Holly was that she should tell him by this upcoming weekend.

She had driven home at an odd slow speed, still trying to take in Alex’s request. Run away? To where? Would they get caught? What if they did, and he got arrested? Questions prodded her mind, almost causing her to drift off the road. She wanted to run away with him―don’t get her wrong―but running away meant leaving without a trace. Running away meant possibly running from the law. But most importantly, running away meant leaving everyone she loved behind, just so she could be with Alex.

When she got home, she was lectured by her mom about taking her car without asking. It wasn’t like Holly listened as she ran up the stairs to her room. Once there, she frantically searched for her phone, knowing exactly who she’d be calling. She knew this was an irrational decision, but she needed answers.

She quickly dialed his number, bringing the phone to her ear as she sat on the edge of her bed. She ground her teeth in frustration as she listened to the ringing. When she almost hung up, he answered hesitantly, “… Holl?”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, BRENDON URIE?” Her growls could probably be heard by her neighbors, but she didn’t care. She was more angry to even think.

Brendon stayed quiet.

“ANSWER ME!”

He finally cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I don’t need a fucking apology.” She barked. “What I need is a fucking explanation as to why you told the school board about Alex and I all of a sudden.”

“I didn’t mean to!” He exclaimed, and Holly was surprised of his tone of pleading. Lately, he had only acted like an asshole to her, but he actually sounded genuinely sorry for what he did. But it wasn’t like that was going to change her mood.

She groaned. “Oh, give me a fucking break, Bren.” She rolled her eyes. “I trusted you. I really believe that even though you were so pissed, you really wouldn’t tell anyone, because you still cared for me as much as I did for you. I know I hurt you, but you hurt me enough by making me feel bad. You had to take it one step further, didn’t you?”

“LISTEN!” He finally shrieked, causing Holly to flinch. “I really didn’t mean to, Holly. I blurted it accidentally while having dinner with Jasey and my mom.”

“How do you accidentally blurt something to your whore of a girlfriend and your mother, who you know is on the fucking school board?!”

He then cackled, something only the asshole version of Brendon would do. “Jasey is the whore of a girlfriend? Who was the one who was hooking up with her fucking music teacher behind her boyfriend’s back? Who was lying to her boyfriend every waking moment?” He let his words sink into her, before he continued, “Oh yeah, that was you, Holly. You’re the whore.”

Holly’s nostrils flared. “MAYBE IF YOU HADN’T BEEN SUCH A BAD BOYFRIEND, I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN DISTRACTED! IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU GOT BORING AFTER A YEAR!”

“You just admitted it, Holl. You get bored with a guy after a while. And soon, you’re going to get bored with fucking older guys. It’s better for him to get arrested now before your break his post-college grad heart. You should be thanking me; I’m breaking it off for you before you break his heart after a while.” His voice had turned husky, almost as if he hadn’t been fazed by Holly’s insults. “I change my mind about everything I said before. I’m glad I told. Go fuck some other teacher after he’s in jail.”

And then he hung up.

The phone slipped slowly from Holly’s hand. She hadn’t noticed until now that tears were falling down her cheeks. She was crying over stupid words her ex-boyfriend had said. She wanted to call him back, tell him she was sorry for yelling at him and ask if he really meant every word he said after her apology. But she couldn’t; she was still angry.

She sniffled and rubbed away the rest of her tears. She reached over for her phone again, already knowing her decision had been made. Just one stupid phone call to her ex had put everything in perspective. She was still being irrational, but was she one to care?

“Holly?” Alex picked up after the first ring. “You had only left an hour ago, and you’re already―”

“I’ll go with you.”

He took a moment before he replied, “What?”

“Your offer. I’ll run away with you.” She sniffled a little, and it was clear for him to hear on the other end.

“What made you come up with that decision?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said quickly, standing up from her bed and walking over to look out her window. She watched the kids riding their backs past her house and the old neighbors watering their plants. Everything seemed so peaceful outside compared to what was happening to her insides at the moment. “Just give me some time before we leave. I need to talk with some people first.”

Notes

Guys, sadly this story is going to come to a close soon :( I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm so surprised at all the love it's gotten. There's still two chapters left, so don't fret just yet!
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Rock on \m/