Chapter Nine — Healing

Irene’s POV:

I woke up feeling very angry, angry at myself for falling foolishly for Mark. I’m angry that I let myself get played. I turned off my phone. Thinking about Mark was tiring. I spent the night reading the message he sent to me over and over. How did love turn into so much hate? Maybe because it was never ‘love’ in the first place. I could hear the doorbell ring, I’ve cried my eyes out and I look really awful, I hope I don’t scare away whoever’s at the door.

I opened the door to see Will. He was dressed in a tuxedo and looked really different from his usual self.

“Hi, so I just got back from work and there’s this thing that I have to watch right now, but there’s a power outage at my house. Do you mind if I watch it at your place?” he pleaded.

“Sure. Come in” I said quietly. I feel drained from staying up all night and thinking about Mark.

“If you need anything just call me,” I said. I’m not sure he heard me because he didn’t reply and had all his attention on the TV.

After some hours I heard him calling out my name. I had dozed off while crying and making up my mind that I was going to move on and forget about Mark. I rushed to the living room to see him still seated and he even served himself juice. Not just a glass but the whole pack. Maybe he got too comfortable and thought it was his house. I smiled in my head.

“You look…” he said.

“Awful? I know” I replied.

“What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“I don’t know” I let out a sigh.

“Come on, I got you. I’m a friend and what else are friends for?” he uttered. I can’t believe he just said we are friends. I didn’t ever think he would want to be friends with me. He’s all party and I’m all boring.

“Okay, So” I felt tears forming.

Explaining your pain is hard. It’s like you’re prickling yourself with a needle, you get reminded of all the things you want to forget.

“You should sit” he gestured. I didn’t even notice I was standing. I just wanted to scream and cry.

“Thanks” I said as I sat down.

“So I thought I was healing and moving on and then I got a text from my ex asking why I applied to his company and If I was stalking him, he asked me to move on. You know I just don’t get it. I thought he loved me, how did it turn into so much hate” I felt the tears rolling down my face after speaking. I noticed how Will’s expression changed.

“Your ex works at ADseen?” he asked.

“Yeah. And apparently there’s no application that goes in without his knowledge so there’s no way he was going to accept me” I snuffled. Right after talking, Will chuckled. I wonder what was so funny to him. I know I looked pathetic sulking over someone who doesn’t care about me but it is what it is. I loved him and I spent 3 years listening and believing all of his lies, letting go is going to be hard.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“Mark” I replied. The expression he had on his face as I said Mark’s name was weird, as if he knew him.

“So what exactly happened before you both broke up?” he added.

“He…” I stuttered.

I explained everything to him through sobs. It felt good to talk to someone about it and not just over the phone but in real life. I was able to cry and just break down while some else watched me and listened. They say the little things matter. This simple act of kindness from Will is something I would never forget. He was there for me at my lowest moment.

By the time I was done with the story, I was in Will’s arms and he was patting my back assuring me that everything was going to be fine. I really didn’t want to cry in front of him so I don’t appear weak, but I just couldn’t help it.

After a few minutes I was over the break down episode. I stood up and asked him if he wanted a glass of water and he said yes.

“You know I haven’t ever experienced heartbreak but my closest friend did and it almost broke him. But he fought through it and now he’s better and has found true love. So take your time and heal but be doing it for you. Don’t think too much about that jerk, he doesn’t deserve your tears or this pain. You’re worthy and you deserve a love that is true and pure” he said as he stared at me. Something about the look in his eyes assured me that everything was going to be fine.

“Thank you so much” I said softly.

I had cried out all the tears I had in me and used all my strength if not those words would have been accompanied by tears, for how grateful I was to Will.

“Come on. I got you. And you’ve got yourself a new friend. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you ever need to talk to someone” he replied. “So did you get a mail from the company if you got the job or not?” he asked.

“I thought I told you he said I wouldn’t get in” I replied.

“Well, your ex isn’t the one to call the shots in the company. The CEO is” he said.

I chuckled “I don’t know, but from that text message he seemed really confident I wasn’t going to get in"

“If you had a chance to be selected would you want to work in the same company as him?” he asked.

“I have always wanted to work in ADseen since my teenage days. The reason I never bothered to apply was because he told me it would be weird if lovers were working in the same place and that they only accept those with a PhD. If I get the chance to work there now, I’m definitely grabbing it.” I answered.

“He told you a lot of lies. That’s not how the ADseen Company works” he said.

“And how would you know that” I asked. He talks as if he knows somebody who works there.

“Don’t worry about that, just check your mail and let me know what the feedback is. I would take my leave now. Please stay strong and don’t think about that jerk” he said.

“Thank you so much for being there Will” I smiled. He responded with a smile as he walked out to his apartment. I forgot to ask him why he was dressed in a tuxedo. I was too busy letting out all my pain and frustrations on him. I let out sigh.

It’s been a few hours since I spoke to Will. I didn’t turn my phone on until now, and It keeps beeping as new messages are coming in. I really don’t want to check my mail. I would rather stay wondering if I had a chance at being picked than seeing a rejection mail. I had a lot going on in my life already.

I could see 10 new voicemails from Mark. He’s so sick and so obsessed with making me miserable. Not anymore though I am very determined to treat him like the piece of shit he is. I didn’t bother listening to the voicemails and deleted them immediately. Whatever he wanted to say was obviously going to be toxic. I’m glad I blocked him from sending me text messages yesterday.

I summoned the courage to check my mail and there was one new mail from ADseen. I already made up my mind it was going to be a rejection mail but to my greatest surprise the mail stated that I had been selected and was to resume work the following week. I let out a scoff, this feels like dream. I wanted to call Will to tell him I got the job but then I remembered I didn’t have his number, I mean he lived just opposite my house, so that explained why I didn’t think to get his number.

This was the third time I would be ringing the doorbell at Will’s house, and I figured that since his car wasn’t parked in front of his house, it meant he wasn’t around.