I was sitting at the table Luke had reserved for us, but he hadn't shown up yet. Where was he? Perhaps he was held on some work.

I texted him and left my phone on the table as I waited for his response. Something didn't feel right, but I dismissed it. I assured myself that everything was OK.

A waiter approached the table and asked, "Miss, will you order anything?" I smiled as I shook my head.

"I'll wait, my boyfriend is on his way."

He stared at me for a few moments before nodding and walking away. My phone beeped with a message, and I hurriedly unlocked it in the hopes that it was Luke. But it wasn't him; it was my mother who inquired about my whereabouts. I responded by assuring her that I will be back soon.

Even though I had been seeing him for three years, my family was unaware that I had a boyfriend. It's not because I was embarrassed to tell anybody about him; there were several occasions when I wanted to talk to them regarding him, but I just couldn't, since dad and Jake despised the idea of me having a boyfriend. Plus, dad's pride in me for not having a boyfriend always made me back off. I knew I was misleading them in some manner, but I didn't have the courage to confront their disappointed look.

''My daughter doesn't fall for a boy's charm. She understands that she attends university to learn, not to date."

Those were his exact words. And I never had the guts to say them otherwise. Our relationship was kept private for the sake of our family; I didn't ask Luke to keep it private, but he said it was for the best since his family is in the media, and I was okay with that.

I returned my attention to my phone and checked the time; it was 7:30 p.m.; he was thirty minutes late. Luke wasn't always late for our dates, but there were a few occasions when he was 15-20 minutes late.

What was wrong today?

I texted him again,

The waiter returned with a tense look, as though he despised doing this.'

'Miss, is everything all right?"

''Yes'' I responded with a tight-lipped smile, "he's-on he's his way."

He nodded and smiled, sending me a pitying look.

''Actually can get a bottle of water?'' I asked.

"Sure, I'll be right back."

Luke did not respond to that text, nor did he respond to any of the subsequent texts I sent.

Me: Is everything all right?

Me: This is getting strange; the waiter is giving me a pitying look.

Me: Okay, I don't know what's going on. I'm getting worried.

I've been waiting at the restaurant for two hours now, ignoring the agony in my heart. The manager came over and asked me twice what I wanted to order. And I turned him down twice. My heart shattered, even though I didn't want to accept it.

He stood up to me. He stood up to our date.

Maybe, I was being inconsiderate, and maybe he was actually trapped in an important job. And, because of that, despite my desire to rip the world apart, I breathed deeply and considered being a strong girlfriend; what if he couldn't make it? I could always arrange our date at his dorm. With that in mind, I called the waiter and ordered tater tots, chicken fried steak, and his favorite mac and cheese; and asked him to parcel those.

After another thirty minutes of waiting, the waiter brought the parcel, and there was still no sign of Luke, but I ignored that idea and paid the bill with a tight smile. It seemed like the waiter wanted to ask something but refrained to do so, but I knew what his question was.

''My boyfriend's stuck on some work, so we will be eating in his place'' I told him. He opened his mouth again but closed it and shoot me a mere nod, walking away with the bill.

I got into my car and ignited it to life. The sky rumbled with thunder as if warning me about something, and little drops of rain began to fall, obscuring my view out the window. I've always enjoyed the rain, but today's had something gloomy, something strange that I couldn't quite fathom.

After texting my mother, I headed to Luke's dorm stating that I'd be crashing at Jess's place. The rain began to fall hard, and thunderclaps rang out in the sky.

Luke will undoubtedly chastise me for driving in this weather, but I felt this strange urge to see him, to see him for myself and make sure he's alright.

I parked my car and stepped out, holding the food parcel in my hands. Despite the fact that rain had already poured and drenched me, I didn't care; I just needed to make sure he was okay.

As the water trickled off my clothing, I strolled along the deserted hall. I never came here by myself; Luke was always with me. Mostly because he was usually absent and the dorm was always vacant and hence, I had to contact him before coming.

"Who's there?" a voice behind me questioned, causing me to freeze.

When I turned around, a boy with curly hair appeared in front of me

"James," I smiled. James was Luke's best friend, and although though he didn't like his friends' girlfriends, he liked me.

"Arebell," he nodded in his Mexican accent with a smile, "God, you're completely drenched," he chuckled as he approached me, and as if he recalled something, his smile was quickly wiped away.''Wh-what are you doing here?" he pondered, pressing his hands together. I scowled.

''Is Luke okay, James? Did anything happen to him?" I asked, my brow furrowed even more.

Is he all right?

"He's perfectly fine, but does he know you're here?" he remarked, frowning as if he was in anguish. Something was not right.

''James, what is wrong with Luke?" I said, my voice trembling.

''James bruv!'' another person exclaimed behind me. I turned around and met Logan, another of Luke's friends.

"Arabella," he grinned before frowning, "what are you doing here? Does Luke know you're here?'' he asked sounding worried.

''Can anyone tell me what is wrong? Is Luke okay?" I shouted, my eyes watering as I exhaled deeply. This was too much for me; first, he didn't show up for the date, and now both of them were acting strangely.

''Árebell, I think you should leave, he will call you tomorrow morning'' He informed me quietly, looking at me with a pitied expression. Why is everyone continuously sending me that look?

I didn't listen to him, I ran, I ran to Luke's room to see if he was there and if he wasn't, then I will just simply lock the door and wait for him. Both of them were shouting my name but I stopped only after stepping in front of Luke's room. I turned the doorknob only to find it locked from the inside. Which means he's in there. I continuously knocked on the door until I heard footsteps approaching.

''Arebel-'' James panted and that moment the door opened, revealing Luke.

With relief, my shoulders sagged. And the minute I saw him, I jumped on him and tackled him into a hug; I didn't even realize I was weeping until I heard my sniffles. Luke was motionless, not twitching a muscle, but I dismissed that notion and cupped his face in my palms.

''Thank god, you're safe, I was so scared'' I whispered closing my eyes and kissed his nose. He didn't move a bit, I sniffed him and got the smell of alcohol.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement; I was enraged and had entangled myself from him. I was waiting there for him for two hours and he was busy here getting drunk. Before I could open my mouth, a voice whined inside the dorm,

''Lukey, Where are you? I was going to cum''

My body stiffened, and that's when I realized he was just wearing his boxers. When I looked up at him, he was as pale as a ghost. What was going on?

The entire corridor was deafeningly quiet, with just thunderclaps echoing; that was until,

'Lukey-'' That's when the owner of the voice appeared, dressed in nothing but a thong, she seemed familiar. My thoughts flashed back to a party that I and Luke had attended, where she was blatantly flirting with Luke and ignoring me as if I didn't exist, yet Luke didn't even acknowledge her existence at the time, so what was she doing here? And that's when everything came together.

The parcel I was holding crashed to the ground, scattering all of the food. I felt as if someone was draining the life out of me. My heart was broken into a million shreds. The first tear slid down from my eyes, followed by the second, and so on. My breathing became labored as if I had been knocked unconscious.

''Baby, let me explain-'' I pleaded to stop by displaying him my hand. I wanted to slap him, but I didn't. I just simply stood there, letting my tears flow and staring into hazel eyes with malice.

"three years, Luke, three years! Did that signify anything to you at all?' I asked quietly. He didn't respond; instead, he lowered his gaze.

''Oh honey, he's been banging girls for the last two years'' the girl smirked looking at me.

" Just shut the fuck up, Riley," James said, clenching his jaw.

Two years, two? Has he been cheating on me for two years?

I'm not sure why I looked up at him to reject the allegation; we were done, but I still wanted him to deny it since I never imagined he'd do anything like that to me. Perhaps that is why he was the way he was, why he was always paranoid when I used to talk to the other sex and why I had to constantly justify my connection with them, because the way you are, you only see a reflection of yourself in others.

He bowed his head, and the stench of alcohol made it difficult for me to breathe.

What should I do?

Shout?

I'm not going to. I'm done; he doesn't deserve a second of my time, but how can I explain that to my wounded heart?

"I told you. I told you, if you ever become tired of me, tell me, and I'll leave," I said quietly.

'' I begged you not to cheat on me; you should have just asked, I would have left." I despised the way I sounded.

"It was never you, baby-"

"Don't," I said, raising my hand. ''Please don't," I said as I closed my eyes and turned to leave.

But isn't that how humans are? They utilize you, and when they're done with you, they toss you to the trash. That is precisely how he made me feel.

"Arebel," James said softly, "it's pouring, you can't go in this heavy storm." I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head in amusement.

'' James, when did you start worrying about me?" He seemed ashamed.

''You guys knew,'' I whispered looking at both their faces, ''"You knew, and you didn't believe it was important for me to know?" With my voice cracking, I whispered. The guys I trusted more than any of my other friends ended up hurting me the most.

I'm not sure why I was giving them the easy way out; they didn't deserve it, and neither did I deserve the treachery. And with that notion, I moved back to Luke and glared at him with fury in my eyes; he glanced at me with astonishment and parted his lips, but he had no inkling that whatever I was about to do would shock him.

My body trembled with rage as I raised my hand and slapped him on the cheek. The sound echoed throughout the entire hall, and all I could hear was my heavy breathing, that girl's loud piercing cry, and the thunders striking the rain. The girl screamed and dashed inside.

I didn't want to wait any longer with my body on fire; I turned around and left.