Theo's pov-

Everyone seemed to be asking for whiskey tonight. Everyone.

They say whiskey speaks to the broken hearted. I poured a round of shots and put them on the tray and slammed my hand down.

"Here you go," I said, handing them to a girl with brown hair and winged eyeliner.

"Thank ya hun," she said, returning to her friends, leaving me utterly alone once again.

The music was playing and I couldn't help but let it sting a little.

Bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

I began to sing along, swaying my hips a little.

And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

I took a shot of my own, downing it.

Singing this will be the day that I die.

The bell rang, a costumer sat down in front of me.

"Hey," the familiar voice said.

"Hey max," I said, not meeting his eyes, after the awful punishment he put me through.

Attempting to counsel him and his wife.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have got you into this and now I don't want to stop. So I'm letting you walk away if you want to," he said. My heart dropped and shattered on the ground.

Got me into this?

Letting me walk away?

No. Fuck it.

"You're telling me you're too much of a fucking pussy to tell your wife you're fucking gay," I whispered the last part. Maybe I'm fed up but that doesn't mean we need to let the whole world know.

"I think it says something when you fuck a guy you barely know and it changes your whole life. Even if you do let me walk away you're just going to continue to fight with her. She's too lovely to have her heart broken over and over by something that can't be changed. You need to tell her. You have to," I said. He looked up at me through his eyelashes.

"I love her. I do . I really do. But just not the way she needs me to. I've loved her since the ninth grade and I just can't believe this is happening. But I can't be with her anymore. I can't pretend. It's hurting my heart. It's hurting my soul." He said, a single tear tracked down his face.

"Then tell her, I have a strong feeling she'll understand," I said.

And maybe I was taking too confidently, and maybe she wouldn't understand

But there was a glimmer of hope, hope so shiny, hope that sparkled like a broken piece of glass from a bottle of whiskey and unfulfilled promises

So I picked up the hope and held it deep within my pocket, clinging onto it instead.

We both gave each other a look. A look that said more than I could ever explain but for some reason I understood all of it.

I knew I'd do anything for him at this moment. Anything. No matter what it took. I'd be his and he'd be mine.

He drew into the dust on the table, looked at me, then left, his footsteps trailed through the strangers in the bar.

I looked down at the table .

A heart. A heart with a m and a t in it . I smiled, then looked towards the door, catching him as he slipped out through it.

__________________________________

Max's pov

I walked into my house, and set my coat down onto the coat hanger.

"Meredith, I need to talk to you," I said. I walked into the kitchen and she was having a glass of water, watching a comedy show, she turned the volume down.

"Yes?" She said. I could feel her anxiety. But honestly mine was through the roof as well.

" I want do this, I want to say this in a way where I can get it all out and then you can talk. But please let me go all the way first," I said. Her eyebrows knitted together like a winter sweater, she sat down, crossing one leg over another.

"I can't be with you anymore." Her red lips began to quiver.

"I love you, I love you so much but not in the way you need me to. I've loved you for so long, and I always will. But not like this. I wasn't sleeping with another women. I was sleeping with another man." You could hear the air thickening between us it was so quiet.

"I only did it twice, but I still felt guilty each time. But I wouldn't undo it. Because now I understand who I am. I couldn't just do this to you forever. I have to cut it off. I'll pay child support I'll do anything you need me to do."

I didn't know tears were flowing down my face in a river of sadness. We both never thought we could get to this place. We dreamt of living in a house together, eating dinner together every night, having kids, going on trips. We never thought we'd break.

"I'm so sorry Meredith. You've got to believe me. I didn't know I was like this. If I did I would have never strung you like this. I'm so so sorry mer," I said. I put my head in my hands. I sobbed . I sobbed and my heart aches, my stomach hurt and my throat burned.

She hugged me. Tight. She was crying as well but I could only tell from the tear that dropped onto my back and soaked through my shirt.

She pulled away, looking into my eye. I wiped my tears.

"I knew," she said.

My jaw dropped slightly.

"I didn't want to believe it but I knew. The marriage counselor thing set me off. Max, you know my jesslyn works as one. That 'theo' guy was one but, isn't anymore. I could tell by the way you looked at him you had seen him before. Where did you meet him?" She said.

It was a lot to unpack, but I was surprised. I can't believe I forgot her best friend works as a marriage counselor too.

"The night we fought , and I left for the first time, I went to a bar, we talked for a while. We uh, we had sex that night," I said, blushing at the confession.

She didn't look mad, or angry. Just , disappointed.

And I didn't blame her for that.

She hadn't said anything for a few minutes. She looked at me, tears instantly running down her face.

"You know I love you, right? You know I do?," she said. I nodded. We hugged again. It felt like it lasted such a long time, like I was 14 again. Like I was shorter and my voice was still uneven. Like she still had her hair pulled back into tight ponytails, and only wore mascara.

I didn't know what to do or say or how to move or how to breathe. We both just sat there, lost in time.

Conscious but not conscious. Broken but also perfectly fine.

It was so strange. We pulled away.

14 year old me looked into her 14 year old eyes, and it was like everything had been reset.

Like nothing we ever went through mattered.

Like we were never together.

"I'm not mad," she said.

"I'm not mad. I'm just hurt. I'm sure one day I'll be able to get over this." She said.

I nodded.

"But I'm not over it right now, and I can't be mad at you for the way you found out who you are" She said, her bottom lip still trembling.

"I think it'd be best for you to go say goodbye to Wendy and tommy, and to pack your things." She said .

I nodded.

I didn't want to leave Wendy and tommy. But It had come to that.

"Me too. I'm so sorry once again. So sorry," I said, walking up the stairs of our-now her- house.

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I know this is a Boyxboy story but I hope you atleast found some for Meredith. :)

Original written date

September 17th 2019