Bend The Rules

Sawyer said thank you to the Starbucks worker as she handed him an iced chai latte. His hands felt numb after holding it for too long, and he had to keep switching it between his hands to keep warm. He finally decided to just set it down on the table as he waited for Kaitlyn to show up. She was already pretty late, which was unusual for her.

Sawyer told himself that she was fine, that maybe she had slept in late or she had a last-minute setback, but he was still worried. They had arranged to meet a couple of weeks ago, and she had texted him this morning telling him that she would be here. So where could she be?

Sawyer grabbed his phone from his pocket and fumbled through his contacts. With shaking fingers, he dialed her number and waited nervously for her to pick up only to reach voicemail. Sawyer slid his phone back and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He slunk down into the chair and was tempted to slam his head on the table. Why wasn't she responding? 

After another 45 minutes of tapping his fingers against the table and playing Candy Crush on his phone, Sawyer had had enough. He quickly finished the latte and left. 

Opening the door, he was met with a wave of heat. It was unusual for it to be this hot in the fall, but honestly, Sawyer wasn't all that surprised. Weather's just as unpredictable as love is.

He began walking down the street, passing a bakery with a giant cake on display in the front window. It kind of looked like the one he got Kaitlyn when she was going away.

Thinking back to that moment with her brought Sawyer a twinge of pain. He knew it hadn't been her first time going off to college (she had switched majors a couple years back,so she switched schools as well), but it was the first time he had celebrated it with her. Thinking back to that day, he remembered how wonderful and special that moment with her was. 

What if it didn't mean the same to her?

What if every moment they had shared together didn't mean as much to her as it meant to him?

Was that why she missed out on meeting him today? Did all the little moments they spent together not mean anything to her anymore?

He suddenly heard something that broke him out of his thoughts.

A familiar laugh, one he hadn't heard in a while.

Looking up, he saw Kaitlyn. Talking and laughing with another man. He said something to make her happy, and she wrapped her arms around him along with a peck on the cheek.

Sawyer felt like he was going to pass out.

It....it can't be. Kaitlyn would never cheat on him...she wasn't the type of person to do that. But, as much as he didn't want it to be true, the answer was right in front of him. She was happy. She was happy with her arms wrapped around another man.

Sawyer hoped it wasn't true. He hoped it was just a nightmare, that he would wake up back in his bed to see a text from her saying "I love you Sawyer".

But he knew what he was seeing. And his heart broke.

If Kaitlyn had just turned around, she would have seen Sawyer with tears in his eyes. She would have explained what was going on and Sawyer would understand.

But she didn't see him.

Maybe if she had, they might not have had this misunderstanding.

I wish I could tell you that Sawyer moved on, or that they mend their relationship and live happily ever after.

But that would be a lie, dear readers.

This is only the beginning.

Feeling like I'm going crazy

And I don't know what to do

'Cause on paper, you don't break them

But it hurts so bad the way you bend the rules