Better Off Without You
Several months later, as Molly was on her home from work, she saw Nicholas leaning on the side of her car, leaving her dumbfounded not because she didn't expect to meet him in a place like this, but because of what he looked like the last time she saw him.
The first thing she noticed about him was his hair. It overflowed out of the crest of his head and receded in the back in a modest cut. Next was his tailored gray turtle neck that fitted him perfectly as he was an athletic man. The jacket he wore over his broad shoulders had lustrous buttons, and the scarf around his neck was tied so that the ruffles perfectly filled the space left open by his coat.
Molly stomped towards him, folding her arms. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nicholas handed her a bag of chips. "Please tell me where Adele is."
"You think that you can bribe me with junk food? In your dreams!"
"Her parents are worried, so am I."
"Weren't they suppose to divorce?"
"Well..." Nicholas scratched his head. "They decided not to because they were afraid that Adeline might—"
"Just get out of my way. Abigail's waiting for me."
"Adele must be living with you right?"
"We don't have space for another person," Molly lied.
"Who else will she run to?" Nicholas hastily snatched her car key. "Bring me to your apartment and prove it to me then."
"I don't know where she is so stop bothering me! I'm tired, Nicholas. We all are. Stop looking for her because It'll give her the wrong impression again."
"Wrong impression? I'm just caring for her as frien—"
"If you don't feel the same way, then don't act like you do. You're just hurting her even more."
"She must've told you about the confession." Nicholas looked away. "I don't wanna lie about how I feel."
"Did I tell you to do that? I told you to change the way you treat her!" Molly clutched her dress. "You even treated her better than Ella before! Do you think she wouldn't misunderstand your feelings?"
"I'm not good at putting my feelings into words. That's why people misunderstand me."
"It's better to keep silent than to tell others what you feel. Knowing that you are being heard, but not understood could be more painful than expressing your feelings." Molly's eyebrows pulled down together. "That's what Adele told me."
"Isn't that what—"
"That quote she found a few years ago...it really helped didn't it?
"I want to talk to her."
"What's there for you guys to talk to about?"
"Just tell me where she is. I'll try to fix—"
Molly took a deep breath. "Apologies don't fix broken hearts, Nic. They're like a bandage that heals, but can't remove the scars."
"Please... I need to see her. I need to know if she's alright." Nicholas fell to his knees.
"Leave her alone and she'll be alright. You should learn to face the consequences of your actions."
"There's never a day I don't think about her... I-I just really miss her."
"She's living a great life without you. Happy?"
"Her parents are doing everything just to find her. Please just tell her to come back home."
"Come back? She's finding a way to pay for their debts! Do you know how tired Adele is? She rarely has time for herself because of work!"
"If that's the only reason why she ran away from home, then she can just work for my—"
Molly grabbed him by his collar, jerking him close to her face. "You broke her heart once. Don't break it again, Nicholas. She doesn't need you and she no longer misses you. And it's all because you just made her an option."