Vivian POV
"Oh, Bryce! Right there! Harder,… harder!"
Having come to her boyfriend's apartment in order to surprise him, Vivian was greeted by a very unpleasant surprise of her own.
More moans kept coming from Bryce's bedroom. Moans that were very clearly female and were followed by the unmistakable sound of skin hitting against skin.
'Forget about the surprise, save yourself the heartache, turn around and go. The voice was small, trembling, and it was quickly silenced by the morbidly curious part of Vivian. The side of her that wanted to see, to confirm for herself, that what she was hearing truly was what was going on.
Throwing the door open, she was greeted by the sight of Bryce's bare ass. The man turned his head to the side at the sound of wood banging against the wall, his eyes widened a fraction when he saw her.
"Bryce," She whimpered in pain, her voice small. But even then he did not stop. He continued to thrust into the woman moaning beneath him, that sickening, squelching sound continuing.
"Vivian I can… Vivian I…" He cut himself off, his face screwing up in pleasure. Then he threw an almost apologetic look away before turning back to the woman moaning beneath him, burying himself deeper in her. Carrying on like Vivian was not even there.
The simple dismissal made her feel incredibly small.
During the miserable course of their on and off five-year relationship. Vivian had borne many indignities brought upon her by Bryce. From being stalked by women that he was cheating with, the ladies calling her all types of horrible things. To having some of them send her the sex tapes that they had made with him.
But in that moment she felt a new kind of low.
Did he seriously think so little of her that he was actually going to come inside another woman while she stood there. Staring at Bryce, his muscles but clenching. Vivian realized that that was exactly what the man intended to do. How awful.
Grasping the little dignity that she had left in her. Vivian left the couple in the bedroom and made a run for it, throwing away the apartment keys that Bryce had entrusted her with as she made her way out of the man's home.
***
An hour later Vivian, cowering behind her own couch and wiping hot tears as they flowed down her face. Had her freak out session rudely interrupted by the front door banging open.
"Vivian, Viv, where are you babe?"
Swallowing around a lump in her throat, she silently cursed herself, just as Bryce had given her the keys to his place, she had given him hers in return. Thinking that it was a show of their commitment to each other. Now her foolish gesture was being used against her. Not bothering, to hide the evidence of her tears.
Vivian stood, revealing herself in the process. Bryce startled at her sudden appearance but he collected himself quickly, "Oh Viv, thank goodness you're okay," He moved forward, his arms outstretched as though to hug her.
She instinctively took a step back, letting out a gasp that somehow tend into an angry hiss, taking the hint, Bryce dropped his arms and gave her a smile, "Come on Viv, she's nothing, not like you, you are my right or die," Once upon a time those words had made Vivian feel special. But now she just felt like they were code for Bryce Walters calling her his punching bag. Taking a stuttering breath, she issued a command that she had given several times in their relationship.
"Get out," Despite the steel in her voice, Bryce merely lifted a brow and stayed rooted on the spot, running a hand through his tousled blonde hair, he gave her look like she was being difficult.
"Is this the part where you break up with me, 'again'. Come on Viv, this game is getting old. Why do you always keep breaking up with me? You know at the end of the day you always come back, who else is going to love you?" Oh, but the man knew just where to hit and he never hesitated.
"The fact that a fat girl like you managed to get the attention of a successful personal trainer like myself is a miracle enough, you should not think so highly of yourself," The words stung, but Bryce was not done.
"Stop wasting time with the whole breaking up with me whenever I wander thing. I'm a man, it is in our nature to cheat. Grow up Vivian," He moved forward again, and Vivian narrowed her gray eyes at him. Letting all of the rage that she was feeling show.
With her eyes bloodshot from crying, she knew she must have made quite a sight, because at her look, Bryce actually took a step back.
"Give me back my keys and do not come back Bryce. It is over for good this time."
The blonde-haired man actually threw his head back and laughed.
"Well done Piggy, I almost believed you this time." The use of his preferred nickname for her, had her flinching, and she hated herself for it when the man smirked at the reaction.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out her apartment key and threw it on the couch. "Here, take it, I do not need it,"
"We both know you will be back. The men out there will see your fat ugly self, and you'll instantly come running back to me, good old Bryce, who is the only one who can stand you,"
With that final parting shot, Bryce turned on his heel and left, with Vivian following close behind and locking the door right after he stepped over the threshold.
Once he was gone she found herself crying again. But she realized that it had less to do with the heartache of being cheated on again and more to do with the fact that as vile as he was, Bryce Walters was most probably right.
She would be taking him back
***
Having cried herself to the point where she felt she could engage in a conversation with another human being without bursting into tears. Vivian finally pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hey Viv, love of my life, what's going on?" Hearing her friend's cheerful voice, Vivian wanted to hang up instead of ruining the other woman's mood.
But if there was one thing that she knew about Amy, it was that the red-haired woman did not like being out of the loop. As a secretary in a law firm, it was a point of pride for her to always know what was going on. And so taking a breath,
Vivian told her friend, "I just broke up with Bryce. There was silence after that,"
Given the number of times that Vivian had told her friend that statement, Amy would have been well within her rights to say something like, "Again,
the two of you really have to stop playing this game."
But instead, Amy, proving her worth as a friend, merely took a moment to process, then she said, "Good for you. Hold on, I'm coming over."
***
Despite having already spent a good amount of time crying, the moment that Amy had walked through the door, Vivian had immediately started bawling again, her face buried in her friend's blouse. Now, with her tears once again back under control, she was lamenting her choices to her friend.
" -and the worst part is, he is right. I know it. You know it. He knows it. We all know it."
"At the end of all this, in a month or two, he will come back looking like a kicked puppy, and I will take him back,"
Amy did not say anything. Instead, she ran a hand soothingly over Vivian's back.
Looking over at her friend, Vivian wiped snort and tears from her face.
"Thank you for always being patient with me. I know it can't be easy for you to be stuck on this rollercoaster of me being up and down with Bryce," Giving her a sad look, Amy shook her head,
"You listen here, Vivian Rose. We are twenty-eight years old and have known each other since high school. I was here before Bryce Walters, and I, Amy Lander will be here long after you've kicked that man to the curb. Now tell me, what are your plans to celebrate your freedom," Vivian looked at her friend, a strange sort of fondness bubbling up in her gut. She was in no mood to celebrate. She just wanted to curl up somewhere and not be bothered, but she knew that that was not the answer that Amy was looking for.
"Nothing much. I am just going to spend my night eating chocolate and ice cream," Amy let out a huff at that.
"Vivian, just because you are a preschool teacher, that does not mean you have to eat, like your students dream they could. You are a grown woman and tonight we are not staying in. I know this super exclusive bar we can go to. There's a guy who owes me a favor. So getting in will be very easy,"
Staring at her determined friend, Vivian wanted to shake her head and say that a night of ice cream and chocolate was all that she needed.
But then she really thought on it. Staying in and eating until she could not anymore was part of a routine that she'd fallen into whenever she broke up with Bryce. Perhaps if she deviated from the routine, she would be able to stay away from him for good this time.
So looking at her friend, she made her decision.
" All right. I'll go to this fancy bar with you," Amy let out a squeal, and moved to hug Vivian tightly. The other woman's enthusiasm making Vivian smile for the first time since catching Bryce cheating on her.