six

"Mason I can explain," I softly spoke, my eyes likely revealing fear, pain, and most importantly, regret.

And by the look of the deadly glare that he was sending me, I knew that I had a lot of explaining to do.

"Go on." he seethed. "Explain to me, Ally, why my own girlfriend would find the need to become so closely associated to the man that I told her I hated the most. And explain to me, babe, why I had to find out the disturbing news from an unrelated third party."

His eyes were dark with anger, daring me to elucidate the situation. He knew as well as I did that that there was little I could do to justify myself.

"It wasn't my intention," I began, "to work for him, or to hide it from you."

"Then what was your intention, Ally?" he asked almost mockingly. "To betray me? Hit me where it hurt most? Because you definitely achieved both of those things."

"I'm sorry," was all I could say, so very softly, as my eyes found the floor. I couldn't look at him at this point without hating myself and the toxic girlfriend that I had become.

"How long have you been working there?"

"Four weeks," I replied.

"And you didn't once, during those twenty-eight long days, think to freaking tell me?" He yelled, slamming his fist against the bathroom wall. "Me; your loving boyfriend, who never had anything other than your best interests in mind."

"My best interests?" I met his eyes once again, knowing full well that I would live to regret what I was about to say. "Tell me, Mason. Would you have preferred me to be sitting before you now, with no job, no money, no future, having failed to make my own way in the world like I had always wanted. Would that have been in my best interests?"

"Anything would be better than working for Mr Gray," he shook his head, looking intensely in my direction. "You know I would have supported you, at least until you found a proper job, but even longer if you had have wanted it."

"But that's just it," I shook my head slowly. "I never wanted that, I never wanted your help, or anyone's help for that matter. You should be happy that I'm trying to be independent."

"But at what cost, Ally?" He'd moved closer to me now, his voice more vulnerable. This was the moment where his anger became disappointment, which surprisingly hurt me more.

"It's a good job, Mase," I softened my voice just as he had. "It's in the perfect industry, has already given me great exposure, and pays well."

"The job description isn't what bothers me, Al," he shook his head softly. "It's your boss, and his undisguised disrespect for women."

"This job isn't forever," I reasoned. "Mr Gray is not going to be my boss forever."

"I think you underestimate his powers of seduction," I furrowed my brow, not quite sure what he was hinting at

"Do you not trust me?" I tentatively asked. "Is that what this is about?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, Ally," he shook his head with conviction. "It's the fact that I can't trust that sorry excuse for a man that you now work for. You don't understand."

"Damn straight I don't," I yelled. "Do you even know him? Have you ever actually talked to the guy? Or are you, along with half the world's population, basing your opinion of him on a schematic circulation of lies?"

"I- I know enough," he stuttered slightly, the first indication of cracks in his confidence.

"You're a coward," I was now seething, daring him to respond to me. Somehow I had managed to gain control of the confrontation, something which I had definitely not thought possible.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his voice was soft once again, his diversion from our previous topic not going unnoticed by me. He was proving my point already.

"To avoid a confrontation like this," I chuckled sarcastically.

"And how's that going for you, huh?" he raised his voice slightly. "You're unbelievable."

"Look, Mason," I took a deep breath, calming myself down as to avoid saying anything I would regret. "I am beyond sorry that I went behind your back and hid this all from you. But you will never catch me apologising for making a choice to love and respect myself."

"Then I guess this is goodbye," Mason shook his head, moving around the room to collect his things.

"And where do you think you're going?" I chuckled bitterly. "Running away from five years of history at the first sign of conflict? You really are a coward."

"I can't stay where I'm not welcome," he took a stab. "I'll sort something out."

"Stay at the hotel at least," I stood to start packing up my own bags. "I think you're forgetting that I have an apartment to head back to."

He didn't respond, but stopped collecting up his stuff, indicating that he had heard my suggestion.

"So this is it then?" I asked, slinging my duffel bag over my shoulder.

"Yeah," he breathed heavily, the realisation finally dawning on us. "I guess it is."

"We were good, Mason," I sighed. "We were really bloody good."

He took a few steps towards me, closing the distance between us as he pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on my head. I inhaled his intoxicating scent for what was likely the last time.

"Why did you have to throw that all away."

I pulled away from his hold, looking up at him with pain in my eyes.

"Don't you dare put all the blame on me," I warned him. "I know I stuffed up, but it's not like you've been perfect yourself."

"That was in the past, Ally," Mason defended himself.

"Oh so that makes it invalid?" I laughed sardonically. "You're twisted."

"I've learnt from my mistakes," he spat. "Must come with maturity."

"That's it," I turned from him, opening up the front door. "I'm out of here."

"You gonna call your little boy toy Tyler or something?" he jeered.

"Mr Gray is the furthest thing from my boy toy, Mason. That was a cheap shot and you know it."

He was silent, knowing full well that there was nothing more that he could say.

"I hope you find someone who can make you happy, Mase, because god knows that person isn't me."

With that, I slammed the door shut, making my way down the corridor towards the elevator. As the doors slid closed, the realisation of what had just happened hit me like a tonne of bricks. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I pulled out my phone, dialling the only person I knew in the city who owned a car.

"Heading back to the airport already?"

"I'm on 85th Street. Is there any chance you can pick me up?"

"What's wrong Ally?" My voice must have alluded to the fact that something wasn't good. "Whatever it is, I'll be there in five."

The phone beeped against my ear, signifying that the call had been hung up. At the same time, the elevator dinged as it reached the hotel lobby. I made my way to the receptionist and covered the bill for the night. I didn't feel as though I owed Mason anything, but I also wasn't completely heartless. It was the least I could do.

"Thankyou, Miss," the receptionist smiled kindly. "Enjoy your night."

"I'll certainly try," I replied, sending a small nod her way.

As promised, the familiar yellow cab was waiting for me on the curb as I exited onto the streets of Upper East Manhattan. Rico got out to meet me, taking my bag from my shoulder and helping me into the passenger seat.

"Back to your apartment, I presume?" He seemed to read my mind.

"Thank you," I smiled, nodding my head. "We just broke up."

Although I had known it to be true, it sounded foreign coming from my mouth. We had never been perfect, but I'd honestly thought that he was the one.

"I know you probably won't believe me right now," he turned to face me, his features once again illuminated by the city lights around us, "but I assure you that the best is yet to come."

"I sure hope so," I chuckled lightly.

———

Whatever Rico had said about life getting better was certainly not referring to the immediate future. As I opened the door to our apartment, the sight of Becca packing her clothes into one of her suitcases was enough to get my head spinning once again.

"What are you doing, Becs?" I tried my best to remain calm, although I was sure that my voice was betraying me.

"Why are you here?" She replied, panic coursing through her eyes. "I thought you were spending the night with Mason."

"I would have been if we were still together."

"What?" She had now stopped her packing and was walking towards where I stood near the doorway. "Did you just say that you guys broke up?"

"He found out about my job," I released a breath, closing my eyes in an attempt to stop the tears from beginning to form. "It's all over."

"You're kidding," Becca placed her hands on my shoulders in support. "No, you have to be messing with me."

I opened my eyes, letting go of all the emotion that had been building up inside of me. I knew that my eyes would tell more than my words ever could.

"Oh Ally," my best friend hugged me tightly.

We stood like that for quite a while, me sobbing into Becca's shoulder while she whispered words of encouragement into my ear.

"So why are you packing your bags, Becca," I finally broke the comfortable silence. "Are you leaving me too?"

"New York just isn't for me, Ally," she spoke softly, confirming my greatest fear. "You have to understand."

I closed my eyes once again as I tried to find some reason in all of this. First my boyfriend was leaving, and now my best friend too?

"When's the flight?" I asked, accepting the fact that she was set on going home. I had now pulled away from her embrace and was pacing the floor of the apartment.

"Wednesday morning," she replied. "10:00 am"

This meant that she had less than a week left here in New York. I would definitely be doing my best to make the most of the last few days of living with her.

"I'll have to take the morning off work," I stated, more to myself than to Becca. No matter what Mr Gray said, I would be seeing my best friend off.

"You don't have to do that," she quickly responded.

"I know I don't," I smiled across at her. "But if you're leaving, then we're gonna send you off right."

"Oh Ally, I'm going to miss this," she walked over to me once again, engulfing me in a bone crushing hug. "If it wasn't for the work situation, you know I would stay."

"You don't have to explain yourself, Becs," I chuckled lightly. "I have no doubt that it wasn't an easy decision."

"The hardest I think I've ever had to make," she assured me.

"I'll miss having you around, B, but I'll do my best to make you proud."

"You always do, Al," she beamed. "You always do."

———

'Two mile remaining', the treadmill flashed, notifying me that I had almost finished my run. Yes, I ran far. Thirteen miles in total. It sounded better in miles, compared to the twenty-one kilometres I had to cover back in Australia.

I hadn't always been able to run a half marathon; it had been a gradual process over a number of years. Going to the gym, often just to run, had always been my favourite way of releasing stress and relaxing my brain. So, during the most stressful years of my life (during high school and university), I had very quickly developed my strength and stamina, which had allowed me to reach the milestone. It also explained my rather athletic physique, which was never my main focus but had definitely been a welcome biproduct.

'Starting cooldown sequence', the screen informed me, counting me down to the end of my workout. The transition to a walking speed had always been difficult for me, as the adrenaline made my legs want to keep pushing through. I guess it was similar to my current situation; I had been running for so long, with my stable relationship and certain future, and was now struggling to adapt to the dramatic change in speed. Maybe I was just overthinking it.

After cooling off and downing an entire bottle of water, I headed back up to the twentieth floor, where my roommate was patiently waiting in our apartment for my return. We were lucky enough to have a gym in our complex, so I was more motivated to actually use it.

"You ready to head off?" I asked, although the way she held her keys in her hands gave me a pretty good indication that she was.

"Yup," she confirmed. "I skipped my morning coffee for this, so if we don't leave now, I'll probably die."

"Bit dramatic there, Becs," I laughed, although I knew that she was mostly spot on.

Our local Starbucks was a very short walk from our building, which we were very thankful for given the intense rain that was pelting down on the concrete pavement. Luckily, we were also shielded by our trusty umbrellas, which we carried everywhere with us thanks to Rico's words of wisdom.

The café was relatively busy, as it always was, but had enough free table space for us to sit down for our coffees.

"I just wish we could have ended on better terms," I sighed, taking a sip from my white chocolate mochaccino. I was a basic bitch, but I was willing to own to that title if it meant I could indulge in such a delectable concoction.

We had gotten back onto the conversation of my breakup, which was still very fresh in my mind as it had taken place just hours before.

"At least this way you have closure," Becca smiled sympathetically. "You can now put your focus on something else, or someone else."

She had much more experience with breakups than myself. I had only ever been in two serious relationships. She, on the other hand, had been in more than either of us could count. Every time we had tried to tally up her various entanglements, we had come up with a different answer. The bottom line was, the number was high.

"I guess you're right," I stared down at my hands. "Although after this, I don't think I want to focus on anyone else ever again."

"That's a little extreme," she laughed lightly, knowing that I was not being entirely serious. "Forever is a very long time."

"Hmm," I mumbled, considering the truth to that statement. "It sure is."

I was hopeful that my next relationship would be the one; I wouldn't bother entering into it if I didn't think that it had that potential.

"You'll find the right guy," she assured me. "Just don't settle for any old fish in the sea."

"It will take a flawless man to even tempt me," I joked. "I won't be settling for anything less."

"Imperfections aren't a bad thing," she took a sip from her Chai latte before settling her eyes on mine, "but rather one's inability to accept them."

I nodded my head at her wise advice, but had no idea just how I mportant they were to become.