Work Text:
Rei:
“Screw you, Baxter Ward.”
There was no response to that insult. Baxter’s back was the last thing you saw before it got obscured by a swinging door, followed by a merciless slam.
You stood stock-still in front of Baxter’s condo, trying to wrap your head around what just unfolded. The shock and horror left in the wake of Baxter’s deliberate disassociation with you had yet to melt away.
Your gaze slowly drifted from the front door to the room window upstairs. The lights were still on, and you didn’t think they would be turned off anytime soon.
Just a few minutes ago you were in that room, peacefully relishing your last moment with Baxter. He was still such a gentleman back then. How could someone’s demeanor change 180 so suddenly?
The time you had with Baxter played out like a movie inside your head. They were supposed to be fond memories, but now they were a painful reminder of what you lost.
Even the Baxter in those memories seemed to be mocking you for investing in this relationship much more than he did.
Maybe this entire summer had been a wild fever dream. Maybe the whole encounter with a guy named Baxter Ward was all a hallucination, conjured from your imagination alone. Maybe it would be day one of summer again once you woke up from this nightmare tomorrow.
The night’s cold breeze swept by, sending a chill up your spine and an icy sensation to your tear-stained face.
You hastily wiped off the tears you didn’t know spilled. You felt more saddened by the fact that not even these tears could faze Baxter.
You took one last glance at the lit-up window, before your body switched on autopilot, dragging your still discombobulated mind to your home, up the stairs and into your bedroom.
In the back of your mind you were at least grateful that the last conversation with Baxter happened during the wee hours, so nobody was awake to spectate this disaster firsthand.
As soon as you flopped into your bed face down, the dam finally broke and a flood of tears gushed out from your eyes with no sign of stopping.
You bawled uncontrollably, muffling your sounds of wailing with the pillow while curling your trembling body on the bed.
The pain of the breakup was apparently too much for you to bear. You didn’t expect the demise of a short summer fling like this could cause so much grief that it ripped your heart apart and left your world upended.
A voice in your head wanted to tell you that Baxter had been more than a crush to you, but you wanted to deny that; it’s no use to dwell on an extinguished flame.
Soon your eyes felt heavy and sore, and you fell asleep from the sheer fatigue caused by the gut-wrenching sobs, unable to be bothered by the wetness of the pillow.
Several hours later, you groggily woke up in the darkness. Your sleep was restless and you still felt tired.
In fact, even in your dreams, you couldn’t escape from being tormented by the harsh words Baxter left for you, playing on repeat in your head like a broken record.
You rubbed your red swollen eyes and felt the dried stains of tears and snot on your face, a stark reminder of last night’s event.
You glanced towards the window, and then the clock. It was still the crack of dawn and the sun was just beginning to rise.
The day seemed to stretch out ahead of you like a barren wasteland, devoid of hope and meaning.
As you lamented the poor quality of your sleep, a realization dawned on you.
Baxter didn’t tell you the time of his departure, but you would make a smart guess that it’s highly likely to be early morning when he could avoid having an audience from the people he knew, especially you.
Your body must’ve set an internal alarm clock beforehand, trying to provide you the opportunity to see him for the last time before everything ended for good.
Baxter being awake at this hour was definitely a rare sight, unless he stayed awake throughout the night. And his departure time was merely an assumption from your end.
Still, you clung on that vain hope that maybe, you knew him enough to be right about him this time.
With renewed determination, you went to the bathroom for a quick wash of your face, and creeped in the dark towards your house entrance.
As you reached the front porch of your house, fear suddenly took hold of you, preventing you from taking a step further.
You didn’t want to make things more awkward between you and Baxter by showing up uninvited, so you let out a deep breath and settled on the steps instead.
You sat on the edge nearest to Baxter’s condo as if it could provide a better sight of the condo’s entrance, but it didn’t because his condo was on the same side of the street as your house.
A few uneventful minutes passed with your body adjusting to the cool morning air.
You jerked at the sound of an opening door, confused when you realized it was much closer than you expected.
It came from the direction opposite of where you were. You saw Cove, bursting out of his front door and running towards you with a worried expression plastered on his face.
Cove:
“Rei!”
Cove:
“When I woke up and passed by my window, I thought I saw someone suspicious sitting outside of your house, but when I took a closer look, it was you!”
Cove:
“You’ve never woken up this early before, at least not voluntarily. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”
Ah, was all you muttered as you took in his sudden presence.
It made sense that Cove was already awake at this hour, being the morning person that he was. And there it was, the million-dollar question.
The idea of a white lie definitely couldn’t work here when your tired puffy eyes were an obvious sign that no, everything was not alright.
Nobody else knew about what happened between you and Baxter yet, but you didn’t have the physical and mental capacity to sort out your thoughts and explain everything right now.
So, the best you could do was reassure him with a forced smile.
Of course, Cove didn’t look the least bit reassured. He studied your face carefully as he came up with his next question.
Cove:
“…Did something happen?”
You nodded ever so slightly.
Cove:
“Well, I can’t leave you sitting alone here. I’ll accompany you.”
Cove didn’t ask for your permission to sit beside you on the front porch steps, but you didn’t mind. It was clearly something he would insist on doing no matter what you said because he wanted to.
Tears threatened to spill as you wondered if you deserved such an understanding and caring friend. You mentally promised to voice your appreciation to him later.
Without another word, you returned to fixing your gaze on your soon-to-be-ex-neighbor’s condo.
You felt Cove shifting his sitting position to see where your gaze landed, and sure enough, he could already tell that Baxter was the reason.
He didn’t ask anymore questions, but sooner or later he would be able to connect the dots himself.
Time passed by in a painfully slow pace with the both of you sitting on the steps in silence. The air gradually warmed up as the sun creeped towards the center of the sky.
Eventually, the sound of a car engine reverberated through the neighborhood, before a taxi followed the noise and tardily came into view.
You drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the taxi, and released it in awe when the taxi pulled to a stop in front of Baxter’s condo.
You mentally congratulated yourself for making the correct guess. The time for Baxter to leave is drawing near.
You flashbacked to the first day of summer, to the moment when you and Baxter first met this summer, to the first greeting he gave you as soon as he exited the taxi.
This summer had come full circle in a regrettable fashion.
Even though you were anticipating it, the sound of an opening door made you jolt once more. You stood up abruptly as soon as you realized it came from the direction you had been staring at.
Cove followed suit, but instead of searching for the source of the sound, he peered at your face instead, trying to gauge your reaction.
Your eyes widened with affection as the familiar silhouette with monochrome hair entered your field of vision.
The figure wore a half-lidded daze and yawned loudly once every few steps he took.
It was morning Baxter, and you hated to admit it, but it was an endearing sight.
You wondered if he managed to sleep at night after such a horrible breakup. Perhaps a cynical person like him wouldn’t feel anything at all.
You remembered Ma saying that the guilt would eat him alive if he did anything wrong in this relationship. She couldn’t be more wrong about him.
You silently watched Baxter drag his large black suitcase to the side of the taxi. Each step he took painfully tugged at your heartstrings.
It took every ounce of willpower you had to cement your feet to the ground and stop yourself from rushing towards him.
You were afraid of the things you would do to him if you got close. Would you hug him? Kiss him? Yell at him? Slap him? Or just stand in front of him to see how he would react to your presence?
No matter what you planned to do, the outcome most likely wouldn’t change for the better, so it’s best not to further ruin what’s already ruined.
Baxter didn’t seem to notice your and Cove’s presence yet. He sluggishly loaded his suitcase into the car trunk in between his yawns.
After slamming the trunk cover down, he took one last glance at his condo, and then shifted his gaze towards the center of the little town.
Oh shit. You stiffened, shoulders tensing.
Wait, were you thinking of hiding? Didn’t you want him to see you? Wasn’t that why you were here? So why the cold feet now?
Besides, there was no reason to behave so suspiciously and guiltily to the point of stalking him since you were pretty sure you weren’t the one in the wrong in this relationship.
You firmly stood in place. His gaze finally reached where you and Cove were, and he froze.
The world was put at a standstill as soon as the both of you locked eyes.
It was difficult to read his expression from a distance, but you did notice his droopy eyes widened and mouth opened.
Suddenly, you sensed movement from him. He was lifting his hand into what seemed like a wave, but decided against it midway.
He then nonchalantly spun on his heels to open the car door and enter the taxi.
Witnessing Baxter’s audacity to ignore you smothered any remaining hopes you had for him.
Dumbfounded, you continued to stare at Baxter with flat disbelief. Your body moved on its own, down the steps and into the middle of the street.
Cove remained rooted in place on the stoop, his eyes nervously flickering back and forth between you and Baxter.
With a firm click, the door was shut, and the taxi pulled away, leisurely rolling down the road.
A mixture of negative emotions bubbled within you, ranging from sadness and disappointment to hatred and betrayal.
You tightened your hands into fists as anger boiled beneath your surface, and once it reached the boiling point, you let out a roar with all your might, at the taxi that was about to disappear around a corner.
Rei:
“Fuck you, Baxter Alexander Ward, you fucking bastard!”
Your voice was raw as the words of outrage exploded from your throat. It was a sound of pure fury that shattered the silence and shook the walls.
Adrenaline rushed through your veins, and you felt liberated by the pure catharsis that came after.
How you wished you could’ve thrown those words into his face. There was no need for niceties nor holding back when your feelings were being toyed.
Who did Baxter think he was, to waltz into your life, bring you to a high, then just walk away and expect you to act like he never existed?!
Cove jumped at your sudden outburst and your usage of swear words. He rushed over to your side and quickly gripped your shoulders in an attempt to quell your rage.
Cove:
“Um, please calm down? You might disturb the neighbors…”
Cove’s head swiveled in panic as he looked around the neighborhood before returning his focus on you with pleading eyes.
Cove:
“Let’s go inside, okay? Back to your room, hmm?”
That shout left your head throbbing and your throat burning. Panting, all you could manage was a tiny nod and let Cove lead the way.
Holding onto you delicately as if you were a wounded animal, he invited himself into your house and guided you upstairs.
The journey to your bedroom was just as blurry as the one from last night, a disconnected sequence of images.
As soon as you stepped into your room, all strength left you at once and you slumped down to the floor in a disheveled heap, your body wracked with grief.
Cove joined you, gingerly sitting beside you and carefully observing you once more.
You felt like crying again, but you had exhausted all tears last night and there was none left in the tank.
Just like that, Baxter left. The harbinger of change had officially left the town and your life, possibly never to be seen again.
It seemed like Baxter had made his stance clear and he truly believed that there was nothing worth salvaging.
You tried giving him a chance this morning, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he thought things through after one night of sleep.
However, that was wishful thinking. He dismissed you like a total stranger until the end, not even sparing a single wave of goodbye.
Cove mustered up the courage to start a conversation, breaking the silent beat.
Cove:
“So… I guess something happened between you and Baxter?”
You scoffed derisively. That much should be obvious, considering the scene you made earlier. That was definitely not a normal way for couples to bid farewell to each other.
Rei:
“We broke up.”
Cove:
“Oh. I figured.”
Cove fidgeted his fingers, afraid of saying the wrong words to a person who was in a vulnerable state.
Cove:
“It didn’t go well, did it? The breakup, I mean.”
You made a gripe of displeasure at the back of your throat.
Rei:
“No, we ended on bad terms, or at least I think we did.”
You heaved a heavy sigh, reluctantly recalling the faithful event and describing it in detail to Cove.
He listened quietly as you poured out your sadness and pain. Even the mere mention of Baxter’s name left a bitter taste in your mouth.
Cove:
“Oh my God…”
He struggled to come up with words of comfort that wouldn’t berate your ex. Although Baxter rightfully deserved it, Cove didn’t want to be disrespectful in front of you.
In the end, he thought better of it and held onto one of your hands instead, gently squeezing it.
Cove:
“I’m here if you need me, okay?”
Your eyebrows twitched at those words. You remembered Baxter saying the exact same phrase to you, but you didn’t expect he had an expiry date for his ability to care.
But now the phrase came from a person who actually cared, and that was exactly what you needed to hear and the only thing that mattered.
Rei:
“Thanks… for being here with me right now.”
Cove shook his head and pulled you into a warm hug, patting your back reassuringly. You returned his embrace and stayed that way as long as you could, indulging in the warmth.
Your childhood friend had been there for you through thick and thin. A person you could always count on, he offered the comfort and support that you needed the most at this moment.
Drowsiness started to set in as you felt safe and comfortable in Cove’s arms. Before you drifted off, you expressed your gratitude once more.
Rei:
“Thank you for being my friend, Cove.”
After a much needed nap, you were nervous but ready to face the day.
Your moms and sister wore a concerned expression when they first met you today. They were probably woken up by the yelling from outside.
You sheepishly apologized to them for your behavior earlier. Then, with Cove by your side, you hesitantly broke the news to your family and eventually friends.
They went on an emotional rollercoaster like you did, wearing an expression that morphed from shock and horror to pity and sympathy.
To be honest, it didn’t differ that much from the one they had worn when you first announced your relationship. Perhaps everyone might have already seen it coming, except you.
Every time you went outside your house and stepped into the street, you found yourself peeking at the empty condo. It was going to be a difficult habit to break until the day you moved out.
All good things must come to an end, you knew this all too well. However, you surely didn’t expect it to be a hit-and-run, leaving you with no time to properly process it.
It wasn’t an easy thing to accept and move on from. But you would try your best to put the broken pieces of your heart back together.
Baxter had left his mark, like a splinter too deep to extract, inducing a constant dull ache that you didn’t think would subside anytime soon.
You vowed to never let anyone like Baxter into your life enough to cause you pain again.
With that resolve, you turned your eyes away from the empty condo, and took your first step towards healing.