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‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING here, Vincent?’ Bonnie said, her tone attempted to be stern but even I could hear the quivers in her voice.
So this was the ex-boyfriend, the one she’d mentioned feeling uncomfortable with. The one who’d admitted to cheating on her, who left her and her mental health in ruins. Anger bubbled up in my stomach like a pool of lava. Bonnie was still clutching on tightly to my hand, and I gently pulled her behind me, standing between her and the ex-boyfriend.
Vincent scoffed, ‘You know why I’m here, or have you been ignoring my messages?’
Text messages I presumed. Could that’ve been why Bonnie was acting so cagey every time her phone went off. Was he the one causing her upset?
‘Look,’ I said, keeping myself calm despite wanting to rip his head off his shoulders. ‘Whatever you want, I’m sure this can be resolved later, we’ve got things to do, sorry.’ I turned to walk away, taking my best friend with me, but a hand landed on my shoulder preventing me from leaving. I glanced back to see a smug grin plastered on his face.
‘I don’t think you understand,’ he grunted, ‘I’m here to take my girl home. So if you’d be so kind as to let her go. We’ll be on our way.’ He ignored me, looking directly at Bonnie.
She cast her eyes to the ground and I swore I saw her beginning to tear up. Something in my gut was telling me she didn’t want to go anywhere with him.
I shrugged him off me, ‘No,’ I said sternly. ‘I don’t think she wants to go anywhere with you.’
Vincent laughed, ‘And who are you to tell me what she wants?’ He was bigger and probably much stronger than I was, but he was scaring my best friend and I didn’t like the way she was reacting to him.
‘You ended things with her, and now you’re stalking her, why?’ I asked.
‘Those are some strong accusations. I’m not sure what she told you, but Bonnie and I never broke up. It was all a misunderstanding. Now is it classed as stalking if I’m concerned about the welfare of my girlfriend who struggles with her mental illness.’
‘You’re lying! Bonnie told me herself about what happened between you both.’ I realised now I’d raised my voice. This guy was getting under my skin, and I was the fool letting him do it. ‘You can’t use her mental health as an excuse.’
‘If I was you little boy, I’d watch your mouth,’ Vincent snarled, showing his true sinister colours, which only riled me up more.
Bonnie was cowering behind me, clinging onto my arm like a scared child. There was no way I could let her go with him. Where were the others when I needed backup? I could’ve really used their help right now.
Vincent locked in on Bonnie, ‘Come now, babe. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. It’s time to stop playing dress-up and come home.’ He said, returning to his sly tone. ‘I’d really hate to hurt him, don’t make me do it.’
I stared at him dumbfounded. He’d openly threatened my best friend and myself if she didn’t go with him. Now I was more determined than ever to not let that happen.
Bonnie rushed out from behind me, ‘Stop,’ she cried, tears falling from her cheeks. ‘Please, don’t hurt him. Please.’ She held out her hands in front of her, but didn’t dare look at him.
Vincent grinned like a fox, he knew it was only a matter of time before she’d give in.
‘Bon,’ I said softly, holding out my hand in the hope she would take it. ‘It’s okay, you don’t have to go with him if you don’t want to.’
She glanced back at me and I saw the sadness she was trying to keep locked inside her. ‘Yes, I do. I have to do this, I’m sorry.’ She stepped away from him and agreed to go with him, despite everything he’d done to her. She’d granted him another chance.
Vincent scoffed, ‘There’s a good girl. Come, let’s go home. Later loser.’ He added, giving a single wave before wrapping his arm around Bonnie’s shoulder.
I watched my best friend walk away. I didn’t have the heart to stop her, despite knowing this wasn’t what she wanted. The only reason she agreed to go with her ex-boyfriend was to prevent him from potentially hurting me. He would have succeeded if I’d let him, but I would’ve let him do whatever he wanted to me as long as she was safe. I turned away, heading back to the booth in which I’d registered for the cosplay competition to collect our prizes. Not that it mattered now, but I wanted to ensure Bonnie got her fair share even if I needed to post them to her.
The rest of the group were waiting in the same area, Poppy looked a little disheartened when I returned without Bonnie by my side. The others didn’t look too overjoyed either.
‘Is everything okay?’ Tristan asked, holding his girlfriend back.
I shook my head, ‘No, it’s not okay. Nothing is okay.’ I said. ‘Bonnie’s gone. She just left with her ex-boyfriend. I tried to stop them but-’
‘What do you mean she went with him? Poppy cut me off, jumping up from her chair. She looked angry. ‘How could you let him take her?’
I stared at her, ‘I know what he did, I know they broke up. But she had a choice.’
‘Did she have a choice though?’ Poppy said, her tone flat. ‘You don’t know half of what he’s been doing to her. She would’ve never gone with him if she had a choice.’
‘Pop, stop’ Tristan called, hauling his girlfriend back.
‘Look, she made her decision and as her friend I need to respect it. Even if I don’t agree with it,’ I replied. ‘None of us could’ve stopped her. I’m going to at least collect her prize and see that she gets it. It’s the least I can do.’
I followed through with my plan, accepting an envelope of vouchers for various sewing outlets and a small trophy with Judges Award etched into the silver staff. I smiled, she deserved this more than I did.
[♡]
Later that evening, my friends convinced me to still attend the closing ceremony masquerade ball, despite not having a date or even feeling up for attending. But I went along with it just to make them happy, after all nothing was going to mend my broken heart.
Bonnie had gone back to England with her ‘boyfriend’ and I was here in Paris, supposedly enjoying the last night of my trip drowning my sorrows in a shit pint of beer. Least it was cheap, at least it’d that going for it, and it was more than I’d going for myself.
I watched my friends on the dancefloor, the girls looking beautiful in their ballgowns and the guys looking great in their suits. They’d all put in so much effort for tonight, and here I was ruining it all, wallowing in my own self pity. I watched them dance, swaying back and forth to the live orchestra, wishing I could have shared this moment with my best friend.
A few random girls asked if I was single and if I wanted to dance with them. I wasn’t unpleasant to them by any means but I refused, explaining I didn’t feel up to partying. They grumbled and walked away. I silently blamed Bonnie for making me look too good in this costume, but that only made my heart ache for her.
I pulled out my phone, hoping I would’ve heard something from her by now, but the only notifications I received were a few emails from work. It made me wonder if she was ever going to contact me, or was her ‘boyfriend’ going to prevent that as well. I cursed myself, I never should’ve let her leave.
A few hours into the closing ceremony and I couldn’t stomach anymore. I walked out, returning to the cabin to change out of the costume and threw myself into bed, hoping sleep would find me soon. I laid there awake for hours before it finally claimed me, all the while my mind fixated on the wellbeing of my best friend.
[♡]
Today we were all heading home, returning to our normal day-to-day lives. I thought I might’ve heard from Bonnie today, after letting the dust settle last night, but I was mistaken. On the train Poppy seemed to still have a grudge against me because I let Bonnie go without saying goodbye, but Tristan warned I just needed to give her time. But something in my gut was telling me none of us would be hearing from Bonnie as long as Vincent had his claws into her. I just hoped my gut was wrong in this instance. Still I made a promise to myself I wouldn’t be the first to contact her in case Vincent was monitoring her phone, he sure seemed like the type.
One thing I was still struggling to get my head around, was how her ex-boyfriend had known where Bonnie was. She was safe with her friends, why would anyone have a problem with that? Unless his new flame got bored and he needed his old plaything back. Even the thought of it made me sick to my stomach, Bonnie was much more than that. I just hoped she was safe somehow, even if I’d no way of checking up on her.
I focused on myself, setting up my laptop on the table in front of me to answer any work emails I might’ve missed in the last week. It was no surprise when I logged onto the laptop that my inbox was almost bursting at the seams. It never was a dull moment at the job, I couldn’t even even a few days away without someone needing me. I decided to dedicate the time spent travelling replying to as many emails as possible, excluding the transfers between trips.
The group and I said our goodbyes, thank yous for the wonderful week we spent together but of course there was mention about how the journey had taken the awkward twist that left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths.
I couldn’t apologise enough to Poppy before we went our separate ways, ‘You know if I’d known the situation, I would’ve done everything in my power to prevent her from leaving with him.’
Poppy cast her eyes to the ground, ‘I know, but you really don’t know what he’s capable of. I just hope Bonnie is okay.’
‘Me too.’
I hugged my friends goodbye and jumped on my train home. As soon as I was comfortable in my seat, I returned my attention back to my flooded inbox. Thankfully, I’d purchased some coffee to help motivate me to finish my work. Home was still two hours away and soon I’d be reunited with my buddy Mochi. I shared a private joke to myself, not realising I’d laughed out loud until another passenger asked me to keep the noise down. I wondered how the little guy was doing and more importantly, how much Mrs Bloom had fed him whilst I was away.
Even though I tried to keep my mind busy focusing on work, and fuelling myself with coffee, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Poppy had said about Bonnie and her ex. If only there was something I could do. I couldn’t report it, it would be my word against theirs, and if Bonnie was questioned, she might deny the accusations to keep her ex sweet. There was the option of turning up on her doorstep like I had when she went AWOL, but once again there was a chance Vincent would be there to stop any unwanted visitors and ensure to keep Bonnie isolated. I didn’t really understand his game plan, but it was plain to see that he was manipulating her for his own gain.
I soon arrived home, but not before I was exhausted from a mix of travelling and worrying myself silly over my best friend. I texted the group to let them know I’d arrived home safely and upon opening the chat I noticed Bonnie had left the group entirely. This had to be Vincent convincing her that she didn’t need us as friends, that she only needed him to rely on. I didn’t push the subject with the group, nor did any of them in the chat. We must’ve all been thinking the same thing, this was the work of manipulation and not by choice. I cast my luggage into my bedroom before heading next door and collecting my chubby buddy.
Mochi snaked around Mrs Bloom’s ankles when she answered the door. ‘Good evening, dear,’ she said. ‘How was your trip? Did you eat enough, you’re looking a little pale.’
I shook my head, ‘I’m okay, thank you for your concern. My trip was eventful. Dare I ask how the little guy has been?’ I laughed, watching him pad over to me so I could scoop him up.
‘He’s been an absolute angel, as always,’ she said, a smile appearing on her lips. ‘Are you sure you’re taking care of yourself?’ She was like my own grandmother, always fussing over me.
I gave her a reassuring smile, ‘I’m positive, Mrs Bloom. Thank you again for looking after Mochi whilst I was away. If you like I could pop out tomorrow and do a little shop for you.’
Mrs Bloom clapped her hands together and replied, ‘That would be wonderful, dear. Now, go get some rest, you look awful.’ She waved goodbye and gently closed the door behind her.
I couldn’t help but laugh, she was certainly a character. ‘Come on, buddy,’ I said to my cat, ‘Let’s get you home.’ He meowed at me like he hadn’t been fed in weeks. ‘No, I won’t be feeding you. I’m sure you’ve had your fill this week.’ The cat huffed, and as soon as I put him on the floor in my flat, he was already gone from sight. Typical.
The luggage was calling my name, a reminder of my trip that brought back the painful memory of Bonnie leaving. I made it my first priority to empty the suitcase and forget about the trip all together. Sure, it’d been fun but I’d my regrets about the way it ended. When I was done, I checked my phone again, praying she might contact me, but in the hours passed, nothing came.
Last night, I was supposed to tell Bonnie how I truly felt about her, during the closing ceremony, as we danced the night away without a care in the world. But that was never going to happen, why did I set myself up for failure? Sitting on the edge of my bed, I finally come to terms with everything.
I needed to give up on my feelings for Bonnie once and for all.
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