forum One-On-One (Closed)

Started October 24, 2018 by @Imperfect_Autumn group

tune

(dammit I'm indecisive
Would you mind? Just so I can have him interact with someone, or else it'd be a very one-sided conversation on my part)

(Oof. Lol. I was thinking the same for Kasey…
Idk which to do… I think the second might be better, though…)

(rip…. maybe we could both have control over them? Like, when they're conversing with Barr, you control them, and when they're conversing with Kase, I control them?
Yeah sure)

kk

Tick, tock.

Barry stared up at the ticking clock, unmoving as he watched the hour hand shift between the eleven and the twelve. Every few seconds, his eyes flickered down to his phone, which he held tightly in one hand. Still no reply from Kasey—she’d left him on ‘read’ two hours ago. And the sad thing was…. he was used to it.

Over the past month, she’d been returning home later and later. One or two nights, Barry had slept alone—meaning, of course, that he’d turned the whole town upside down looking for his girlfriend, who had been hiding out at her best friend’s house. Their conversations had grown strained, moments of happiness giving in to stress……

And it was breaking him.

One month since he’d bought the ring, overflowing with excitement to give it to her. One month spent second-guessing himself. Fearing for their future.

And now….

(Well that was sad to read…)

Kasey glanced down at her phone for the umpteenth time that night. It was almost five-to-midnight… She should have gone home hours ago. Instead, she was sitting on a park bench in the middle of the night, watching the night life scurry by.

It was a calming place for her, one where she wouldn't have to worry about her boyfriend's curious questions about the way she'd been acting lately. She hated that she couldn't didn't want to go home… Because she really did miss Barry and their random spurts of conversations about totally random topics. She missed curling up into his side at night, ne of the only places she felt truly safe. And when was the last time they'd kissed? She missed the feeling of his lips against hers, the taste of them. She missed how he could make her smile with just a look in her direction, how warm and gentle he was with her, even when things started to get heated.

Shaking her head, she finally tore herself from the bench. She was going home tonight, and she was going to hope that Barry would sleep in the bed with her, rather than the cough, where he had taken to spending his nights. She hated that he thought he had to sleep there. She would be perfectly fine with him sleeping beside her in the bed.

(Oof)

Barry tapped on Kasey’s contact, his thumb hovering over the ‘call’ button. But he knew it would be useless, no matter how worried he was. She wouldn’t pick up.

He called anyways.

Like he’d expected, no one picked up. Barry blinked rapidly, but his tears spilled over anyways. They were still trickling down his cheeks when he heard the front door open.

Kasey slipped into the apartment, closing the door behind herself as quietly as possible. She removed her shoes, hung her purse up, then turned around to see the man who’d been plaguing her thoughts her whole walk home.

“Barry… You’re still awake,” she noticed softly, blinking up at him in surprise. She rubbed her arms with her hands, knowing she should have brought a coat out with her. But the cold was good. It helped keep her mind sharp so that she didn’t go down any rabbit trails of thought. “You should go to bed. I’ll… I’ll be there in a second.”

Barry wiped the tears from his blotchy face, pressing his lips into a hard line. “Yeah, Kasey, I’m awake.”

He hardly ever called her by her nickname anymore.

“Because you come home at midnight everyday. And it worries the hell out of me.” Averting his red-rimmed eyes, Barry swallowed. “And I know you don’t want to sleep in the same bed as me. It’s fine.”

But I do! I do want to sleep in the same bed as you! I want things to go back to normal, but, gosh, it’s so hard…

Wait… Were those tears? He was crying? Oh, no… No no no… He couldn’t cry over her. She didn’t deserve his tears. She’d been horrible lately, and he just kept waiting for her. She didn’t deserve him… Not at all.

“I’m sorry, Barr,” Kasey whispered, the grip on her arms tightening as she looked at the ground. She couldn’t bear to see the sight of him like this. It hurt… Gosh, did it hurt… “You deserve an explanation. You really do. But… I can’t give you one. Not yet… I’m so sorry…”

“I just…” He sucked in a sharp breath. “I just wish you would tell me—tell me what I did wrong.” Turning away before his voice broke, Barry slipped his hands into his pockets.

Kasey’s head shot up at his words, and she stared at his back when he turned away. Her eyes were wide as she looked over at him, sad and in pain from whole whole situation, but especially from his words.

“Nothing, Barry. You did nothing wrong,” she insisted with a voice choked from emotion. “None of this was because of you. None of it. I just— I’m having a hard time, and I don’t know how to talk about it.”

Barry shook his head, snatching up the blanket he always kept folded on the arm of the couch. “If you feel like you can’t tell me, then I’m the one at fault. I—you should sleep. Rest.”

(😭😭😭)

That’s not it! That’s not it at all! I just don’t know how to talk about it… And I really wish I did. We wouldn’t be in this situation if I just knew how to talk about it…

“I’m sorry, Barr…” Kasey whispered again, hanging her head. “Goodnight…” I love you…

Barry nodded his head and pulled the covers over his legs. “Goodnight…”

Kasey glanced at him one last time before making her way to their the bedroom. She changed into a pair of pajamas, then collapsed on the bed, covering her ace with her arms.

“I am such a mess…” she groaned, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. “Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just talk to him?”

Naturally, Barry didn’t sleep. He lay there, curled into a tight ball, his body wracked with suppressed sobs.

He’d been about to propose before everything had gone to shit. Now, they barely talked, barely interacted. He rarely saw her smile. And it was breaking his heart.

Kasey woke up early the next morning with the blankets pulled to her chest and wrapped around her. She’d probably been looking for some form of comfort, something to replace Barry’s warmth. But it didn’t work. Nothing could replace her estranged boyfriend… The boyfriend she’d pushed away…

After changing into a pair of jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt, she looked at her face in the bathroom mirror. Dark circles hid under her eyes, giving light to just how little sleep she’d been getting. Even now, she was still half-asleep.

Shaking her head, she silently left the room and made her way out to the kitchen. Maybe she could make Barry something…

Barry, who had fallen asleep roughly fifteen minutes before Kasey had woken up, was still curled up on his side. But instead of a peaceful, serene expression, his face was twisted into one of pain, of heartbreak. Even in sleep, he was shaking, tears slipping down his cheeks. A murmur parted his lips—"Kasey…"

Kasey looked over at him at the sound of her name. The tears and body-shaking sobs caught her attention immediately, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Unshed tears welled up in her eyes as she held them back, trying to keep quiet.

A few minutes later, she had a note written to Barry stuck to the fridge.

Barry,
There's a bag inside the fridge for your lunch if you want it.

A smudged spot under those words showed where a tear had finally broke by through its hold and landed on her paper. The next part was written lower and in shakier handwriting.

I love you… And I'm so sorry. I'm going to try harder to get through this, really…
~ Kasey

When Barry awoke, the house was empty, as usual. It took him a while to recover from the dreams that had plagued even his fleeting sleep, but once his face was clear and no longer blotchy, he stood to make himself breakfast. But when he turned to the fridge…. he was surprised to see a note stuck to it.

His eyes skimmed it, and were quickly filling with tears again. She still loves me…. The next four words, scrawled shakily onto the yellow sticky note, utterly broke him. Why are your sorry? This is my fault—Don't blame yourself for this..