Chapter II

The next morning came around.

Briella slowly opened her eyes.

It took a mere second for her to realise that she was in the exact same spot from where last night ended. Unexpectedly, she hitched a breath or two.

Her eyes felt bloated. It all gave her an insight into how she reacted to yesterday's news, but not that she needed any reminding.

When she thought back to it all, it still felt so surreal. It would take her some time to digest and accept this new reality.

The wound left behind by Dylan was still fresh and very painful. Only moments later, her head began to pound. It was all from last night's crying.

To her, it was like a way of her body telling her 'I told you so'.

She sat up.

With that done, she applied some pressure to the areas of her forehead that hurt the most, she tried to massage the pain away.

She should have told someone about what happened yesterday, but simply put, she couldn't have gotten herself to do so. This was because of all the pity she would have heard from others on the other end of the line.

If anything, she would have had more pity for those who would have pitied her.

The sound of her alarm as it went off was what shook her out of her trance.

Dismissing it, she got up onto her feet and made her way to the bathroom.

A small apartment that consisted of three rooms was what made up her living space.

Upon her entry into the bathroom, the first thing she did was look at her reflection. She widened her eyes at what she saw - and not in a good way.

She noticed the bags under her eyes as the bloatedness made them stand out even more. But looking back and taking into consideration how many tears she has cried, she wasn't surprised.

"There is nothing a bit of makeup can't cover..." Briella spoke under her breath. But her words left a bad aftertaste in her mouth. They carried some sort of sadness and pain.

A gentle sigh was heard from Briella. 'The fact that I have to cover up my pain with makeup...'.

She kept her eyes at her reflection for about a second or two longer before she began to get ready for her first day of school.

She washed her face, brushed her teeth and did all the other necessary preparations before leaving for school.

Walking out of her apartment, she locked the door before proceeding with her way to the bus stop. The bus stop was only a ten-minute walk from the apartment complex in which she resided.

On her way, she passed another student apartment complex.

Most of the students in Briella's school who were over the age of eighteen lived alone, this was the case for her too.

She took in the fresh morning air deeply, before breathing it back out. It cooled her chest, radiating a pleasant feeling through her body. The cold morning also cooled her face, hands and anything else exposed. It brought her relief, and for the first time since yesterday, some sort of comfort.

Arriving at the bus stop, she waited an extra minute or two. Her school bus came around 8:15 AM and picked up her and some other students who were at the stop.

She arrived at the school and walked up to her locker area from last year, with fifteen minutes left to spare before the bell was to ring. This usually marks the beginning of class.

But in today's case, it was first their 'back to school' assembly.

It was also here, at the lockers, where she saw Nadia.

Concurrently, Nadia's eyes managed to find Briella.

Immediately, she felt as if something was off.

"You are wearing makeup..." Nadia stated once her friend reached her. Briella couldn't help but let out a melancholic chuckle at Nadia's words.

"Good morning to you too...".

"W-what happened? I am not going to ask you if you are okay because you look like an absolute wreck...".

Once more, Briella let out a laugh - but this time a more quiet one. "Thank you for noticing...".

"What happened?" Nadia repeated her question.

Silence. Briella looked back at last night. She dreaded to begin talking about what happened. On top of that, the remembrance of last night caused another lump to grow in Briella's throat.

She has to face the fact that it was really over for both her and Dylan...

"Well?-" Nadia ushered her. But upon seeing the discomfort stretched across Briella's face, Nadia's facial features softened. A frown developed on her lips. "Something bad happened, didn't it?". The softness in Nadia's voice was all too noticeable.

It was the softness that hit Briella right in the heart. It caused the lump in her throat to only swell as the pain became greater.

"Dylan broke it with me last night..." Briella spat the words out before biting her lip.

At first, Nadia's eyes widened in surprise, but then her eyes travelled down to the floor. She had a feeling that things may come to this between the two of them. Such a big distance can put great strain on a relationship.

Briella sensed an ironic taste in her mouth, she knew immediately it was from her lip. But despite the foul taste of her blood in her mouth, biting her lip was the only remedy in stopping the further accumulation of tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect that of him... but... I had a feeling that something bad was due happen between the two of you," Nadia said. "I am so sorry that you have to go through this...". A pause. "Why didn't you call me last night??".

It was Nadia's final words that broke the barrier, and despite her greatest efforts, a few tears managed to roll down Briella's face. Sniffling, she gave another attempt in trying to swallow down the lump in her throat.

Briella had a full list as to her reasons for not contacting Nadia, but she knew it all too well that she couldn't have kept herself together to say each and every reason. The sentence she decided to go with was, "I would pity you for pitying me...".

Just then, Liam, a good friend of both Briella and Nadia came around. "Briella, Nadia.".

"Hey, Liam..." Nadia greeted him back.

He sent another greeting, but this time it was a smile. Then, that small smirk that was present on his lips was to slowly fade away.

He was about to proceed on using his humour to brighten their day, while he still easily can.

But then he looked at Briella.

He looked at the way she wiped her cheeks delicately and carefully. Upon a closer look, he widened his eyes with greater concern. She was crying.

Something was off. Defiantly off.

"Hey, hey... Briella?" Liam began. "Why are you crying? Is everything okay?..." he asked. With that, he wrapped his arm around Briella, allowing her to rest her head upon his shoulder. He then looked up at Nadia. "What happened?" he mouthed.

Nadia took in a deep breath. Despite it being Briella's tale of heartbreak, seeing that she was pretty much overwhelmed with emotion, Nadia decided it may be best for her to tell him everything that Briella said. "So, you know Dylan?".

"Yes. Briella's boyfriend... Did something happen to Dylan?".

"No," Nadia began. A slight frown appeared on her lips. "He broke up with Briella...".

Liam furrowed his brows in confusion. "Wait... why?".

Nadia shrugged before her eyes went to Briella.

"Like..." Briella began, she stood back up. "I-I don't... I-I don't want to be felt bad for... It angers me because I feel like I got myself into this. I feel like its all my fault. What was I to expect?...".

"Don't say that, Briella. I honestly doubt you are the reason why he broke up with you," Liam spoke. "Trust me, any guy would be lucky to have you, don't you ever forget that.".

With that, Liam extended his arms before pulling Briella back into another hug. Seconds later, Nadia joined too.

"He was just a dickhead..." Liam whispered.

"I wholeheartedly agree with Liam," Nadia replied.

At first, the sides of Briella's lips rose into a small smile, but a frown followed a flow or tears were to quickly replace it. "I'm so glad that I am able to call you guys my friends...".

Moments passed before Briella managed to settle down, in that time, the embrace between them three breaks.

"Don't worry, Briella. Sure, you will find someone else, and before you know it... you will forget about Dylan...". But Briella made an unpromising grimace to Nadia's words.

"I... I think I am done with love... at least for a while..." she answered. "Who knows, maybe it's for the better.".

Both Liam and Nadia were about to say something, but with a better judgement of both their words and the current situation, they decided against it.

"Whatever you choose, we will be here to support you, Briella..." Liam spoke, a sympathetic expression stretched across his face.

Just then, the bell rang. And with that, they all begin their way to the main hall for their assembly...