Return of the Ex Conclusion

“Claudia! Get a hold of yourself. You are wayyy out of line for that. You don’t know what this girl went through so I would advise you to calm yourself down.” Claudia’s jaw dropped to the floor. I take the time to repeat the conversation to Claudia. During this time, she slowly settles herself down on the bench—next to Allison. She looks at her with renewed vigor. Allison bursts into tears again as the memories burn brightly in her mind like the resurrection of a phoenix. After I finish the story, Claudia looks at me, then looks at Allison and proceeds to give her a hug.

“Don’t you dare hug me!” she pulls away from Claudia’s grasp. “You don’t care about me! You think I’m here to steal your boyfriend.”

“No I’m not!”

“You didn’t say it, but your face portrays otherwise. My dad has taught me how to read facial expressions of people. And right now, I could careless about you because you don’t give a shit about me. If you did, you would understand that I would never steal your boyfriend. I loved him once, actually I still love him, but I’m not going to steal him from you. I have gone through a lot the past two years and you know what? I’m sick and tired of people accusing me or putting that label of “ho” attached to me. Unless you’ve been in my shoes and experience what I experienced, then don’t try and be my friend. As a matter of fact, I don’t want you near me period.” And with that, Allison storms off.

“What did I do Victor?” Claudia appears to burst into tears.

“You saw her kissing my check, and you blew off on her. You didn’t take the time to get to know her. Not all ex’s are out to get you when they come back. She wanted to get everything straightened out, and everything is crystal clear now. I realize that during the last few weeks of our relationship, she was distant and not sociable at all. Every time I went to kiss her, she would back away. Whenever I tried holding her hand, she would be reluctant at first; she wouldn’t even cuddle with me! It was pure hell on my end and after the break-up; I kept blaming her for everything. This is what I learned: every event has two sides to it. Unless you’ve heard both sides, there will always be some subjectivity attached to it. For two years, I thought she was the enemy. I know realize that the enemy was me and the rapist.”