Facing the Truth

Write a story or poem that begins with this line "You always kept me honest…"

~983 words~

"You always kept me honest, Sophie," Hunt said with sincerity. "But it's just not me, ya know?"

Sophie looked down at his soft hands holding hers.

"Are you breaking up with me, Hunt?"

The words echoed in her mind like a lifeless body thudding to the pavement. She already knew the answer.

Hunt took back his hands and turned away. She watched with dread as he paced towards the maple looming over the park bench where she sat. He spat at the tree and turned back to her. She searched his brown eyes and, for a brief moment, thought she might be able to change his mind.

"You don't have to do this…" she said, hope igniting anew.

He looked at the sky. Was that a tear she saw glistening in the afternoon sun?

"We've had a lot of good times, Sophie. It's just that…"

He looked at her again, this time the tenderness had been replaced by cold determination. Sophie's heart seemed to stop cold in her chest.

"You knew this wasn't going to be forever," he said. Each word struck her heart like a hot poker. "I mean, we always talked about how you can never tell if the person you're with is The One, right?"

He was asking her a question – asking her permission. Her mind raced as she tried to think, but the thoughts were slamming into her mind with the ferocity of a movie set on fast-forward.

"Four years, Hunt…" she whispered as she remembered the way they'd met. It was her best friend's birthday. Hunt had asked her for a cigarette and they'd stolen into the backyard for a smoke. He told her she was "drop-dead gorgeous". He seemed to understand who she was. He was a good listener. And he looked rugged and dangerous. He was perfect.

Sure, they'd had problems after they'd moved in together, but who didn't? It was to be expected when two people shared a living space together. They had to learn to compromise.

Hunt sat down on the bench and spat at the ground again. He sighed, letting out his breath loudly.

"I met someone, Soph. I'm sorry."

Sophie stared at the ground and wondered why the tears wouldn't come. Was she surprised? She didn't know. Hunt had been distant the last few years – and unusually critical. But, she'd thought he was just going through a hard time at work.
"It's Nadine in Marketing, isn't it?"

Hunt stood up and ran his hands through his hair. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, letting it out with a huff.

"It makes sense now," Sophie said, still staring at the ground. She set her cheeks in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. She felt numb – like all her emotions had dissipated like cigarette smoke. "All those long hours at the office…"
He sat down and took another long drag. She hated it when he didn't say anything. He owed her that at least.

"I'll get Craig to get my stuff at the end of the week," he said. He blew out more smoke then flicked the butt of the cigarette into the air using his index finger and thumb. "I'm going to stay with him until I can get my own place."

The finality of his statement landed another blow to her heart.

"You can keep Isis. She always liked you better anyways."

Through the sickening buzzing in her head, a part of Sophie wondered if that had been a sign. Isis had never really warmed up to Hunt, even though they had bought the cat together. He'd picked her out because Sophie couldn't bear to choose just one from the hundreds of cages at the shelter. Hunt had said she could choose the name instead.

"Well." Hunt rose once more. "I better go…I'm sorry, Soph. It just wasn't working. You knew that, right? You knew things weren't the same anymore, right?"

She looked up into his eyes as a rush of anger flared within her. "No, Hunt. I didn't know! I thought we were just going through the same thing all couples went through. Love is something you have to work at. It matures. It doesn't feel the same as it did at the beginning---"

"Well, that's the thing. I don't think what I felt for you was love, Sophie. And, anyways, whatever it was, I don't feel it anymore." He was looking out into the parkland.

"You're saying you never loved me?" Her anger fizzled into a cold, hard lump of pain.

"Listen, I really gotta go. I'm sorry, ya know? I just gotta go."

As he walked away, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, she felt as though she was separated from her body. Her head throbbed and she just wanted to lie down and sleep the world away.

"Why, Hunt?" The words escaped her lips before she even knew they were there.
He paused and turned to her again.

"Why did you stay so long if you didn't love me?" Sophie felt the tears brimming hotly in her eyes.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I was just comfortable, ya know?"

With that, he turned away from her for the last time. Sophie didn't watch him go. Instead, she picked up her bag and got out her keys. As she walked down the path towards her car, she felt overwhelming pain thrust deep into her soul, but she also felt a little bit lighter – a slight be more liberated. As she drove back to her apartment, she was intensely aware of the loneliness that gripped her, but, in the back of her mind was another realization -- that with the end to this chapter in her life, a newer, better chapter was just beginning.