Thomas Bruin. His business card named him vice president of some company group, and upon searching it online, it was a massive conglomerate concerning construction, real estate, and lots of different daughter companies in other kinds of fields. They invested in endless things, and he was member of the board in all of them.

In my quick online search, I learned more about him than I would have liked to admit. Thomas was 38, half Dutch, had gone to the University of Cambridge in the UK to study Finance, and overall, he was … the epitome of success, huh? There weren’t that many pictures of him online, though, just one when he’d been promoted to vice president, and other than that, he had absolutely no social media presence. 

Other than knowing his career path and age, he was still a complete mystery to me. 

In the middle of the night, I laid atop my mattress, only my laptop beside me illuminating the room. I held the business card he had given me, his name engraved into it with a slight golden film on a fancy piece of paper, and of course, a phone number to call was there too, and that one was sure to connect me with his secretary.

“Can I really just … call? Beg for a job? T-That’s … ridiculous,” I whispered. “Even if I say Thomas told me to call, who is to say the secretary will believe me? What if they get a bunch of calls like that, what if Thomas is totally, totally, a player?!”

I let the business card drop right into my face. Looking like that, I wouldn’t blame him at all … A man so sure of himself, and standing so securely in his own life, I was sure he had no trouble finding partners for a night. And when he flirted the way he did … anyone would swoon. So, why me? Maybe he flirted for the hell of it, and flirted with every pretty person he met, and I was long gone from his mind the second we parted ways?

I sighed. 

What if I called, and asked Thomas about me, and he had no recollection of who I was? What if this was some crude, stupid joke, instead, making fun of my situation? 

“No, but … he didn’t seem the type to do that, did he? He was genuinely concerned about me…” 

In the end, though, I placed his business card on top of the little receipt that carried his phone number, in the midst of the mess of my desk, where I’d keep it. I couldn’t bring myself to call just yet, and scoured through my university’s job page, instead, looking for some kind of opportunity on campus. 

The university library looked for someone for their weekend reception, and for now, I thought it was perfect. To introduce myself and have a little interview after I’d sent my resume, I walked across campus one early morning, and just before I could enter the library, I was pulled to the side.

Already, panic struck me, and my heart raced louder and louder. Almost, did I flinch, when those fingers wrapped around my arm, wondering whether I’d get hurt again, but it didn’t take long to realize that those fingers were much smaller, much gentler, than Vincent’s. 

And that smile I was met with, between pity and sadness, confused me. A stutter crept out of me, and I stared at her blond locks. Her hands rubbed along my upper arms as if she wished to soothe me, even though her eyes were all red and full of heartbreak; even though she was the one who’d broken up with her boyfriend out of nowhere. 

“Hey, u-um …” Amelia stuttered, a nervous chuckle to follow. She continued pulling me to the side, and in the end, we sat across one another on one of the picnic tables scattered across campus. Our bags resting beside us, her hands reached for mine across the table, and she looked at my face a little too intently, noticing my fading bruises along the side of my face. Luckily, my neck had long faded and returned to normal. 

“Felix, right?”

“Y-Yeah?” Her thumbs rubbed across the back of my hands, and it confused me. Wasn’t she the one needing soothing? Wasn’t she the one suffering? Whatever I went through, what did it matter? I’d only been some sidepiece, he’d never said he loved me, but he’d totally done so to her. Besides, she didn’t even know about whatever was between Vince and I, did she?

“Sorry I pulled you to the side like this,” Amelia giggled awkwardly. “I … kind of … wanted to talk to you.”

Now, I was getting scared. Goosebumps slithered across my skin. “Okay?”

There was no ill-will in her voice. She continued holding my hands in hers, but now, she avoided eye contact, and she looked at our intertwined fingers, instead. 

“This is really horrible,” she suddenly said, and a silent little sob followed, croaking out of her throat so suddenly. 

“I—“ Just as I was about to apologize and beg for her forgiveness for having had something with her boyfriend, she shook her head, sniffled her snot away, and looked into my eyes with full confidence that took me by surprise.

“You cried at the library,” she whispered, and I gulped. “I’m sorry.”

“…?”

“I asked Vince if he knew what it was about, if he had any idea at all. It wasn’t … out of suspicion or anything, I just knew you’ve had some classes with him, but Vince was super defensive about it. Said he had no clue who you are, and why a man would even be crying like that in public. He insisted he’d never seen you before, and only then did I get suspicious.”

I quietly listened, her words tearing at my heart. “I thought it was weird,” Amelia mumbled. “How can he not know you? Everyone, even if they don’t know your name, has seen you before. I mean, with the girls, if you walk across campus for a bit, they always talk about how cute you are. Everyone has at least seen your face.” 

Where is this going?

“So, when he behaved like that, I got confused, and I’m usually … I hate to admit it, but I don’t like snooping, or spying on my boyfriend. Trust is most important, right? But something about his behavior felt so off to me, I suddenly felt the urge to go through his phone.” 

Now, I turned pale, and I wished to disappear. My pathetic text messages, my begging, my missing him, is that what she found? My one-sided crush chasing his attention for months and months, only to end up this way? I was embarrassed, and terrified, and honestly, I didn’t want to hear anything else anymore. 

But I said nothing, and Amelia continued on, starting with an apology, riddling me all the more. “I … didn’t break up with him because he cheated on me. Not directly, I mean. Honestly, when I figured it out, I thought I’d forgive him if he was honest with me. We haven’t dated long, so I thought … it’s awkward, but it can happen, right? A situation you had to end, but it ended a bit too late?”

“…” 

“But … Vince … I broke up with him because he is a terrible person.” Suddenly, Amelia shimmied forward, and she held my hands all the tighter, squeezing them, refusing to let go. But it wasn’t in a mean way, and instead, as if she wished to give me support.

“In your messages, he’s always so rude to you, and you were just hoping … for a connection. He should have been honest with you, and not led you on like that. You seem like a genuine, sweet person, and you didn’t deserve all of that. It’s like you meant nothing to him, like he doesn’t even know your name. He doesn’t even have your number saved. But he kept all the pictures you always sent him, and he had videos of you … D-Did you know he recorded you?” 

Color left my face. I knew, kind of … there had been some instances where he had begged me to let him record from behind, but then, he’d stopped asking, and I thought he’d stopped. He must have kept doing it whenever I couldn’t see, whenever he pushed my face into the pillows and cared so little about me. 

When his number carried his name and hearts beside it, he hadn’t even bothered saving mine, huh? He pretended not to know me, but kept everything sexual for his memories? Just what was Vince thinking, that asshole? 

“I-I’m sorry I got in-between you two … I really didn’t know,” I stuttered with tears in my eyes, but Amelia was quick to shake her head.

“Sweetie, you did nothing wrong,” she mumbled, giving me an encouraging smile. “That was all him, okay? I was shocked at how horribly he treated you when you were being so adorable, and so clearly in love. He’s never been like that to me, and I started wondering … what’s the real Vince? The picture-perfect boyfriend I knew, or that horrible man you had to endure? I didn’t want to play that guessing game, and out of respect for you, too, I decided to leave him.” 

“You’re a good person,” I muttered, and I hated myself for not being able to control my feelings, a sob slipping out of me with tears to follow. As soon as I cried, Amelia rushed over to hug me, push me into her clavicle and run her fingers through my hair.

Even though she had more reason to cry, she comforted me, making me feel even worse.

“I deleted it all from his phone, okay?” she whispered. “I don’t think he shared it with anyone, thank god. It’s okay, sweetie, don’t cry…” 

“I-I would have stopped seeing him … if I had known you were with him,” I stuttered with sniffles breaking through my voice, but she shook her head.

“Maybe it was for the best. I’m glad I saw how two-faced he can be. I’m sorry for you, and for how he treated you.” 

When I lifted my face, she looked right at me, gifting me a sweet smile. Her thumb wiped a tear off my face before she caressed my cheek. “To think he even hurt you physically … seriously, doesn’t he think he’s done enough? You should totally report him to the school.” 

With a pout, I looked at her, and she continued caressing my face with a smile too soft for me. 

“Let’s be friends, okay?” she giggled. Honestly, I couldn’t believe Vince would dare to fumble such an amazing girl.