Nina felt onto the couch, finally getting to the point where Braxton was. Words beginning to slur and the room spinning. It was just what she wanted, and even if she was going to regret it in the morning, she would at least have her mind on the pain in her head instead of the conversation currently taking place. Nina didn’t know why she had reacted as she had, knowing that he didn’t deserve to be treated the way she treated him, but Nina was selfish and immature. She expected things from people without giving anything in return, but she was starting to realize how hindering that could be. And if she didn’t know that before, she definitely realized now as Braxton began talking again.
Her eyes tired to focus in his, yet it was proving to be difficult since she was starting to see double. Instead, she opted for closing her eyes and listening to what he had to say. “I have every goddamn right to be upset, Braxton,” she was starting to lose control of the poker face she had been holding up for the entirety of the conversation, finding it harder by the second as he just seemed to keep stabbing her straight in the chest with each word. “I am upset with myself, not you. So don’t tell me I can’t be upset with myself.” she finally opened her eyes, finding that it was slightly easier to look at him now. “I expected too much, and I didn’t’ give anything in return. I loved you, Braxton. And up until this conversation, I still did. Happy? I know it’s too god damn late, but there. You were the most important thing in my life, but I was so fucking scared. So, I started going out,” she paused, taking a deep breath and glanced down. “I wrecked you.” she muttered, feeling tears threaten to fall, but she did her best to maintain her composure. “I was always faithful to you though, Braxton. If one thing is certain, it is that I would never cheat on anyone. Not someone I love.” She shook her head, “Okay.” she muttered, not knowing what else to say to him. “I wish I could agree with you,” she laughed, her only defense against showing her true emotions. Nina stood up, stumbling slightly and stepping towards him, “I’m so fucking toxic, aren’t I?” She raised an eyebrow, “You are this perfect man and I ruined you,” she let out another laugh, “It’s a good thing you have someone to put you back together.” His words had hurt. She had never seen this side of him and it was proving difficult to listen to. If it wasn’t for the respect she had for him, she would have slapped him ages ago. Whether or not his words were truth, she still felt the urge to let her palm connect to his cheek, leaving a red hand print as a reminder. Instead, when her hand touched his cheek, it was only for a second as her fingertips ran delicately over his stubble. “You’re right though. We are nothing.” Her fingernails dug into the skin at his neck as her fingers trailed down his jawline towards his collarbone. “I’m glad we could clear this all up though, babe.” she smirked, hand falling back down to her side as she stepped closer to him, head tilting up to look into his eyes, “If that is all, I guess we should go our separate ways now. You know, to really dig this into the ground that this is over.” Nina did her best to joke about the situation, but she knew her walls he had put up earlier had fallen and he could tell. Her eyes red and still a puddle of water forming, yet nothing spilling over onto her cheeks.
Braxton was seething, seeing red, his face hot - a combination of the alcohol in his system and the cloud of stress floating over the pair. For the most part, he agreed with everything she had to say, although he was sure she didn’t actually mean any of them. “You should be upset with yourself,” he scoffed, shaking his head at her. Words were harsh, though they dripped from his mouth like satin. Smooth. “I was good to you, wasn’t I?” It wasn’t a question directed towards her, he was more so talking to himself, thinking out loud. “I gave you everything I could. Wasn’t enough, huh?” The blond crossed his arms over his chest, now realizing how quickly he was breathing. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so angry, though it likely had to do with his father - that always seemed to be the case. “I moved on. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t deal with being lead on. You make it seem like we still had a chance, like if I came crawling back to you everything would be different. That’s not true, is it? Everything would be the same, right?” He turned on his heels and began picking his clothes and shoes off the floor, only to set them on the counter as he began redressing one item at a time. “Good to know,” he nodded, finally lifting his head to offer his full attention. “Even though that doesn’t really change anything. Don’t really trust you all that much. I never knew what you were doing. Could never trust you to call me before you decided to leave for days. Could never trust you to stick around. Not very fucking trustworthy at all, actually.” The amount of curse words flowing from his throat normally would’ve burned his throat, as if they were battery acid, each stronger than the next. But now, it was no big deal, in fact he welcomed them, it was out of character. “Yeah, you kind of are.” The male leaned down to tie his shoes, clearly struggling, but quickly figuring it out and standing up straight once again. Toxic.” Braxton didn’t think he was perfect, he was the farthest thing from it, actually. He struggled with plenty of things, most of them unbeknownst to her. He had he had a rough childhood, one that included gangs, and time spent in juvenile hall. He got into a lot of trouble as a kid, mostly because he was coping with the hard time his father was constantly giving him. “Is this a joke to you? I’m glad you’re getting a kick out of it, really.” Her laughter was aggravating, slapped him in the face, it was disrespectful.
It was crazy to him, the way that touch could change. One day it was soft and loving, like it could cure all your pain, erase your past and make you feel invincible. But now, it felt as if she’d thrown poison on his skin, her fingertips stung, made him want to slap her hand away and coat his skin in numbing lotion. She wasn’t the girl he’d fallen in love with anymore, she wasn’t the beautiful, carefree person he’d fallen for. Even looking into her eyes felt different, they were unwelcoming, like they’d darkened. Everything was different, it was ridiculous that she thought everything would be the same. That he’d be able to forgive her enough to return to the way things once were. He never thought he’d be happy for her touch to disappear, the way he was now. “That’s all, yep.” He cleared his throat, glancing down to smooth out the wrinkles in his tee-shirt. “Glad we could have this talk. That you got your closure or whatever. So you can stop dragging me out and getting me drunk in hopes that I’ll fuck you one last time, or whatever the fuck you were trying.” Making it way to the towards the door, he turned to glance at her again. “I found a woman i wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life with. I found someone I could love. I found someone who wants me around. Why couldn’t you do that for me?”
