Paying the Debt

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I was with my best friend at a hotel to bust her boyfriend for cheating.

We threw back the covers.

And I found myself staring into Nates face.

His first instinct was to pull the sheet over the woman beside him, hiding her from view. Only then did his eyes lift to meet ours, a single, venomous sentence spat from his lips.

"Get the hell out if you don't want to die."

My best friend, Zoe, froze in terror, yanking at my arm, trying to pull me out of the room. But my body was rigid, my feet rooted to the floor. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

Because I am Nates actual girlfriend.

01

"Hold on."

Nate's voice stopped us cold.

He languidly lit a cigarette, a slow plume of smoke curling from his lips as his gaze settled on me. "If any videos from tonight leak, I don't care who posts them. I'm holding you responsible."

"Echo," he said, my name rolling off his tongue with a certain post-sex laziness, "did you hear me? Don't pull any of your little stunts. It's annoying."

The moment his words landed, a low laugh escaped my lips. It sounded harsh and brittle in the quiet hotel room.

Zoe, hiding behind me, was frantically tugging at my shirt, her face beaded with sweat. I knew what she was thinking. She wanted me to just leave, to deal with this later. After all, Nate's family was powerful, and he had a violent temper. When he lost it, he didn't care if you were a man or a woman.

And seeing how fiercely he was protecting the woman in the bed, Zoe was terrified I'd pick a fight and get hurt.

But I wasn't leaving.

I hadn't done anything wrong. I was the one who had been wronged. There was no reason for me to back down, and I wouldn't.

"Nate, your nerve is actually kind of impressive. I'm a little confused here," I said, pushing Zoe's hand away and stepping forward. A sarcastic smile twisted my lips. "Remind me, who's the one cheating right now? You, or me?"

Who was the one caught in bed in a hotel?

It wasn't me, standing here fully dressed. It was Nate, naked under the sheets, smoking a post-coital cigarette.

"What's with the act?" What's with the anger? Why are you the one threatening me when you're the one who did something wrong?

My hands clenched into fists, my voice trembling so hard I could barely form the words. I was screaming at myself internally not to show weakness, not to let him win. But when I looked down and saw the protective way he shielded the woman beside him, a sharp pain lanced through my chest.

A bitter, mocking smile stretched my lips. My hands were shaking.

"I'm your goddamn girlfriend!" I finally screamed, my eyes burning. "You won't let me see her? Fine, that just makes me want to see her more! If she has the guts to pull this kind of shit, she should have the guts to show her face!"

The words were barely out of my mouth before I lunged toward the bed, a crazed desperation fueling me. I had to see her. I had to know who it was that I had lost to.

My movement was so sudden it caught Nate by surprise. But he recovered in a split second, his expression turning to ice. He grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me backward. As I stumbled, losing my balance, he lifted his foot and kicked me, hard, right in the stomach.

The force of the blow sent me flying, and I landed heavily on the floor. A searing pain shot up my spine, and a piercing scream was torn from my throat.

"Nate," I gasped, my vision blurred with tears of pain. My voice shook, but I forced myself to look at him, to say the words one more time. "I am your girlfriend."

"So?"

Impatient boredom was already creeping across his face. He frowned, looking down at me from his throne on the bed.

"Echo," he asked, "is cheating illegal?"

02

"What... what did you say?"

My mind went blank. I couldn't think, couldn't process anything. I stared at Nate's handsome mouth and managed a smile that was more hideous than a sob.

"Nate, what did you just say? What do you mean?"

How could any decent, moral person ask a question like that?

But Nate wasn't looking at me. He was leaning over, murmuring to the woman hidden under the sheets, asking if she was okay. Only after she nodded and whispered a soft "I'm fine" did he relax. Only then did he deign to look at me again.

The moment our eyes met, I saw the cold indifference in his, and all the strength drained out of my body.

I had known Nate for five years, been with him for three. I knew him too well. I knew him so well that in that single glance, I understood with chilling certainty: he didn't love me anymore.

When he looked at me, there was no trace of the laughter that used to dance in his eyes. There was only a thick, heavy layer of disgust, as if the very sight of me made him want to vomit.

The realization was a punch to the gut.

I struggled to my feet. I already knew the answer, but a desperate sliver of hope made me ask anyway, my voice trembling.

"Nate, are you breaking up with me?"

"Do you really like this... this homewrecker that much?" I couldn't stop myself. My voice rose as I pointed at the lump on the bed, my eyes red with unshed tears.

The next thing I knew, the half-smoked cigarette was flying through the air, straight at me. "Shut up!" he roared.

"Echo, this is your last warning. This is between you and me. You leave her out of it." Nate's eyes were cold steel. "She's not like you. If I hear one more disgusting word come out of your mouth, I promise you, next time I won't just be telling you to shut up. You know I always keep my word."

I just stood there, stunned, and didn't even think to dodge.

The lit end of the cigarette hit me right below the eye. For a split second, a searing pain blossomed, leaving an angry red mark. Hot ash flew into my eye, and the world exploded in agony.

In an instant, my right eye was flooded with red. I vaguely reached up and my fingers came away wet and warm. Blood and tears streamed down my face.

Staring at the blood on my fingertips, a loud ringing filled my ears, blocking out all other sound.

I could see Zoe running toward me, her face a mask of panic.

I could see the revulsion on Nate's face. His expression was dark, his mouth moving, spitting more venom at me.

But I couldn't hear a thing.

It wasn't until Zoe grabbed my hand that the buzzing started to fade, and the sounds of the world rushed back in.

And I heard the end of Nate's tirade, spat out with pure contempt.

"What law did I fucking break by cheating?" he sneered, his eyes cold. "Who are you to play judge and jury? Forget girlfriend, even if you were my wife, so what if I cheated? You're so worked up, you want me to call the cops on myself?"

My body went rigid. I stared at him, at this man I had been with for over three years.

And for the first time, I realized that after three years of sharing a bed, I had never really known him at all.

A long moment passed. Then, a strange, airy laugh escaped my lips. "Okay," I said softly. "I get it."

"You're right, Nate. Cheating isn't illegal."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"So we're breaking up."

Nate flinched.

03

He seemed genuinely surprised, frowning as he stared at me for a long moment. He probably hadn't expected me to be so decisive.

After a beat, he lit another cigarette. "Fine," he said with cold indifference. "Whatever you want."

"Now get out."

As Zoe and I were leaving, he called out to us one last time. "Remember to delete the video. I don't want to see it anywhere."

"Okay," I said.

Maybe my agreement was too quick, too casual. Nate's hand paused on its way to his lips. He looked puzzled, but he didn't ask any questions.

I walked out of the room and, out of habit, gently pulled the door shut behind me.

The moment the lock clicked, I let go of Zoe's hand, which I had been gripping like a lifeline. The tears I had been holding back finally broke free, streaming down my face. I had to bite down on my lip, hard, to stifle the sobs that were clawing their way up my throat.

Don't cry, I told myself. He's just a cheating piece of trash. It's over. What is there to cry about? A scumbag like him isn't worth my tears.

But no matter how hard I tried to swallow them, the tears just kept coming. The pain and humiliation churned inside me, each wave sharper than the last, until I was so weak I could barely stand.

We had been together for three years. Three whole years. I could have gotten attached to a dog in that amount of time, let alone a living, breathing person.

He was the one who used to kiss and hug me every day. The one who would drop everything to travel the world with me. The one who, if I casually mentioned I missed him, would be on the first flight the next morning just to see me.

I had imagined so many futures for us. Maybe we would get married. Maybe we would drift apart and break up peacefully.

But I never, ever imagined it would end like this. In a sordid hotel room, with him cheating, spitting threats at me to protect his mistress.

What a fucking joke. My past three years felt like a joke.

I sank to the floor in the hotel stairwell, hugging my knees, and asked Zoe through ragged sobs, "Does every relationship end in this same stupid way?"

Zoe dabbed at my tears with a tissue and sighed. She was about to say something when she suddenly froze.

"Stop crying," she whispered urgently. "I've got an opportunity for you to let off some steam. Wipe your tears and get up. Now!"

Still dazed, I let Zoe pull me to my feet. Before I could even register what was happening, her eyes were blazing. She dragged me toward a couple who had just walked out of the hotel lobby.

It was only when we were right in front of them that I realized the man was Zoe's boyfriend.

I saw the panic flash across his face a split second before Zoe's studded handbag crashed into it.

"You piece of shit!" Zoe screamed, her eyes red with fury. "You cheat on me? You find another woman?"

She grabbed the other woman's hair and swung her bag again. When her boyfriend tried to make a run for it, Zoe grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground.

Then, she unleashed a flurry of kicks, her high heels stomping on his face, his groin, anywhere she could reach.

Finally, her rage spent, Zoe spat on the pathetic man crumpled on the pavement. "You men are all the same!" she yelled. "Garbage! All of you!"

Then she grabbed my hand, and we ran.

We ran so fast the wind dried the tears on my face. We didn't stop until we were several blocks away, gasping for breath. We looked at each other, and then, we both burst out laughing.

"Feel any better?" Zoe asked, catching her breath.

"A little," I panted back, a real smile finally reaching my eyes. "My heart doesn't hurt as much. It's mostly my eye. The burn is really starting to sting." I probably needed to go to the hospital.

"Good," Zoe said, her expression complicated. She hailed a cab and helped me in. "Let it hurt. And remember that pain. It's what Nate gave you. Don't you dare be weak and go back to him."

I lowered my gaze to the faint traces of blood on my fingertips and gave a weak smile.

"I won't."

I was done with Nate. For good.

I wasn't that pathetic. I wasn't going to offer myself up to him just to get hurt again.