You met Arabella in school, growing up you knew you loved her. You knew you loved her more than she loved you. On the bus rides to school which was the only moment you had alone with her, she’d talk to you about the guys she had eyed. Talking about their features that she liked, none of them were yours. You were too short for her liking, not dressed up enough, you couldn’t help but sink into your seat feeling some sort of insecurity.

At the all boy’s school, she had found a man she took special interest in, you couldn’t help but hate him over his bad habits, seeing how much he changed her overtime. She started smoking and partying more, she’s not who you one knew. Every time you saw her with that guy, it hurt you. But she’s not your girlfriend. He knew what he was doing to her innocence. After all that’s what men like him were known to do, leave and dump aside. You wanted to protect her but you could feel her slipping away.

You sit on the bus again in the seat next to her, what once used to be talking turned to her texting and not bothering with you. It hurt.