The Bet

The Bet

(11,13, 44, 46, 54, 67)

Aella sat down on the park bench to wait for Zyad. They had been dating for the last year, but something had happened; Zyad had changed. Aella couldn’t put her finger on when, but if she had to guess, it was about three months ago.

As the sun started to set, Zyad’s entered the park. Aella watched as he made his way over to her and sat beside her quietly. “You wanted to talk?” Zyad asked, turning towards her. 

“Yeah.” Aella took a breath, not knowing where to start. “This isn’t working out.” 

“What isn’t working?” 

“This. Us.” Aella gestured between them with her hand. “I’ve known you long enough to know that you aren’t who you once were, you’ve changed.  You’ve changed and I don’t like this new version of you.” Aella looked down at her hands. Anywhere but at Zyad. “I’ve tried to look for the version of you that I fell in love with, but that person has completely disappeared.” Aella’s heart shattered into pieces at the confession.

“I.. What do you mean? I’m still the same person I’ve always been.”  Zyad said defensively. He shot up out of his seat and paced the small area in front of the bench. 

“No, you aren’t.  And you haven’t been.  Not for a while. Just tell me, what’s going on? What happened?” Aella finally looked up at him.

Zyad looked at her and shook his head, an incredulous look shadowed his features. “I’m not doing this with you. You want to leave. Go. There’s the door.” Zyad pointed towards the fence to the park as he turned his back on her.

“I just want to know why? What happened?” Aella pleaded as she got up and stood in front of him. “Was it me? Did something happen at home? What is going on?” Aella pleaded for an answer.

Zyad chuckled dryly. “You were a bet. Happy? It was a game, and the longer the game, the more money I won. You. were. a. bet. So thank you for playing, but I’m done.” 

“Screw you.” Aella whispered out, a heartbroken look on her face. Footsteps echoed on cobblestones towards the exit. Without a backwards glance, Allea left Zyad standing under the moonlight, alone.