I’m such an idiot, I think to myself. I just ruined one of the greatest relationships of my life, and it is entirely my fault. Sure, there are others who contributed to the whole mess, but I’m the one who screwed up. I’m the one who lied, and I’m the one broke a beautiful girl’s heart.

If I could take it back, I would immediately. I don’t care that Kiara is one of the hottest girls I’ll ever meet; I love Brielle. She’s beautiful and fun and smart, and Kiara’s just a sl**. I was stupid enough to take advantage of that.

I really messed up. A year ago, when I started dating Brielle, I knew I was one of the luckiest guys ever. Everything was fun and fantastic, and we were in what my sister called the “Honeymoon Stage”. Our initial attraction started fading after a while. It wasn’t as exciting as it first was. I loved Brielle with all my heart, and still do, but we wouldn’t go running through a sprinkler hand-in-hand. We just needed a spark.

Then Kiara moved to town. She had brown hair, mysterious blue eyes, and big boobs. She pulled me in. There was something about her that got me flirting with a girl that wasn’t Brielle. The smile that made me smile, the eyes that kept me asking. She was different and fun, and all over me. She would flirt with other guys just because she was a sl**, but it was different when she was around me. She’d lean in closer, her eyes were turn up, her cheeks would turn pink, and her voice would get sweeter. I knew she thought of me differently, and I should’ve kept my distance. But she played her move at the complete wrong time though. Brielle and I had been fighting over something stupid, and then she went away to visit her cousin. Kiara and I were sitting next to each other in Spanish class, and she told me that she’d be home alone that night and she wanted me to come over…and I did.

It was such a huge mistake. I was lonely, heartbroken, bored, and horny. The first time we didn’t go that far; we just made out for about an hour. When I got home, I was on such a rush. The thrill of it canceled out the shame and guilt. The next day we went a little farther and our shirts came off. The day after that she went down on me, and even though it was awesome, it made me finally realize what I was doing. I had totally forgotten about Brielle, and I knew it had to end between Kiara and me. She knew I had a girlfriend, but she didn’t want to stop. She wasn’t done with me, so she gave me an ultimatum: either we kept hooking up or she would tell Brielle. I laughed it off, as if “Yeah, right.” I didn’t think she would risk her reputation only a few weeks into living in her new town.

I underestimated her.

Now, the girl of my dreams hates me with passion, and I’m pretty sure Kiara is stalking me. When she told Brielle, who told everyone, she came after me again once she was certain Brielle ended it. I rejected, giving myself the first spot on her hit list. It’s been two hours since this all went down, and I scurried between three different places to vent or clear my head. She appeared at all three, including my best friend’s back yard.

So here I am now. Trying to clear my head, walking into the forest behind my house. Years ago, when my parents got divorced, I found myself heading this way full of stress, and suddenly I felt better. I come here to relax.

I find a moss-covered felled tree and sit. I put my head in my hands and try to force the shame out of me. I keep trying and trying, but nothing disappears. I can’t shake out the image of my girlfriend sobbing on her friend’s shoulder. Sure, it hurt that I don’t have a girlfriend anymore and that I screwed everything up, but nothing hurts more than knowing I hurt her. I was such a jerk. I am such a jerk. I deserved to be called a b****** in front of all my friends. I deserved anything she spat at me. I don’t deserve her, though. I had the slightest chance of actually deserving her, and that flew away in seconds.

There was another image I had seen that stuck to the image of Brie sobbing. I’d been standing afar, talking to a teacher, when I saw Kiara walk up to Brielle. Her ponytail swished as she leaned against the wall. Brielle looked away from her locker and limply held her backpack. She wore a genuine smile, as she was talking to her best friend before Kiara showed up, and now it turned wary and surprised. “Hey, Kiara,” it looked like she said. Kiara said something back, and Brielle responded with “Okay.” I tried so hard to try to end the conversation with my teacher, but he was offering me a retake, and I needed all the details, and I couldn’t just blow him off. Kiara started talking quickly, and Brielle’s eyes grew wider and wider. They kept getting bigger as she took her phone out, probably showing her our texts. Her eyes turned and met mine and walked to me.

She stood in front of me, a few feet away. When she reached her stopping point, it was as if something had physically pulled her back from going farther. Anger and betrayal showed clear in her eyes, and her body was rigid with hostility. She opened her mouth a few times trying to force words out, but nothing came out. When she rocked back on her heels from a pounce-ready position and crossed her arms, the hurt bled through her clothes and veiled her body. “You b******,” she spat with raging anger.

I could feel her shroud of hurt move to me and I watched her walk away with tears in her eyes. I wasn’t aware of anything after that. The words rang in my ears, her face still clouding my vision.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” I shouted out in frustration. Every time I come here, my method of pushing whatever emotion I don’t want out of me worked. Now, when I need that skill the most, it’s not working.

All of a sudden, I feel as if I was being watched. It feels odd, though. I’ve been followed all day, but this feels different. A hint of danger spotted this feeling, and I’m not afraid of Kiara.

I blow off the hint of danger and figure it to be Kiara. Maybe I am afraid because I hadn’t noticed her yet. It had to have been that. Who else would be watching me?

“Kiara,” I warned. “Go. Away.” I finally look up for the first time I had gotten into the forest, and it seems darker and gloomier. I look around for her chestnut hair and blue eyes.

That’s when I see half a face peering out from behind a tree. With one green eye.

Light, long blonde hair blows in the wind away from a creamy, light caramel-colored face. Her hair is so airy, so smooth. Her skin is even and such a pretty color that it actually looks edible. The whites of the only eye I can see contrasts against the green iris and her skin like the way a black dot does on a white canvas. A little ski-slope nose sticks out of her face above big, full lips. They are a deep red, almost a violet. She looks unreal, as if I’m hallucinating.

She is by far the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, and will definitely ever see.

She cocks her head so that it was sideways, sticking out from the tree; her long blonde hair falls, only about a foot away from the ground. A seductive, secretive smile spreads across her big lips, not showing her teeth at all.

“Who’s Kiara?” she asks with a playful attitude. Her voice matches her look exactly. She looks fun and risky, and that’s exactly how her voice sounds. She sounds mysterious and dangerous, yet fun and perky. Her words, just two of them I heard, are smooth and flawless. She enunciates them perfectly with the right amount of sarcasm and flirt. She sounds so sure.

“Who are you?” I ask quietly. I didn’t mean it as a response to her question, as if I’d tell her who Kiara is if she’d tell me who she is. I barely even heard her question. I’m still perplexed by this beautiful being. I am too busy thinking about who she is and what she is doing here.

Now I have an odd feeling. I feel like I should be scared, like I have every reason to be scared, but I feel absolutely no fear.