VALENTINE'S EVE
988 Words
The bar buzzed with warm lights, soft jazz, and laughter.
Dora sat at a table with Angela, Gina, and Lisa. Drinks and kebabs covered the table while conversations flowed around them.
But despite the lively atmosphere, Dora seemed distracted.
Angela leaned forward.
“Okay, what’s wrong? You’ve barely spoken all night.”
Dora forced a smile.
“It’s nothing. I just miss Bryan.”
Lisa laughed.
“Ah yes, the famous Bryan. The same Bryan who would faint if he saw you drinking tonight.”
Dora finally chuckled.
“He’d definitely give me that disappointed look.”
She mimicked Bryan’s serious expression, making the girls laugh harder.
“The ‘I’m-not-angry-just-disappointed’ look,” Lisa joked.
“Exactly,” Dora replied.
But her smile faded quickly afterward.
“I just wish he were here.”
Angela gently pushed a cocktail toward her.
“He’ll be back soon. Until then… relax a little.”
Gina raised her glass.
“You’re allowed to enjoy yourself.”
Dora hesitated before finally taking a sip.
“Bryan’s going to kill me,” she muttered playfully.
Angela laughed.
“Totally worth it.”
The girls clinked glasses together as Dora slowly relaxed into the night.
For the first time since Bryan left, she laughed freely.
Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last.
Because moments later, the bar door opened.
And John walked in.
The atmosphere around the table instantly shifted.
Lisa groaned softly.
“Oh no.”
“Of all places,” Gina muttered.
John’s eyes locked onto Dora immediately.
Then he slowly approached the table.
“Dora,” he said quietly. “It’s been a while.”
Dora’s expression hardened instantly.
“You disappeared,” she said coldly. “No calls. No messages. Nothing.”
John rubbed his forehead tiredly.
“My parents forced me out of the country. They cut me off from everyone.”
“And you couldn’t send one message?” Gina asked skeptically.
“I tried,” John replied. “But by the time I got free… I thought it was too late.”
Dora scoffed and emptied her drink in one gulp.
“You thought wrong.”
An awkward silence followed.
The night continued, but the energy around Dora slowly changed.
Drink after drink disappeared from her table.
And little by little, the pain she had buried deep inside began to rise back to the surface.
Hours Later
The parking lot outside the bar was nearly empty.
Dora leaned heavily against her car, clearly intoxicated.
“You’re not driving,” Lisa said firmly.
“I’m fine,” Dora slurred stubbornly.
“You can barely stand,” Gina replied.
John stepped forward calmly.
“She needs help. Let me drive.”
Angela folded her arms suspiciously.
“And your own car?”
“I came in a cab,” John explained. “I’ll order an Uber later.”
Angela exchanged glances with the others before finally nodding.
“Fine. But you take her straight home.”
“I will.”
Dora tried protesting but nearly lost balance.
John quickly caught her before she fell.
“Easy,” he whispered softly.
Reluctantly, Dora allowed him to help her into the passenger seat.
The others climbed into the back while John started the engine.
For a brief moment, he glanced at Dora.
“Dora… I really am sorry.”
She kept her eyes closed.
“Just drive.”
And slowly, the car disappeared into the night.
The Morning After
Sunlight crept quietly into Dora’s bedroom.
A loud ringtone shattered the silence.
Groaning painfully, Dora reached for her phone.
But halfway through grabbing it, she froze.
Someone was lying beside her.
Her eyes widened in horror.
John.
Shirtless.
Still asleep.
“What the hell?!”
Dora scrambled backward instantly, clutching the bedsheet tightly against herself.
The phone stopped ringing.
Forgotten.
“John! Wake up!”
John opened his eyes slowly, confused.
“Dora…?”
Before he could finish, Dora exploded.
“What are you doing in my bed?!”
She began hitting him angrily, tears pouring down her cheeks.
John grabbed her wrists gently.
“Dora, calm down. Why are you acting like this is new?”
Her face turned pale.
“Tell me we didn’t…”
John sighed.
“You wanted me just as much as I wanted you.”
Dora’s breathing became uneven.
“No… no…”
She looked down at their disheveled clothes and felt her stomach twist violently.
John smirked faintly.
“You were calling my name all night.”
The slap echoed sharply across the room.
“Get out.”
Her voice trembled with rage and heartbreak.
“You useless excuse for a man… I curse the day I met you. Get out!”
John sighed heavily while grabbing his clothes.
At the doorway, he paused briefly.
“You know I never stopped loving you.”
But Dora refused to look at him.
Moments later, the door shut behind him.
Silence filled the room.
Dora sat frozen on the bed, drowning in guilt.
Then her phone buzzed again.
Bryan.
Her hands trembled as she answered.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Bryan’s cheerful voice echoed through the phone.
Dora forced a smile into her voice.
“Hey… sorry. I just woke up.”
Bryan laughed warmly.
“Good news. The training was canceled. I’m coming home tomorrow.”
Dora’s blood ran cold.
Her eyes slowly moved across the messy room.
The wrinkled bedsheets.
John’s forgotten watch on the nightstand.
The memories of the night before.
“T-Tomorrow?” she whispered weakly.
“Miss me that much?” Bryan teased.
Dora swallowed painfully.
“More than you know.”
They spoke for a few more minutes.
But the moment the call ended, her smile disappeared completely.
She stared at herself in the mirror.
Smudged makeup.
Tear-filled eyes.
A stranger staring back at her.
“What have I done?” she whispered.
And for the first time in years…
Dora truly hated herself.
- Writer
