Mia Goes Abroad

The next morning, Mia left without seeing The Spartan. She felt sick as she got on the plane, not only was she leaving him behind but all her friends, a really good job that she loved and her family, whom she had finally made peace with. Everyone was really proud of her and although some had been hesitant about her going, they had come around to the idea. After 10 years of dreaming, she was about to fulfill her childhood dream and yet there was a sadness inside her, she couldn't control. She was scared about whether she would make new friends, fit into the culture and like her job.

The first few days flew bye, she had her job interview which was an adventure in itself (more on that later) she was hunting for a new apartment and trying to budget €80 for a whole month after spending her last paycheck on bikinis and cute shoes. After three days of being in the city and finally having everything in check, she called The Spartan. He was delighted to hear from her and had been missing her. They spoke for an hour and she told him how home sick she was already, she wanted to see him but knew that neither of them to afford to. The next morning, she woke up to find a text on her phone, saying that he had booked her a flight home so they could spend the weekend together. She spent the rest of the daydreaming and couldn't wait.

Leaving him for the second time was worse than the first time. She went back to Barcelona wondering yet again whether she had made the right move and considered moving back to London. She called him every day even though she couldn't afford to, spending the little money she had to buy bulk packs of pasta. She would spent the weekends alone in her flat while her flat mate was away, wishing The Spartan was with her and what they would do in the city. During the days, she would go to see Gaudi's work and feel the taste of sour lemons as she saw other couples, walking hand in hand. She would take pictures and send them to him, describing the history and what he saw, she would write him long love letters and tell him how much she missed him. She called him and asked if he would move out to Barcelona and be with him but all that changed one night in July when she met The Womanizer.

Soon she would fall into a vicious cycle that couldn't be broken by her or The Spartan and that would destroy her physically, emotionally and mentally.

Cant live with him, Cant live without him

The next morning Mia woke up feeling like shit. She laughed at the irony that she couldn't even kill herself properly. She didn't know who to turn to and entered up calling The Spartan. She told him what had happened and within the hour he was around her friend's flat with food, clothes and supplies. That night he held her close while she cried and told her things would be okay. In the morning, he left for work and told her he would call her later.

Mia spent the next two days moving in with her cousin and trying to solve the problems in her life. When she didn't hear from The Spartan for another week, she wondered why. Had she driven him away with all her extra baggage? She called his house but The Spartan's dad kept telling her TS couldn't talk to her. She called his mobile but he wouldn't answer or reply to her texts. After the second day, she gave up and got on with other things she needed to do. She found a job and started to work. Another week later and she texted TS just to see if he was okay and why he was avoiding her. Within seconds, he replied saying sorry and that he was in hospital and had forgotten to text her back. Slightly panicking she called him and asked him what was wrong.

He had been in hospital for 2 weeks, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him and he had been throwing up blood for 3 days now. He couldn't eat or drink and was on a drip to make sure he wasn't dehydrated. Angry at the fact that he hadn't told her earlier, she insisted on taking the day off work and going to see him. When she got there, she was shocked to see how awful he looked. He had lost a lot of weight and looked really ill. Moments before she had arrived, he had been diagnosed with Glandular Fever, a condition that meant he would spent months in bed trying to fight with his immune system.

TS explained to Mia what it meant and how it would mean he would have to quit his job as he had no energy and would be recovering from it for the next year. She was shocked that it seemed so serious. She told him that no matter what happened, she would be there for him and would look after him even if it meant that she had to quit her job. The next morning, she went to the bank, took all her savings out of her account, got out a loan and moved into a new apartment with The Spartan. She worked from work, between cooking him dinner and looking after him. He spent most of the day and night sleeping, there were times when he was too weak to go to the bathroom and she had to bathe him every evening. She would drive him back to his parents every Friday for the weekend so he could see them and she could get some down time.

For 6 months, she mothered him until he got better and when he felt like he was well enough, he went back to work. As soon as he had the energy to go back to his normal life, he told Mia of his desire to going travelling. He planned to go with his best friend and she couldn't argue with him. Eventually they went back to their normal routine, they were doing everything but fucking and it drove Mia up the wall. She hadn't the fact that they weren't completely intimate with each other. She needed to have sex but couldn't cheat on him, they had agreed to break up every once in a while and go off and get fulfilled by other people but neither of them could do that.

Mia would go out and come home very drunk and force herself onto The Spartan. She didn't just want foreplay, she wanted mad, passionate sex. She wanted him, she needed him. When things didn't work out how she wanted them and she realised that they couldn't have sex, she would start screaming and throwing objects around the flat. She started to hate herself, she couldn't leave him because she knew there was something there, she loved him and wanted him but she hated the fact that they could never be a proper couple.

TS had booked his ticket to Paris for May 1st and as the date approached, Mia found herself torn about her feelings. They spent more time together, she took two weeks off work and they went into London and walked around like tourists, spend hours in bed, watched Red Dwarf and took long baths together.

The night before he left, she got very drunk and went over to his parents house where he was packing. For the first time in their relationship, she told him she loved him and that she would be waiting for him when he got back. He kissed her and held her close. She fell asleep in his arms until he had to get up and go to the airport.

They kept in touch via texts but then they stopped after 2 weeks, Mia tried to calling him but his credit had ran out and she couldn't contact him again. She threw herself into work and tried to forget about him. Then one day, out of the blue, a number that she didn't recognise called her. As she answered, she realised it was The Spartan. He told her that he had missed her and he had been thinking about her all the time. He had been gone three weeks and it seemed like the longest weeks of his life. He was in Barcelona, Spain and loved the city, exactly how Mia said he would. As she listened to his voice, she felt herself being swallowed by the ground when she heard him say he was coming home the next day.

"Did you just say you're coming back tomorrow?"
"Yeah, isn't that great baby? I'll be with you this time tomorrow. I have so much to tell you, I cant wait"
"I thought you weren't coming back for ages. What time is your flight?"
"3pm I land at Heathrow. Why? You don't sound happy baby, whats wrong?"
"I leave London tomorrow at 11am. I'm moving to Barcelona"

And before she could finish the phone cut off, she tried calling the number back but it didn't take incoming calls. She didn't know what to say and cried herself to sleep that night.

Should she stay in London with her man or move to the city she had been dreaming of living in for over 10 years?

You think its all over...it is now

Trying to throw a birthday party for a man who hardly talks to you was never going to easy but Mia was convinced that she going to pull it off. Despite all the recent problems, Mia still believed that they loved each other enough to work through them. The week before the party, Mia was sick of pretending that everything was fine with them and confronted him.

Mia was tired of feeling unwanted and wanted to know why he was acting the way he was. In the midst of the argument, he told her he knew about her plans for his birthday and that she shouldn't bother. Hurt by what he was saying, she asked him what he was talking about and how he had found out. He told her that he knew she had been going through her phone and it was only pushing him away.

All of a sudden, Mia saw red and knew that it was the girl that had texted her that must of told him. She demanded to know who the girl was, originally when she texted her, she thought it was the wife of one of their friends that she hadnt met yet. Now, she knew it wasnt her and was convinced that this girl was more than just a platonic friend.

Mia moved out of the flat and stayed with her friend for a few days. She was fed up of the woman she had become, she went from being a strong independent girl to someone who deeply relied on the reassurance from a man who didnt show his love for her. The night before VM's birthday party, they met up in the bar Mia was working in. They sat down and eventually VM told her he wanted to work things out and get back to how they were.

At the party, they both put on an act and fooled everyone into thinking they were happily married but more than ever, Mia felt like she didnt belong there. His parents had bought them a holiday to Budapest in two months time as a surprise and she couldnt help but think they wouldnt make it that far. A week after the party, VM called Mia while he was at work and told her to come see him. In front of the pub where he had proposed to her, he told her he wanted to get divorced and end their relationship. It was one of those moments that she saw coming but she didnt want to believe it was happening. She never thought it was would end like this and kept telling him that it wasnt over and they were still worth fighting for. That night, while she was out, he moved all his stuff back to his parents.

The next month was a complete blur, Mia locked herself in the flat, sulking at the mess her life had become. She knew that there was something going on and didnt know what to do about it. Everyone kept telling her that it was just a phase but she knew it wasn't. Then one night, while she was drunk at a friends house, she told him the whole situation with this mystery women and how she was sure something was going on. Her friend being the computer genius he is, hacked into VM's Myspace and emails and Mia finally found the proof she needed. She found emails from the mystery women and discovered that VM had been cheating on her longer than she thought, it had started before they went on holiday to Barcelona. She thought when he was crying and declaring his love for her it was because he felt guilty about the fact that they were arguing, when in reality it was because he was cheating on her. Mia screamed red murder down the phone when she found out that only one was he cheating on her but he was also signed up for sex on adult sites. The profiles described him to the bone and even had a picture she had taken of him while they were on holiday. In a drunken rage and with the help of her friend, she hacked into all his online accounts and changed his profile pictures to a picture she had on her phone of him completely starkers. She emailed the same picture to everyone in his address phone and all the numbers in his phone. She even sent it to his family.

Eventually when VM found out what she had done, he refused to speak to her. She had finally hurt him the same way he had been hurting her for the last 18 months. The date for their holiday was coming up and although she had paid for some of the activities they were meant to be doing, he refused to take her. The night before they were due to fly, he called her up and told her no one else could make it on such late notice and that she could come with him but only because he didnt want to go alone. The flight over and the first day was a nightmare, Mia's outlook had completely changed. She no longer needed to care about what Vain Man thought and while he was in the toilet in a swanky bar, she got a bit friendly with a cute German. Vain Man being Vain couldnt deal with seeing his wife with someone else and went back alone to the hotel. When Mia finally got back, he questioned her about what she had been doing. She wouldnt give him any answers and led him to believe that something more had happened when in reality, she had gone for a long walk and sat alone by the Castle.

The rest of the holiday passed quickly and when they returned to England, they decided to give each other another chance and work things through without any pressure or complications. They started to date again and remember what it was like to enjoy the company of each other, until one day Mia came across a text from a girl on Vain Man's fone. She confronted him about it and deep down inside, she didnt believe his explanation. This was now the fourth time she had accused him of cheating and she had been right every time before. Not being able to cope with his antics anymore, Mia left Vain Man for good and walked out of his life. 2 days later, on her 22nd birthday, he came over to see her and beg for another chance. She just couldnt bear to get hurt again. A month later, she decided that she loved him too much and tried to give him another chance. One night while he was asleep, Mia looked through his phone and found a text from the same girl. It was obvious that they were more than just friends now and she called her to ask her who she was.

The girl confirmed everything Mia thought and when Mia told her she was VM's wife, the girl denied any knowledge of her. After 30 minutes of crying and pacing up and down the room, Mia physically threw VM out of bed. She gave him no explanation, no excuses, nothing. She threw his clothes out of the window and kicked him out. That day, Mia promised herself she would never let another man treat her like shit and get away with it.

Mia never saw Vain Man again.

New Beginnings

Mia woke up the next morning still drunk, she called her own family and wished them a Merry Christmas, had a long bath and cooked something to eat. As she sat in her empty flat, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find Vain Man's mother standing there demanding she come home. Mia couldn't argue with the woman that had been like a second mother to her and decided to go. Back at the house, she enjoyed her first real White Christmas. She got drunk, played monopoly and after avoiding Vain Man for the majority of the evening, she decided to talk to him about their whole situation. VM explained that he had lied about having a girlfriend in Earlsfield to stop Slutty Bitch from coming between them, although Mia didn't believe him, she realised he must of been telling the truth. Slutty Bitch had stopped contacting them and had left them alone. The rest of the night and the festive holidays was spent on Cloud 9. The both of them showered each other with gifts, turned their phones off and shut out the world.

For the first time in their relationship, they were happy. The New Year meant a new beginning. Mia had told him about The Spartan and when Vain Man asked her if they had slept together, she denied it. She didn't want to lie to him but he looked so devastated and the last thing she wanted to do was upset the man she loved. A month before their year anniversary, on a drunken night out with VM's friends, he got down on one knee and proposed. Mia thinking he wasn't being serious, accepted. The rest of the night was spent celebrating, buying bottles of expensive Champagne and very public displays of affection.

A few days later, Mia went and had her long hair cut in a Mod style pixie bob, she thought VM would of been impressed since he, himself is fond of that era. However when he came home drunk later that night, he got into bed mumbling that he didn't fancy her anymore. Like any woman whose man tells her he doesn't find her attractive anymore, Mia didn't know how to handle his rejection.

As their year anniversary approached, she felt that his feelings towards her had changed, he was becoming more irritated at everything. She blamed it on the fact that he was working longer hours without any days off but when he started to go off sex, she knew there was something wrong. Whenever they would have sex, he would cry afterwards telling her never to forget how much he loved her. They went away to Barcelona for a long weekend to celebrate their anniversary but the atmosphere was tense and they didn't have sex once. They had gone from being a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other and who often were late when meeting people because they got caught up in the act to barely even holding hands in the street when sightseeing. Every time she asked him about it, he brushed it off saying that he was tired and just stressed out.

Mia grew even more insecure in herself, she realised that he didn't find her attractive anymore and started to wear more and more unflattering clothes. She put weight on and didn't bother with her appearance. She grew jealous of when they were out and he would comment on other women. At the beginning, they would women-watch and comment on how stunning they were but now she just wanted to hit him every time. She especially hated the fact that he had taken her to his best friend's birthday without telling her that one of his ex girlfriends would be there. Seeing this tall, curvy girl with long hair made her cry inside. She tried to tell herself that if he didn't want her, they wouldn't be together.

They had planned on having a late summer wedding and both of them were trying to save up as much as possible. Mia was convinced that it was just a rough patch that they were going through and as soon as they were married things would work out. They had both been stressed out with their jobs and just needed a break. Her hair had started to grow and she was desperately trying to make herself look stunning for her man. They had decided to have a traditional Indian wedding as VM was keen on Indian culture, everything had been planned to how they wanted it. Mia doesn't remember much of her wedding day as it was manic and hectic but whenever she looks back at the video, she realises that despite the distance that had been there between them, they looked like a young couple in love and they looked happy and content.

Two months later and VM's birthday was coming up. Mia wanted to go away on holiday but she knew that they couldn't afford the time or money for a break. Instead she confined in her mother-in-law and planned a fancy dress surprise birthday party. While her mother-in-law distracted VM, Mia took his phone and copied all his contacts on her phone. The next day while she was at work, she texted everyone on the list from her mobile telling them the details. Most of the names she recognised but one girl texted back asking her back asking which Vain Man was she talking about as her boyfriend also had a similar name whose birthday was coming up. Mia thought it was very odd and tried to call the number but the girl kept hanging up on her. Mia slightly confused about the situation panicked slightly but tried not to worry about it too much. She had people to call, a cake to order and more importantly an outfit to buy.

She forgot about it and carried on with her day...not realise that she had just come across something that would ruin her life forever...

If Only Every Girl Had A Man Like Vain Man

The next day, when Mia woke up, she had sleep in her eyes, a bottle of vodka in her hand and 32 missed calls on her phone. All of them were from VM. He had come to talk to her the night before but she hadn't answered the door and had left his stuff outside. She texted his mother and told he she wouldn't be coming over for Christmas and got back into bed.

At midday she decided to get changed and go shopping. Since she had no need to buy anyone presents, she would spend the whole lot on meaningless junk she later regret buying. She turned the corner onto the main road where she saw VM. He was sat on the steps wearing same clothes as the night before, holding a bunch of her favourite flowers (Purple Tulips if anyone ever feels the need to buy Mia flowers) and his bags between his legs.

She cried as she explained why she had stormed out and how it made her feel to be in love with someone who was too selfish to let her go. He finally admitted that he had slept with Slutty Bitch before he left to for Asia and that while he was away he realised how strongly he felt about Mia but was too confused as to what he should do. He was convinced that if they became a couple he would ruin it and their friendship would be over.

The both laid their hearts out on the table and VM wanted her to come home to his parents and spend Christmas like they had originally planned.

Mia left to go shopping for to get the presents for his family but before she managed to pay for her shopping, she bumped into an old colleague that worked with her and VM. They discussed their plans for the holiday and when asked what she was doing for Christmas, Mia proudly answered she was spending it with VM and his family.

"Oh how is he? Hows things going with his girlfriend?"

"What girlfriend?"

"The one from Earlsfield"

For the second time in less than 24 hours, Mia found herself kicking VM out of their flat. She was stupid for thinking she could trust him. Not only had he hurt her, he had betrayed her and made her look like a dickhead.

She texted his mother and apologized again, telling her to ask her son for an explanation and with that she found a bottle of tequila and wished herself a merry fucking Christmas.