Chapter Twelve

Keanu told Leonard!

It could've only been him since he was the only one she told. He obviously ratted her out and told Leonard that she revealed to him about how she was still flirting with other men. As she thought about it, she realised that she had failed to tell him the whole story. Keanu was unaware that Leonard was the one who started flirting with other women first and he was under the impression that she did that all on her own. He wasn't to blame.

"You told me you stopped, so I stopped too! But you were lying to me!" Leonard said.

"Leonard, you need to calm down," Alice said, trying to reason with him.

"That's literally the worst thing you can say to an angry person."

"Okay, fine. Then, hear me out first. I didn't expect your father to tell you, alright?" She honestly thought he was on her side, given the tension in their relationship. But how foolish of her to think that! Leonard is his blood and flesh, while she is just the daughter of his best friend.

"That doesn't make it okay, and you know it."

"That's true. But try looking at things from my perspective. You were ashamed of my accomplishments and wanted to hide the fact that we were dating. And then you used that as an excuse to flirt with other girls. I was mad, so I did what I thought best. I did the same thing and flirted with others. It was stupid, I know, but I wasn't thinking."

"God, you're always on your high horse about being a professor. It's not that big of a deal! Stop blaming everything on me."

"Don't you think you have at least some fault in this situation?"

"Completely, no!"

"How can you say that?" Alice said, hurt. "You and I both know that you once told me about how you missed what it felt like to date other girls! Can you tell me you didn't say that?"

He rolled his eyes. "I did, but I didn't mean it."

"Oh, what a load of bullshit," she said right away, and surprise at her boldness struck her. "You're always twisting things to suit your purposes and sacrificing my needs for your own. I put a lot of effort into our relationship, but I know you can't say the same words."

"You women! Your expectations are so high, you think we're Superman or something? God!"

"I don't want to talk to immature people without any inkling of self-awareness about his own flaws," she said, pointing at the door. "Leave, now!"

Leonard's eyes grew wide. Then they softened. "Baby, what's gotten into you? You're usually so tame."

"I've let you stomp all over me long enough. Leave my place before I call the cops on your sorry ass!"

Shrinking back, Leonard stared at her blankly, at a loss for words. "Whatever!" he said, storming out of her house in a hurry. The front door slammed behind him and she sighed heavily.

Exhausted from the fight, she retreated to her room, hoping to clear her mind by engaging in some of her hobbies. She loved to journal, so she took some supplies out and brought them to the dining table. She laid a paper pad on the table and surrounded her area with all types of paper decorations. Her collection of fountain pens was in a pen roll in front of her and she removed one to start penning down some of her thoughts. It helped her relax and she calmed down as she wrote. An hour soon passed.

Just then, the doorbell rang, causing her to jump in her seat. She went over to the front door and opened it, and was astonished when she saw Keanu standing at the doorway. She stepped aside, letting him in. They walked into the living area.

"So," Keanu said. "I heard about your fight with Leonard."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry for the part I played in it," he said.

"It's alright," she said. "You were just being a good father."

"Leonard told me," Keanu said. "About what actually happened. About how he was the one who started it first. He said it was his fault."

Shock coursed through her. "He said that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I never imagined that would happen," she said.

"Neither did I, how did you get him to that state? I need to take notes," he said, laughing.

She smiled in return. "I just spoke my mind like I had been wanting to for so long. He was taken aback by my sudden resistance and I guess he began to realise what he was about to lose."

"It was about time you put him in his place, honestly," Keanu said. "But again, I'm sorry for ratting you out without getting the full story."

"It's okay," she said. The events that happened earlier flashed through her memories. She huffed once and shook her head. "It's so silly, everything. It's such a petty thing to be frustrated about. My boyfriend flirting with other girls, me taking revenge by flirting with other guys. It's like we're kids."

"The two of you made it clear that flirting with other people wasn't allowed, right?"

"Yes, we did."

"Then what happened was a betrayal of trust, and that's a precursor to cheating, which everyone knows is a huge thing in a relationship."

"When you put it like that, it sounds better," Alice said, laughing. "Thanks, it makes me feel better."

"Then my job is done."

"Did you come here to tell me this?"

"Actually, yes," he said. "I wanted to address it and apologise in person."

"Thank you for that," she said. "Do you want to stay longer?"

"Sure," he said. "Can I have a glass of water, then?"

"Okay," she said, heading into the kitchen. She fetched a cup from a rack and filled it up with drinking water before heading back to the living area. When she was there, she saw Keanu's head lowered towards the table, looking at her journaling supplies closely. "Here," she said, handing him the cup of water.

"What is this?" he said, referring to the materials on the table.

"It's just some letter writing," she said. "Some harmless fun. I love to write letters to myself."

"To yourself? Why not find a pen pal?"

"I can never find anyone interested in doing that with me," she said. "I asked Leonard but he thought it was a waste of time."

Keanu scoffed. "Sounds like something he would say."

"Right?"

Keanu looked between the materials and her. "Well, I hope you find a pen pal soon then."