ending 1 inco/Mia

That's right….

It's better this way.

I walk down the street, vaguely aware of passing bodies that have to step out of the way before I mindlessly walk into them. I think a couple of them say something rude to me; I can't really tell. The voices are all muddy and hazy. My body is on autopilot, walking home.

After what must have been about 18 hours since the 'accident',.' Stop that. It WAS an accident. It wasn't MY fault… technically speaking. I just set up all the dominos in a nice, neat little row, ready to tumble over, but I wasn't the one who gave that final push.

I cringe at my own line of thinking. Feeling guilty that my inner monologue didn't pick ANY different word or analogy.

What Olivia told me that night is finally starting to set in. My mistakes. How I just kept pushing. I was too focused on my work. My art. Our future. To see the gigantic cliff I was careening us towards right here in the present.

"Inco!?" A sharp, familiar voice cuts through the fog of my mind, and my eyes snap back to attention, finally focusing on what is in front of me.


'Oh no. I can't deal with this. With her…' I think to myself.

Before me stood none other than Mia, the perpetual thorn in my side. I thought we were cool; I thought she was friendly enough at the end.

What did she tell Olivia? Whatever it was, It was why I thought Olivia's breakdown on stage wasn't genuine at first. It's why I kept taking pictures. It's why she looked up at me before that final fateful shot.

My jaw clenches, and I feel the tendons in my neck flex as the anger towards her starts to bubble up. Am I just looking for someone to blame? Maybe. But there is no one more worthy of misplaced anger.

I feel my fist already clenched at my side, ready to just swing at her stupid snout, but I am able to restrain myself for the moment. I let out a snort through my nostrils and tried to sidestep her and continue on my way. Completely ignoring her.

"Dammit, Inco!" Mia runs to catch up to me, bolting in front of me and gently grabbing my shoulder.

I jerk my head towards her, the anger plain on my face, but instead of the stupid smug grin that she likes to wear, I see something else. Something I have never seen before.

She looks sad. Probably just more of her bullshit acting.

"I heard what happened…. And I'm sorry." Mia says, looking towards the sidewalk.

"No, you're not, fuck you," I say through clenched teeth, shrugging her off my shoulder. And continuing to walk away.

"Inco, I didn't know she was gonna do that! I didn't want this! I was trying to help last night! I swear!" Mia yells from behind me.

The way her voice sounds strained, almost shrieking. It sounds genuine. But I know Mia is an expert liar. But why would she lie about this? What does she want?

I stop walking, looking over my shoulder, an accusatory glare leveled at her. She takes the opportunity to catch up to me.

"Olivia and I have been at each other's throats for a while, but last night, I was trying to 'bury the hatchet.' I promise," Mia tells me.

"'At each other's throats' implies she was fighting back," I say coldly to her.

I see her shrink back at the jab, It looks like real pain. Regret, guilt. I wonder if she is a skilled enough actress to react in a convincing way with phony emotions on the fly too.

"I never thought she would…" Mia whispers

I begin to walk away; if she is actually sorry, let her wallow in her regret for all I care.

"Wait! I… want to apologize." Mia says again.

"You don't need to apologize to me," I state flatly.

"Yeah, but…. I can't." Mia chews her lip. There is a quivering in her voice.

I turn back to look at her.

No way. Impossible. I see a tear run down her cheek as she stares at the ground.