Carrie's POV

I'm holding the phone in my hand, and every second that goes by without a response from Tyler makes my heart beat faster and faster. Four days. Four days is all it took before I realized I can't go on another minute without seeing him. I thought time apart without any contact would give me clarity, but it's only made me more confused, and lonely...so pathetically lonely. I miss him more than I thought was possible. That is why I am ending this self imposed torture now. It's Sunday night, and I just called him. He didn't answer, but I am hoping that he gets back to me soon, because I need to feel his arms around me right now...I need to talk to him, and figure all this out together...

I wait for six full minutes, and I dial his number again. After several rings, it goes to voicemail. I don't leave a message.

Is he mad at me for not reaching out sooner, and ignoring me on purpose? No, he wouldn't do that...would he?

Maybe he's at the gym, and the phone is in the locker. Or broken...or lost..or--- Arrgh!

I just can't take it anymore. It's nearly eleven at night, so he's probably home...maybe he's asleep.

I don't wait another minute and order an Uber.

Within 15 minutes I am walking through the foyer of his highrise. I call him one last time, and it goes straight to voicemail. His phone must be dead. I get into the elevator, feeling my heartbeat racing faster with each passing floor that brings me closer to Tyler.

Have to remind myself that we need to have a serious conversation first....not just an immediate cuddle session.

The elevator opens, and I practically run over to his door, knocking three times.

No one answers. Crap. He's not home. Maybe he's at Slate?

I bring my knuckles up to knock one last time, but before I make contact, the door opens wide, and a beautiful blonde woman stands before me...wearing nothing but, what I instantly recognize as, Tyler's button down shirt.

I'm so completely caught off guard, that I nearly stumble, wobbling back two steps away from her.

She crosses her long slender legs, and props her hand on her hip. "May I help you?" she asks, looking annoyed.

"Oh, I..um.." I'm trying to find my voice... "Is Tyler home?"

Her face takes on a sly look, and she whispers, "He's a asleep. He's a bit worn out...if you know what I mean," she adds with a wink.

I'm rendered completely speechless at this point. "Oh..." My mind is racing, and I feel a lump rising up in my throat. I don't know if I'm about to cry, or scream... Who is this whore, and how could Tyler be sleeping with somebody else? Yes, we're on a break...but not broken up! This makes zero sense.

"Is there something you'd like me to pass on to him?" the tramp speaks again.

"Yes, tell him Carrie came by," I say, but she looks at me like I'm supposed to give her more information. "...his girlfriend," I add pathetically.

The woman looks me over like she can't even believe it. "Strange..." she says, cocking her head to one side. "He told me he wasn't seeing anyone."

I stare at her, and feel my blood begin to boil. "Well, we're technically on a break...but...um...anyway..." Why am I justifying myself to this....to this....whoever she is.

"I'm Nicole," she suddenly speaks, as though reading my thoughts. "Ty and I...we go way back...we have a lot of history together."

Now it's all coming together. This is not just some floozy he picked up at a bar...this is his ex. The ex. The one's he'd sworn to me he has not had any contact with. Right.

Tyler blindsides me yet again. I feel like an even bigger fool. Running over here, all excited and lovelorn...meanwhile, he's banging his ex. I can't even look at her right now.

"Actually, please don't tell him that I came by, okay?" I ask her.

She makes a real effort to slap on a concerned look on her face, but fails miserably. "Okay. And listen, I'm sorry...I had no idea... He texted me out of the blue, and we basically ended up reconciling... Strange that your name didn't even come up--" she continues, but I stop her.

"It doesn't matter," I tell her, waving my hands around nervously. "I hope you two work it out," I say, and feeling the tears coming on, turn my back to her, and walk toward the elevator.

I hear her close the door, and only then do I allow myself to cry.

On the ride home, the Uber driver asks me if I'm okay, but I can't even answer him, my tears practically choking me. I can't bring myself to speak...saying the words aloud will make it real, and I still want to hang onto to a sliver of hope that this might all be some sort of a stupid misunderstanding... or another one of his ridiculous tests...or anything else...anything other than what it looks like. Because what it looks like is his ex-girlfriend reclaiming her territory, and Tyler forgetting all about me.

I get home, and crawl into bed. Calling Alex and venting my raw emotions sounds like it might make me feel better, but I can't...I literally can't say all this crap to him, or to anyone else. Tyler going behind my back and sleeping with Nicole hurts like nothing else. This is worse, so much worse than the stupid trust test. This is straight up betrayal. No other way to describe it.

I look at my phone, and reread his latest text: *I love you. I am sorry.*

Liar. Tyler is a liar, and I am an idiot for believing him. I never want to see him again. Ever. This isn't something we can ever resolve... It's over. Any hope of our reconciliation is now gone. It's one thing to work on trust issues...but it's quite another to have all trust completely obliterated. There is no way back...no way to recover from something like this. Whatever explanation he provides, it doesn't erase what happened.

I must forget about him. Forget about falling asleep on his warm chest, and feeling his heartbeat on my cheek. Forget his beguiling green eyes, and how they sparkle when he laughs. Forget how he makes me surrender to him in every way with a single touch.

Tyler and I are no more... Enough.