3RD PERSON POV 

July 27, 2019

After Robert dropped off Ocean. . .

Robert let a tear fall from his eye. He laughed at himself. "Goodbye. . ." He whispered. When Ocean left the car, it was like he left his life

Robert banged his head on the steering wheel. His heart ached. He felt stupid for now trying to talk Ocean out of asking out Mariah. He wanted to have her all to himself. But that made him selfish, didn't it?

After drying his tears, he drove off. He debated going home or not. He didn't want Jon seeing him like this but he knew that Jon could offer a lot of support. But then again, being alone could give him some time to calm down and think

He ended up going back to his house. He tried not to cry as he blasted some sad music to match his mood

When Robert got back to his place, he got his backpack and headed inside. He kept on wiping his eyes from any tears that fell from his eyes. He dropped his backpack on the couch as he sat down. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed

Jon walked into the room, on his phone. He looked up and saw Robert on the couch. "Oh hey, you're back," 

Robert looked at Jon, his cheeks, and under eyes where red and puffy. His eyes were slightly red from the tears

It only took Jon a few seconds to process that Robert was sad. "What happened?" He asked. He sat down beside him

"I lost. . ." Robert muttered. "I'm never gonna find someone,"

"What? What about Ocean?" Jon asked

The mention of her name made Robert's eyes fill with tears. "She's with Mariah now, I lost," 

"Shit," Jon whispered. He regretted saying her name when he saw the pain on Robert's face

Robert covered his eyes with his hands. "Of course she would go for Mariah. She's younger, prettier, and closer to her," He laughed at himself

"Do you need some space or should I put on a good movie and make some warm food?" Jon asked. He wanted to make sure he could do everything he can to make Robert feel better

"I just don't know," Robert said. "I want to just fall into a pile of blankets and rot there but I also want to eat my feelings out. But I have a diet!" 

Jon got up from the couch without saying a word and immediately got the bread out and toasted two slices

Robert sat there confused since Jon didn't say anything and just started to make some toast. He sat up a bit and looked at his phone, hoping to distract himself from everything. He noticed that Mariah went live. He figured that she would be with Ocean, he started to watch the live

Robert saw Ocean and Mariah. He got jealous. He wished he were in Mariah's place, professing his love for Ocean to his fans. But he saw how happy Ocean was and it made him smile too, for a little bit at least

"Yoooo, Robert is watching. What's up, Robert!" Ocean said with a smile

Robert ended up going live with the girls. He waved hi at the two girls. "Hey, guys," The chat went wild

Ocean looked at Mariah and smiled. "So, Mariah and I have an announcement!" She said. She looked back at Mariah and they both laughed. Their cheeks both turning red

Robert braced for their announcement. He took one of his hands and gripped his thigh to hopefully make their words less painful

"Yup, we're expecting!" Mariah joked. "I got Ocean pregnant!" She glanced at Ocean and they both started laughing

"I left you two alone for an hour and one of you got pregnant. God damnit," Robert laughed. He acted disappointed. He loosened his grip. He smiled, a part of him hoped that Ocean didn't ask Mariah out and it was just a random live

"Okay actually though. Mariah and I are dating!" Ocean said. She quickly kissed Mariah's cheek

Robert's hand turned into a fist but he smiled anyway. "Aye, you did it Ocean! Congrats!" he said. He started the chat that had gone wild and one stood out to him

"wtf ocean jumped from Robert to Mariah? slut"

"Hey don't you fucking call Ocean a slut!" He said. He became angry. "Ocean and I were never a thing okay? We were just really good friends. Just because I was really good friends with her, doesn't mean we were a thing. I knew about how she felt about Mariah and she knew how I felt about her. We both talked to each other and everything okay. But if you dare call Ocean a slut. You can just unfollow me right now," Robert said. His blood boiled with anger when he said that, you can tell he was angry by his facial expressions

Jon approached Robert with a plate with 2 slices of toast with vegemite spread on it. He noticed he was angry so he just set the plate down on the kitchen table and went back to the kitchen to make himself food

"Robert is right. Leave Ocean alone. Seriously, if you wanna be mean fuck off," Mariah said. Her expressions showed that she was annoyed

Robert watched as Ocean whispered something to Mariah

"We're ending the live now. See you guys next time," Mariah said. She ended her live

Robert exited Instagram, stood up, and pocketed his phone. "I'm going on a drive," Robert said. He stood up, grabbed his keys, not waiting for Jon to respond to him

Robert got into the car, he didn't know where to go, he just started driving. His mind was filled with bad thoughts

"Was she just playing with me the entire time?"

"Why can't she love me more?"

"I'll never find love again"

"I will only ever love her"

"Of course she picked Mariah over me, she knew her way before me"

"FUCK FUCK FUCK"

He ended up deciding to go to a park. It was the park that he usually goes with Ocean when they have a picnic or just to hang out. He blasted sad show tunes as he drove, trying to drown out his thoughts with music

Once he got to the park, he got turned to the back seat and grabbed his jacket but immediately dropped it when he remembered that Ocean wore it last. He just got out of the car, making sure to grab his keys and locking the car door. He made his way to a bench that overlooked the buildings of Los Angeles. The sun was just starting to set. He sat on one side of the bench. His side of the bench. He couldn't bring himself to sit anywhere else on the bench

Tears were streaming down his face but even though he was sad he started to laugh. At himself. "I'm so pitiful aren't I?" He asked

"Excuse me, sir?" An unfamiliar voice said. "I was wondering if I could take a picture of you? From afar, but, you'll still be in the picture. The scenery is so beautiful and your silhouette is just perfect!" 

Robert turned around to see a woman, possibly around his age. She had short brown hair with bangs that faded to light pink. Her eyes were sea green and her skin was pale. She was wearing a black turtleneck, gray pants, and brown boots. She held a black Canon camera that had a strap around her neck

She saw that Robert was crying. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small pack of tissues. "Here, dry your eyes," She then reached into her bag and pulled out a cookie in a Ziploc bag. She handed it to him. "I was saving this for later but here take it, you seem like you need it more,"

Robert took the two items. He dried his tears and put the cookie on his lap. "You seem to have everything in your bag," He said. He gave the tissues back. "Sorry for letting you see me like this," 

"Hey, it's alright. I'm Lilith. Lilith Rosa," She said. She shook his hand. "So, about that picture,"

Oh yeah, you can take it. My name is Robert Manion. How do you want me to pose?" Robert asked her. He wiped his eyes one more time

"Just look to the side, in a minute or so the sun will be right behind you and it will create a beautiful picture. Okay, I'm gonna back up. You just look to the side," Lilith said. She then started to walk backward

The sun went right behind Robert's head. Lilith took a picture and gave Robert a thumbs up. She looked at it and smiled. It was perfect. Maybe a little editing was needed but for the most part, it was great

Lilith walked back to Robert. "It came out amazing!" She said as she showed Robert the pictures

"Wow, you're an amazing photographer," Robert said, admiring the photo

Lilith dug into her bag and pulled out a business card. "Here's my business card," She handed it to him with a smile. "I do photoshoots for weddings,  birthdays, products, beauty, fashion, travel, advertisement, headshots, portraits, basically anything you need a professional photographer for. I have a website, email, and social media. I also do tarot card readings for parties or just for people who want them and I make a mean cup of tea and coffee,"

Robert took it in his hand. "Cool, I'll message you if I ever need a photographer, a tarot card reader, or a cup of coffee," He said. He pocketed the card. At the moment he felt happy and was distracted from the fact he was heartbroken

"I'm also here if you want to talk," Lilith said. She felt her phone buzz and picked it up. She stood up straight and walked off a bit to have a bit of privacy. But it was still close enough for Robert to hear. "Hello?" She said. "Hi, Omar! Baby!" She smiled "You're on your way here? Alright. See you soon," She hung up and went back to Robert

"Okay, I gotta run. It was nice meeting you, Robert," Lilith said. She waved bye before running off

Rober waved bye. He stood up and sighed. He heard Lilith's conversation with her boyfriend. It made his heartache. He wished Ocean would say that to him. He started heading home

TIME SKIP

Robert walked through the door. He saw Jon on the couch playing video games. "Oh hey Jon," He said

"You're back," Jon said. "I made dinner, it's on the counter. You can heat it up in the microwave," He went back to his game

Robert walked to the kitchen and heat up his food before eating it. When eating, he decided to follow Lilith and send her a message

"Hey, Lilith. Thanks for cheering me up earlier!" 

"No problem! I hope I made your day!"

"Considering what happened earlier, you pretty made my day :)"

"That's good. I would love to talk more tonight but I got work tomorrow"

"A photography gig? Have fun!"

"Nope, I got a job at a cafe to help pay the bills. I don't have a regular photography job. Just something I do on the side that I hope will become my full-time job"

"I see. Well, good night"

"Good night!"

Robert set down his phone. He continued his night, with Ocean still on his mind but the thoughts were a bit muffled