In the movies, the scorned woman who makes the dramatic exit somehow manages to turn her life around. She gets an expensive haircut that makes her look more sophisticated and beautiful, and between all her other responsibilities, opens a business/writes a book/ has a fundraiser that makes a lot of money for a worthy cause.

Needless to say, because this is real life and not the movies, I don't manage to do any of that. Except for booking a manicure and finally getting my nails fixed. In the three months since the night at Drew's place, I've even managed to grow them a bit, and stop picking at them. They're the longest they've ever been, and every time I look at the pale pink polish, I can't help but smile.

I've gotten better with my weekly visits to my parents as well and sometimes I even go twice. The night I told them I had broken up with Mason, my mum and I finally drank her wine, which did in fact taste like vinegar. But for some reason, sitting in the comfort of my childhood home and seeing how happy my parents were, it was delicious.

School lets out for the holidays, leaving me at a loose end. While I enjoy the time off, work had kept me busy. Instead, I spend my time studying, or lazing around the apartment. It's given me a lot of time to think things over.

Three weeks after our break up, Mason finally gave up trying to contact me, after continually being ignored. He had stopped by the apartment a few times, banging on the door and demanding to be let in, but Alexa and I just carried on whatever we were doing as if he wasn't there. During our fight, Mason and I had said a lot of things in the heat of the moment. I had been so furious that I lost sight of the real issue between us.

But, I'm not angry at him anymore. In fact, I don't feel anything for him anymore.

It wasn't as instantaneous as it felt at the time. In fact, it took me several weeks to stop hating him. Until I realised that hating him was almost as damaging as loving him. So I let it go. The hold that Mason used to have on my heart has finally been broken and I can see things more clearly now.

I don't regret dating him again. On the contrary, I think it was good for me. It was a journey I needed to take in order to move forward and realise who I really am. While dating Mason, I had laughed, and cried and loved him, but most of all, I had learned.

I learned that you can't possibly move forward with your life if you are still holding onto all the negative feelings from the past. I learned that some people can't change and that's okay. I learned that sometimes, it takes tearing something down completely to rebuild and start afresh.

Most importantly, I learned to love myself, scars, stretch marks, a bit of extra weight and all. Just like a neglected building, all it takes is some love to build yourself back up. And that's what I did; I loved myself enough to start over and let go of all the things that had hurt me in the past.

Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and we are all unique. No one should ever let a guy convince them otherwise. I am sad that I did, for a while, that it took the truth being revealed for me to see Mason for who he really was. But I'm also grateful that I eventually realised what was truly important.

Life has a funny way of working out sometimes.

I look up from the couch as Alexa walks in. "Wine," she says in greeting. "I need wine."

Picking myself up, I go to pour her a glass, while she collapses into my recently vacated spot. "Long day?" I hand her the wine, ice clinking merrily against the sides of the glass. "Sorry, we don't have any Merlot."

"Long month," she answers. "Don't tell me you've just been sitting around all day?"

"I studied a bit," I mutter sheepishly.

She looks around the couch that I am sitting on, at the television still playing in the background and the mess of scattered notes on our coffee table. One perfectly plucked eyebrow lifts as she turns her gaze on me. "You've got to get over this Mason thing, D."

"I am over it, Lex. I just didn't have any other plans today." To be honest I have enjoyed the quiet; it's given me the time I needed to get my bearings.

"It's been three months. It's time to move on." She takes a large sip of from her glass, her face screwing up slightly at the taste. Alexa has always preferred red wine to white.

"I have moved on," I insist.

"Okay." She shrugs, as though she's decided to let it go for now. "I saw Chase today."

My heart rate picks up and I'm can feel my cheeks betraying me by flushing pink. "Oh?" I try to appear nonchalant, as though it doesn't faze me. "Where?"

"At Tall-Oaks. I was looking at possible venues for a bachelorette party." She takes another swig from her glass, eyeing me over the rim.

"Oh cool. How," I swallow hard, "how is he?"

I haven't spoken to Chase in about a month. For a while, he would send me weekly messages. They were never anything more than affirmations and I know it was his way of helping me move past my insecurities.

You are stronger than you know. If anyone can handle this storm, it's you. But, if you do need a friend, then I will dance with you in the rain. And when the sun comes up, and you feel ready, I'll be waiting.

"He's good," she tells me, a knowing smirk crossing her face. "He says you stopped responding to his texts though, and that he hasn't seen you since he rescued you all knight in shining armour like from the side of the road. Why is that?"

I can't even explain it myself. Thoughts of Chase inevitably take me back to that day, when he told me I needed to realise how much I'm worth. They also take me straight back to my fight with Mason and how much I left unsaid. I know I've come so far from Mason, but I also know there's one more thing I need to do before I jump into a new relationship. I've just been putting it off until I'm ready.

Maybe it's finally time to take that step.

"I just," I search for an answer. "Didn't want to give him the wrong impression," I settle with, hoping she buys it.

Judging by the snort of laughter that almost causes her wine to slop over the sides of her glass and onto the couch, she doesn't believe me. "And what impression is that, D? That you like him? Is that wrong?"

"No, it's not wrong," I admit. "But Chase doesn't deserve to be a rebound. I need to get my head and heart sorted out before I even think of pursuing anything with him. I need to try and figure out how I feel."

"I think," she muses, "that you know exactly how you feel. I think that every time you got a message from him, I saw your face light up. I think that the reason you are still moping around has nothing to do with Mason."

"I think that you've had too much wine," I counter.

She shakes her half empty glass at me as if to prove she hasn't. "It's okay to be scared, D. And it's also okay to be confused. But," she adds, "all I'm saying is, if you know in your heart what you want then you should go for it."

"All I'm saying is, that if you had picked up your phone that night, he wouldn't have had to come get me and we wouldn't be having this conversation." I'm grasping at straws, desperate to change the subject before she manages to convince me. I know what I have to do to finally close the Mason chapter of my life but I'm reluctant to do it.

"Sorry about that," she grins sheepishly, looking anything but sorry. I found out when I got home that night that she had been with Chad the underwear model at the time of my call. "But I think we both know we would be having this conversation either way."

She's right, of course she is. But that doesn't stop me from being absolutely terrified. "Lex, I have just broken up with Mason, I shouldn't be jumping into a new relationship straight away." I play my last hand, though it we both know it's just an excuse.

"Don't pretend that Mason has anything to do with it." As always, she sees straight through me. "You're just scared."

I open my mouth to argue, but close it again immediately, knowing it's pointless. "What if he's dating someone?" The unanswered questions about Emily still plague my mind.

"He isn't." She seems completely sure of this.

"How do you know?"

"It doesn't matter." She waves her hand dismissively, looking at me pointedly. "But, that's not to say that he won't eventually. You can't leave him hanging around forever, D."

"I know that," I mutter quietly. "But, maybe just a while longer? There's something that I need to do first."

A look of understanding crosses her face. She places the wine down on the table and folds her arms across her chest. "You want to see Mason, don't you?"

"I don't want to, but I do need to." I tell her. "It probably doesn't make sense to you-,"

"Actually," she cuts me off. "It makes perfect sense to me. You want to make sure you really are over him before you start dating someone else. You want to tell him everything you didn't get to when you fought. You want closure, D."

Closure. It's exactly what I need. I need to say goodbye to Mason Hayworth forever. "Yes, I do."

"Well, you're not going to get it sitting on this couch." She stands up quickly, almost knocking over her wine as she points me towards the bathroom. "Call him, or message him right now and find out when he's free. Then jump in the shower, because no offense, D, but you're smelling a little ripe."

I open my mouth to retort but quickly shut it, realising she's probably right. "What if I-," I trail off, too scared to say the words aloud.

Alexa seems to understand exactly what I mean, though and she yanks me, not so gently to my feet. "I know you're scared that seeing Mason might bring back those feelings you had for him. But I believe you're stronger than that, D. You've grown so much in the last three months. You just have to believe that too."

I ignore the throbbing pain in my shoulders from the rough way she pulled me to my feet. "You're a good friend, Lex."

"You're not so bad yourself. Now come on." She turns me around and slaps my butt in encouragement. "Get a move on, I've always wanted the perks of having a bartender friend. Sort your Mason shit out so I can get free drinks."

I manage a laugh as I pull out my phone, stopping and turning back to her just before I press the dial button. "Lex?"

She nods once, slumping back down to the couch and picking up her wine again. "I will be right here, D. I'm not going anywhere. Unless you need me to go fetch you ice cream or something before you get home."

"I'm not going to need it," I say more confidently than I feel.

She eyes me over the rim of her glass. "I know."