Oh my god. Why would anyone want to cheat on him? I mean look at him. Why would she want to hurt him?
I shake my head as if I can’t believe it. I don’t want her to be the one.
Is she the reason he’s the way he is? Why he keeps women at arm’s length, and it’s just sex and fun? Did having his first love savagely rip his heart open make him unable to trust women in his life? Keeping them all at a distance, the way I do with everyone else.
“Why did you start seeing her again?” It’s out before I can stop it.
Do I want to hear him tell me how he’s never got over her? No, I don’t.
He shrugs and gazes at me intensely.
“It’s complicated.”
When is it ever not?
“Stop saying that,” I wail, instantly on my feet and I’m angry.
Why?
Because he’s my Jake. Not hers. I want him to want me, and only me; I know it’s never going to be that way and it ruins every part of me. Rages and burns that once, long ago she had exactly that and she threw it all away. She was a complete idiot!
“Emma … What do you want me to say?” he moves to me, and pushes me back to sit down, so he’s standing over me.
“You think I planned any of this shit?” he looks broken, eyes damp and face unreadable, yet somehow sad.
“Do you love her?” I ask of him, complete fear gripping me inside and I almost sob it out in desperation.
here. Not now. Not in front
and I can’t read it.
shaking my head. “I don’t want to know.” He grasps
it’s not what you think,” he pleads, his body
What do I think? … What could be
shove him away, lost in teen Emma mode and rejecting
arms to him, but I’m pushing him off. Marissa is right there in the next room, she’s pregnant with his baby.
air … space … Jake … I need space.” I gulp down tears and panic, and finally throw his hands off me. He lets me go and moves back rejected, he’s letting me leave, but I don’t want to
go into automatic pilot. I stalk toward the door, pulling up my hood, and
* * *
run about three blocks before I stop and let the heart wrenching pain overtake me. I cry like I did the night he left me on that boat, and I think I may actually die this time. If my lungs don’t self-implode, I think my heart might. The pain is unbearable and raw, and I’ve never willingly exposed myself to enduring
place and I manage them all well. This isn’t really happening. I’m in a parallel universe, or I’m dreaming. I’ll wake at any minute and this will all have been one long, bad dream. Except I know that it’s not. Meeting Jake has slowly changed it all, he is too potent to be around, changing me, changing how I think and live, until I don’t feel like
this how we got
* * *
but I don’t care anymore. I’ve been through so many emotions these past weeks; I think I’m slowly losing
modern suite. There’s a
desolate, alone on one side, and Jake on the
what this is all really about? Except I know this isn’t all on him … I’m incapable of letting him get close to me, even if he actually wanted to try. I’m afraid of what that means, what that will feel like; too much has happened. Even if he told me he wanted me and only me,
do that? Can he? Can I
surely that in itself is half the problem. We crossed the line and now I’ll never be able to just be what
love him. – I think I already knew that
halt suddenly. Jake’s laid on my bed, illuminated by the lamp beside him with his laptop on his thighs. He’s been waiting on me, his cell tossed carelessly in the center of the bed, beside mine. I guess he tried to call me and found mine
from tiredness as my inner confidence slides silently from deep within and makes a quick exit via the
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