Finally, at ten-thirty in the morning, I decide to text him.
Me:Good morning!
Half an hour passes, and then he finally replies.
Max:Um, who the hell is this?
Cold pierces through my heart, sliding down to my toes. I don’t understand… Maybe he’s joking with me?
Me:it’s Jess…
Max:Yeah, I can see that. Looks like you’ve been talking to Max a lot.
Okay… that’s weird. I swallow, and wonder if maybe this is a joke or something.
Me:Who is this?
Max:This is Max’s girlfriend.
The words bring tears to the back of my eyes. I stare at them for a long time, reading the four words over and over again as my brain has a hard time understanding.
Max has a girlfriend?
Anger and regret tug at my heartstrings. Now that I think about it, Max never explicitly told me he was single. He also didn’t mention that he had a girlfriend.
Or did he?
There was this girl.
My heart leaps into my throat. He did say he quit social media because of a girl. I guess I had assumed they broke up, but what if they didn’t. Why am I so stupid? How I could have let myself get so starry-eyed over a guy I don’t even know?
I put the phone down and try to look away, but the screen lights up again.
Max:Stay the hell away from my boyfriend. I don’t know who you are, but he doesn’t want anything to do with you.
Max:He’s laughing at you right now. He said he was just messing with you because you’re some dumb skank.
Max:So don’t even think of texting him again.
Tears fall down my eyes as I read her hateful messages. The thought of Max laughing about me with his girlfriend makes me feel like the biggest loser in the world. How could he have done this to me? How could he have spent all those hours texting and laughing and sharing fun stories with me, when it was all a joke?
Tears burn my eyes as I brush them away and try to concentrate on building Legos with my brother.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his little eyebrows pulling together in worry. “Are you okay?”
I swallow back my embarrassment and try to smile. “I’m fine, I just got something in my eye, and it hurts. I’m gonna go to the bathroom and try to rinse it out.”
“Okay,” he says, going back to playing.
I rush to the bathroom and close the door behind me. Then I turn on the water to drown out the sound of my tears.
I should have known from the very start. Guys are jerks and they can’t be trusted. It’s my fault for getting so wrapped up in the words of a total stranger.
I select Max’s name in my inbox and delete all of our messages. Then I delete his name from my contacts list. And even then all traces of him are removed from my phone, the pain in my chest is still there.
Chapter 6
Jensen groans when headlights shine into the big window in our living room. He holds up his hand to block the light and then turns to me with a pout. “Are they back?”
