“Yes.”
“So you’re telling me that when I stayed over at your place and Trisha conveniently came over the next day, that wasn’t part of theplan?”
He shut his eyes. This was snowballing. Fast. He couldn’t get a hold of the situation, couldn’t say one thing in his defense. “I had nothing to do with that.”
Her breath caught and tears filled her eyes. Him denying it in that way was him actually confirming that it had been part of the plan. “But Matt did. You and your buddy just thought: Hey, let’s make a fool out of Jordan.”
“That’s not what happened,” he said, feeling completely out of his depths, out of control. “Jordan, we’ve been together for a few months now. And while this may have started off on a pretense…this…us…it’s real. Don’t ignore everything else because of a few insignificant events. As soon as we went to that conference, things changed and you know it.”
“The conference was in July. Trisha came to your house in August. Amonthlater and you were still using me. You’ve been lying to me this whole time!”
He gritted his teeth. This was becoming so frustrating. “I didn’t lie to you.”
“Really?” It was a scathing tone that was shaky enough to sound vulnerable. “What did you tell me when I asked what yourhidden agenda was? I asked youtwiceand you lied to me both times.”
“That was months ago,” he fired back. “It was a stupid lie for this stupid plan. I’m talking about now.”
“Hmm? Okay. Now?” She tapped her finger against her lips and pretended to think about it. “What did you tell me when I asked you where you were?”
His throat tightened. He couldn’t respond.This is not looking good. At all.
“Where were you, Tyler?” she whispered. “While I was here waiting, where were you?”
Never…never in his life had he ever felt so ashamed. He wanted the ground to open up beneath him and just swallow him whole. “I was with Trisha,” he admitted. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I just didn’t want to talk about it. It was just coffee, Jordan, I swear.” And even though he’d done nothing wrong, it felt wrong. Him doing it, him saying it, it all felt wrong.
With eyes so sad, she gave him a helpless shrug. “How do you expect me to believe you?”
The first tear that rolled down her cheek destroyed something inside him. This woman. This insensitive woman, who hid behind silliness and sarcasm. This woman who rarely showed vulnerability. This woman who never wore her heart on her sleeve. This woman was crying because of him.
“I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I only—”
“What did you and Trisha talk about?” Her voice sounded constricted, strangled with all that hurt. “Were you talking about getting back together? Maybe just string me along for a few more days before you cut it off?”
“Jordan—”
“You know what? I don’t wanna know.” She walked to the front door and opened it. “I want you to leave now, Tyler. I’m done playing these games.”
He walked to the door and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re really gonna end this over something so stupid?”
“The only thing stupid in this equation…is me.”
He lifted his hand to her face and used his thumb to wipe away her tears. “You’re angry now…and hurt. I take full responsibility for that.”
She tilted her head away from his hand and took a step back. He took the hint.
“I’m gonna leave,” he said, stepping outside, “give you some time to think abouteverythingthat has happened in the last six months…and then we’re gonna talk.”
“We’ve talked enough.”
He took a deep breath, hating the fact that he had done this to her. At that moment he would have done anything to take away the pain he saw in her eyes. He’d make it right. He’d reverse all that doubt, but it wasn’t going to happen tonight. “I won’t lose you, Jordan.”
“You already have.”
And then the door slammed shut in front of him.
Oh! The Drama
Jordan stared up at the ceiling. There was a tornado swirling in her head, spinning with such speed, she couldn’t really focus on anything. She’d taken a sick day on Friday and had been on a drinking binge ever since. The only thing she’d ingested over the last three days was an exorbitant amount of alcohol with the occasional mouthful of nachos. It was a bad idea and she knew that when she threw up later, it was going to be…interesting.
