1
“Excuse me, are you Jenelle?”
A girl stands before me with a look of death written all over her face, making me wish Jenellewasn'tmy name. I get the feeling whatever she wants with me, I’m not going to like. I smile—the same, sweet, fake smile I have plastered on my face all day long. The one that hides my true feelings of how unhappy I am with the direction my life is going.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“No, you don’t know me. I wanted to let you know I’m pregnant with your boyfriend’s baby,” she states matter-of-factly, like I’m at a coffee shop and my drink was being called instead of dropping life-altering news.
My smile fades like the jeans this chick is wearing. I turn more toward her, shaking my head in disbelief. “Excuse me? I think you have the wrong person.”
“Oh, no. You’re the right person. Believe me, I’ve seen your picture all over his apartment every time we fucked.”
Bile fills my throat, and the sting of swallowing it down almost hurts more than the pain that’s filling my chest. I sit silently, not sure what to say. I’ve never seen this girl, and I still have no clue what’s actually going on.
My friend, Layla, witnesses my sudden paleness and grabs my arm. “Jenelle, are you okay?”
She’s missed the interaction I’ve had in the last few seconds. Her attention was on the hot bartender who was making our drinks instead.
The girl in front of me offers her hand to Layla in greeting. “Hi, I’m sorry, you missed all the fun. I’m Sarah, and I’m pregnant with Travis’s baby.”
A freezing cold feeling of liquid splashing up from the ground brings me out of my shock. I look at Layla who’s leaning down to pick up the drink that fell from her hands.
I’m glad to see I'm not the only one losing my shit by what this girl is saying.
“Wait, I’m sorry, let me get this straight. You knowmyTravis?” I ask, leaning in and placing my hand on my chest.
Her head falls back, and a deep laugh escapes her lips. “Well, I guess you could say he’sourTravis. I’ve been fucking him for four months now. He said he was bored with your lazy lays and needed a little excitement. He wouldn’t break it off with you because it looks good for his advancement coming up.”
Travis and I are both Officers in the Air Force. I’m already a Captain, and he’s testing any day to be one, too. The higher in rank you go, the more they pay attention to the examples you lead in your life. I guess it looks good we’re together but what she’s saying doesn’t make much sense.
“What does us being together have to do with his upcoming test?”
“Oh, I guess I left out that part. I’m Airman First Class Anderson,” she states with a sarcastic nod of her head. “I guess he could hide our relationship better because everyone knew he was with you.”
My eyes go big.Is she serious right now?
She’s not only telling me she’s in the Air Force, but she’s newlyenlisted, which is an extreme no-no for fraternizing within the military.
I’ve heard of mean girls and even trashy sluts who get their kicks out of making other women’s lives hell, but I’m not getting that kind of vibe from this girl. She obviously didn’t care they were having an affair behind my back. Things aren’t adding up.
“So, if you’ve been having sex with him for so long, why are you telling me now?”
“I just wanted you to know what a scum bag he really is. When I told him I was pregnant he denied everything, saying it wasn’t his kid, and he’d have nothing to do with me. So, I’m taking him down.” She leans in, making sure I hear her clearly over the rising noise around us. “Everyone will find out he’s been seeing me, and I'm going to make it my personal mission to fuck up his life.”
My life, as I know it, just changed in the drop of a dime, or in my case, a girl named Sarah.
Butterflies swarm in my stomach and the burn of potential vomit presses its way up to my mouth where saliva fills to the brim. I swallow it down, trying to let air into my closed chest, when Layla grabs my arm, noticing my oncoming panic attack. Thankfully, she pulls me out of the bar before I make a scene.
I hate men.
2
Rolling out of bed, my head hurts almost as much as my heart. After Layla dropped me off last night, I cried into my pillow until I passed out. Now my eyes are swollen and my body aches from my head all the way to my toes.
When I glance in the mirror, my reflection does nothing to soothe my wounded heart.
I joined the military to see the world—little did I know I’d be meeting the world’s biggest assholes along the way. Now I’m twenty-eight years old and the only one out of my high school friends who isn’t married and having kids.
