"Hospital? What happened?"
I sigh. "Dean. My friend? He's in intensive care. I've been there all day and just got home."
"Why would you spend all day there? I thought you barely knew the guy."
"Seriously? Jane, I told you all about Dean the last time we talked. I told you how I was going over there every day. How I thought it might turn into something."
"Like what?" She pauses. "Wait—are you saying you're dating this guy?"
"Yes. I thought you'd figured that out the last time we talked. You acted like you did."
"I was joking," she says with a laugh. "You said all that right after Fiona saw you on the street with him. She told everyone at school how you were hanging out with this dumb jock, so when you told me about him, I thought you were just playing along. Pretending the joke was real."
"Fiona told everyone she saw us?"
"Yeah. Everyone was laughing about it, trying to imagine you with this huge football guy, which is totally not your type."
"I wasn't joking. I really am dating Dean. That day Fiona saw us, Dean and I were just friends, but it was becoming more than that. And now it has. We're dating."
"Yeah, that's funny. What's really going on? Are you just trying to make Chad jealous? If so, it worked. You should've seen him when he heard that rumor about you and the football player. His pale face actually turned red." She laughs. "Everyone told him it wasn't real. Eventually he calmed down."
"Why would he care? Isn't he dating Tamara?"
"She left for a job in LA. Her agent called and lined up all these auditions and she ended up getting a part on some show that's on one of the streaming networks."
"When did she leave?"
"A couple days ago."
Is that why Chad was calling me? To see if I'd take him back? There's no way that's happening. He can go find someone else to treat like shit.
"You two are such a cute couple," she says. "Everyone's waiting for you two to get back together."
"It's never happening. I have Dean now, and he's a million times better than Chad. I had no idea what I was missing out on until I started dating Dean."
Jane's quiet, then says, "Wait, are you serious? You're really dating that guy?"
"Yes, and if you knew him, you'd understand why. He's kind, mature, responsible, loving, and he has the most amazing body I've ever seen."
"Brook, what is wrong with you? Did you not see the news? The guy's the son of a convicted felon who just escaped from prison."
"Yeah, I'm aware of what's going on," I say, rolling my eyes. "It's why I spent all day talking to the police and at the hospital with Dean. It's why I won't sleep tonight."
"Why would you get yourself involved in this? You go from this perfect life with Chad to a life with some dumb jock, the son of a violent criminal? It doesn't make sense."
"I never had a perfect life with Chad. He made me feel worthless, like I was never good enough. He even told me that. He was always telling me what I needed to change to be better."
"He was being supportive."
"He was being controlling, and I hated it. I wasn't happy with Chad. I just pretended I was because everyone said I should be. Dean's shown me what real happiness feels like. He's the last person I would've imagined myself being with but now I can't imagine being with anyone else."
"Okay, I don't know who I'm talking to because this doesn't sound like you at all. What happened to wanting a nice house? A nice car? Going to a good college?"
"I can still have those things but I also want to be with someone I love, and someone who loves me back. Chad never loved me. He said the words but he didn't mean them."
"He loved you, and still does. That's why he wants you back."
"If that's why he called, he's wasting his time."
