I wait in silence for him to continue.
“She doesn’t break down, doesn’t cry, she doesn’t take things lying down and doesn’t wallow in things.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“She’s a ticking time bomb, Ian. Sooner or later, she’s going to explode, and when she does…” he sighs heavily. “I’m afraid there won’t be anything left of her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She keeps everything inside. Her feelings. She hides things, buries them. She throws her smile in your face and you think everything is fine. But behind all that, Ian, there’s a world that no one knows about and it’ll suck her in when she isn’t expecting it. Sooner or later, all that tension will come out, and I’m afraid it won’t be pretty.”
“Do you think you might be a little over-the-top here?”
“Do you…know?” he asks cautiously.
“What are we talking about?”
“Has she ever told you about our life, our childhood, our family?” he asks, clenching his jaw on the last word, while I go back in time to dust off that memory.
“She mentioned something, once. She told me that you’re alone and that you lived on your own.”
“Did she tell you why?”
“Er, yeah…”
“Did she tell you all of it? The unedited version?”
“I don’t know.” I stand up agitated. “She told me a few things, but I don’t know if there’s anything else, if she hid some part of the story from me, or if she lied to me…Why are you asking me all this?”
Jamie sighs and goes to sit back down, inviting me to take the spot in front of him. I do, grabbing the stool and pulling it closer.
“I don’t want to do this, believe me. Opening Pandora’s box isn’t going to be good for any of the three of us.”
“The three of us?”
“Trust me, it’s not going to be good for you, either.”
I look at him, worried.
“But maybe it’s time that someone knew about it, someone who could understand and maybe help out.”
“You’re pissing me off now. Just say it, for Christ’s sake!”
“First, let me ask you something.”
“Let’s have it.”
“What’s the deal with you guys?”
“Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything, and it’s really hard for me.”
“Nothing’s going on, Jamie. There never has been. We were friends, you know that, and then things got out of hand. She thought that there could be more between us, and I let her know that wasn’t possible. I hurt her and now she hates me.”
“Err…”
“What?” I snap.
