"Damn," she muttered and picked up the phone. Hopefully, the fancy garment wasn't horribly damaged, and she might be able to stitch it back up. Then she felt the rip expand.
Nope, that was going to need a seamstress or a trash can.
She sighed as she opened the text message.
But she shouldn't have bothered.
It wasn't Stefan.
Hey, it's Polly. Meet me at Tribute Park?
Jana sighed.
Her little dress wasn't the right outfit for wandering around the park, but with Stefan apparently a no-show, what else was she gonna do?
Besides, maybe Polly had heard from him.
And a sense of dread ran through her.
"What if something happened, and Polly wants to tell me in person?" Jana ran into her bedroom, yanked off the torn dress, and leaped into the closest jeans and T-shirt that weren’t too dirty before darting out the door.
* * *
Jana reachedthe curve in the sidewalk where she’d agreed to meet Polly near the concrete and metal sculptures. The sun was scorchingly hot, and she could already feel the sweat on the back of her neck. She had pulled her hair up into a ponytail, hoping it wouldn’t ruin the curls she’d painstakingly added to impress Stefan, but just being outside for a few minutes already felt like she was melting.
Jana hated the heat.
The last couple of weeks, the temperatures had driven many people indoors, and Jana felt stupid for putting on jeans in this heat.
Of course, that wasn't her issue at the moment.
Meeting Polly was.
Polly was Stefan's cousin, and if anything had happened to him, she would know. Jana wasn't great friends with Polly, but they'd spent time together over the last year. Did they go party and have girl days together? No, the relationship wasn't like that, but it was nice that Polly liked her.
At least someone in his family seemed to.
Polly had been standing near a tree in the shade as Jana approached. She had two cups in her hand, and as soon as Jana approached, she handed her the iced coffee.
"Thanks," Jana said and took a sip. The cold brew tasted amazing and cold, and she could feel it going down her throat. It was so cool and soothing.
"Vanilla latte, right?" Polly asked.
"Always a good choice for me." She took a breath, hoping the drink would cool down her mind as well as her body. Every possible scenario had darted through her head on her way over, but if it was something serious and Stefan was hurt, wouldn’t Polly want her to come to the hospital? "So, what's going on?"
"You came pretty fast."
Jana raised her eyebrow. "I'm guessing it’s Stefan. Is he okay?"
"Yes, this does have to do with Stefan," Polly said and instead took a sip of her drink.
"Well, what? What is it?" Jana's worry consumed her. It started to overtake her. Had something happened to him? Was she gathering the courage to speak? "What's going on, Polly?"
Polly closed her eyes for a second and opened them up, looking straight at Jana. "Stefan is cheating on you. Or rather,withyou."
Jana blinked. "Wait, what?"
Surely she didn't hear that right.
