How did she not see this? How could she be so blind?
"Jana, don't. I know it's hard."
She pulled away. "No, you don't. Two years. Fortwo yearsI've held onto this relationship because it was supposed to be real, that he was my person, and I find out now that I'm just a side piece?"
Polly looked down and away. “I know, it’s—”
Jana turned.
“Is that her?”
Walking up to them was the beautiful brunette in the photo. And damn, if she didn’t look even more beautiful in person. Like even the heat didn’t dare make her makeup run or her hair fall.
Jana thought she would be sick. She didn’t understand. “This was, what, a set-up?” She put on hand on her hip. “Were you thinking you’d just confront me and run me off or something? Fight me?”
The other woman came toward Jana. “Whatever it takes to get the point across.”
“And what point is that?” Jana asked. So many emotions raged inside her that she didn’t know what to do. Punching that perfect-faced female seemed like a good idea.
“Jana, wait,” Polly said.
“What, she can’t hurt me,” the other woman said.
“Tori, don’t make this worse.” Polly stepped in between Jana and Stefan’s wife.
“Worse? Like it’s my fault that the bastard has kept who knows how many side chicks around—”
“Who says I’m the side chick,” Jana said. “Maybe it’s you!”
Tori lunged forward at Jana. “You want the bastard. You can have him! I wasted three years on his ass! He isn’t worth it. I can’t do this shit anymore.”
“You knew? Which one of us is more pathetic then? At least I didn’t know. You knew, and you put up with it!”
“Stop it,” Polly said. “I called the two of you here to work this out. He’s a dick who doesn’t deserve either of you.” She held her hands up between the two of them to keep Jana away from Tori.
“Jana, go over there,” Polly said, pointing toward the metal sculptured arches. “Give me just a minute,” and she turned to Tori. “You, come here.”
The two of them started to argue, but Jana couldn’t quite hear them.
She didn’t want to.
She was so mad. And hurt. And angry. And heartbroken.
She tossed what was left of her latte in the trash and walked around the arches in the sculpture. Some were high. Some were low. The metal structures probably had some kind of message or meaning behind them, but whatever it was, Jana didn’t care.
They were something tangible to walk through.
Something real.
More real than the awful relationship she’d been in.
She slapped the metal as she passed between the arches. In the heat, they were hot to touch, the burn almost scalding. Like each blow was a reminder that this was real.
That what she had wasn’t real.
It wasn’t concrete.
It wasn’t valid.
