Justin shows up at my door a few hours later with a U-Haul truck, two of his friends, and a girl I’ve never seen before.
“You remember Tim and Karl,” he says, nodding to his friends. “And this is Alex.” She’s short and petite with black, chin-length hair and big, brown eyes. She’s adorable and she and Justin make an attractive couple.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, sticking my hand out to shake Alex’s. “Thank you for coming to help.”
I can’t help but wonder if she came to help so she could check out the ex, but she quells those thoughts.
“Justin has told me so much about you,” she says with a warm smile that makes me like her. She’s a stronger woman than I am. I wouldn’t like the idea of my boyfriend hanging out with his ex.
I observe the dynamic between Justin and Alex as we all work to get my belongings on the moving truck. He’s different with her—different than he was with me. It’s the way he looks at her. He never looked at me like that, and while we did have something special and we shared a lot of love, it’s clear she’s the love of his life.
Jill’s home to help with some of my stuff, and I’ll be back tomorrow to help her with hers. I wish we would’ve had our little celebration of our last night in our place together, but I have enough regrets I’m trying to battle. I don’t need to add that to the list.
She’s quiet, passing by me without talking to me as we both carry boxes to the truck. I think she’s mad at me. Either that, or she’s silently judging the fact that Justin is the one here helping me. I don’t want to argue with her, so I don’t say anything.
I hate this is how Jill and I are leaving things between us after living together for almost a decade, but if she’s going to be mad at me for something stupid, then I can be mad at her for being the reason I have to move in the first place.
We get everything packed in the truck—including my couch blankets and pillows—and I drive my car by myself while Justin takes his crew in the truck to Tess’s place. Jill doesn’t join us. Instead, she tells us how she needs to stay back to pack a few of her own boxes.
Once everything is unloaded, I treat Justin, Alex, Tim, and Karl to beer and pizza. Tess showers and heads out for a Saturday night with some of her friends. She invites me, but I just want to stay in and get myself settled.
When I have the essentials unpacked and my bed made, I finally lie down and scroll my phone. I see a new Snapchat posted on Mark’s story, another pose with a different woman sent just an hour ago. Bile rises in my throat, but, being the masochist I am, I log onto Twitter out of curiosity just to see what city he’s in. I’m attacked by a steady stream of images, all the same but all with different women. Some are with Ethan, and in one from just last night, he’s kissing a blonde woman. His hand is on her neck, and black ink snakes along his skin. My heart’s already shattered, but another piece somehow chips off.
I remind myself it’s Penny posting these, Lizzie’s words that they’re old images.
The reminder doesn’t help...it still hurts. Maybe he has moved on. Maybe these are real.
I head back to the old house to help Jill the next morning. She’s alone in her bedroom with a few last-minute boxes.
“Where’s Becker?” I ask.
“He had some work to do this morning. He’s coming back with a truck in a few hours.”
“Can we talk?”
She nods but doesn’t stop packing. I sit on the edge of her stripped mattress.
“I’m sorry I took my shit out on you,” I say.
She glances up at me and then her gaze returns to her task. “It’s okay, Reese. You know I love you no matter what. Can I ask you something?”
I raise my brows.
“Why was Justin helping you?”
“He offered.”
“Is it smart to hang out with an ex?”
I sigh. “He’s different. He’s got a new girlfriend, and after everything that went down, I just don’t have those feelings for him anymore.”
“I’m proud of you,” she says softly.
“For what?”
“For moving forward. Focusing ahead. I know it’s not easy.”
I give her a tight smile. “It’s not, but it’s my only option.”
When Jill’s all moved out of our place and I give her my key to drop at the realtor’s office this week, I head back to Tess’s place. I’m not surprised to see Jason sitting on the couch watching a baseball game, but I am surprised to see Brian Fox sitting beside him.
My heart wrenches in my chest. Is this what it’s going to be like to live here? Because if it is, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay here long.
Brian glances up at me when I walk in. His face is healed, completely restored back to its original attractiveness, but we all wear scars on our insides now for different reasons. “Hey,” he says casually, as if he didn’t use me for sex for months in some convoluted effort to get revenge on his brother.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Watching the Sox win.” He says it as a joke, like I care about baseball. I don’t. I’m much more of a football gal, but the Sox immediately make me think of Mark and that hat and the woman behind Sevens he lied about.
I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of wine. I will not be made to feel intimidated in my own home. Moving in with Tess was a bad idea. My two closest friends are dating Brian’s two closest friends, and that proximity makes me uncomfortable.
“Where’s Tess?” I ask.
“Shower,” Jason says, his eyes not moving from the television screen.
I sit on a chair across the room from Brian. I feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look at him. He finally stands and moves across the room, taking a seat on the end of the couch closest to me. “How’ve you been, Reese?” he asks.
I take a sip of wine and press my lips together. “Fine.” The single word is short and I keep my eyes on the television.
“You doing okay with the move?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Doing okay with everything else?”
I finally tear my eyes from the screen to focus on him. “If you mean the fact that you used me for months, no, I’m not okay with that. If you mean whether I’m okay with you coming between Mark and me, nope, still not okay. So, no. I’m not doing okay with everything else, and I fully blame you for that.”
“I’m sorry,” he says softly. I see Jason’s eyes edge from the television in our direction.
“What are you really doing here?” I ask. “Is this a thing? Do you hang out here a lot?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Not a lot. Jason mentioned you were moving in with Tess and I wanted to check on you.”
“Thanks for your concern, but it’s not your business.”
“It used to be,” he says softly.
I nod. “Yeah, it did. Before I knew how much you were screwing me over.” With those as my parting words and the image of regret in Brian’s eyes, I get up and go to my bedroom.