My phone was ringing. Why was it ringing? My eyes adjusted to the darkness and when I saw that it was just after midnight, I knew it had to be Tian. I smiled, answering the phone.
“Hello,” I said, my voice hoarse from sleep.
There was loud music and chatter on the other end.
Had he butt dialed me? It wouldn’t have been the first time.
“Hello?” I tried again.
Just as I was about to hang up, someone responded.
“Who is this?” It definitely wasn’t Tian. No. The voice was feminine and strong and angry. Definitely angry.
“Uh, Jade.” I cleared my throat. “Who are you?”
“Jessica. I’m the girl whose boyfriend you’ve been messaging and calling at all hours of the night,” she accused.
“Excuse me?” I sat up in bed, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.
“Tian. My boyfriend. We’ve been together since junior year of high school. We have a son together,” she said like it was information I should have known.
And I did know. I was just confused on the current use of the term boyfriend.
“I think you should talk to him about this,” I suggested lightly. “You two have been broken up for a long time now.”
She laughed bitterly. “Are you kidding me? We’ve been solid for years. Sure, we’ve had our issues but we always find our way back. And anyway, I tried talking to him, he’s too drunk to give me a clear response.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? That’s all you have to say for yourself? I went through his phone, I know you two have been seeing each other behind my back.”
“Behind your back?” I echoed numbly.
“You’re the side chick, and it needs to stop. Now.”
“Wait.” Nothing was making sense. “You know about me?”
“Of course I do. He’s not as stealth as he thinks he is. I figured he just needed someone to talk to, a friend. I didn’t know you two had taken it this far.”
“And how far would that be?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but the question slipped out anyway.
“He’s in love with you, Jade. And he can’t be.” She sounded like she felt sorry for me. Her anger wasn’t as strong.
Great. I was the other woman and she felt sorry for me. Was I dreaming or something? No. I couldn’t be that lucky.
I cried silently, letting the tears fall freely. “So, you two are together?”
“We have been for years,” she confirmed. “I’m only calling because he’s a jerk and I’ll confront him too when he’s more sober, but he wouldn’t shut up about you tonight. We haven’t always been okay, but I’m his future, and he’s mine. I let him have his fun but we’re older now and eventually we’ll get married. I found a ring in one of his drawers so I know he’s planning on proposing to me and that he’s already asked for my dad’s permission, so you need to leave him alone. There’s no place for you.”
Jessica was being eerily calm about this.
I, on the other hand, was freaking out. My heart pounded a mile a minute and sweat clammed my hands.
He had promised to give me more when he had already promised the same thing to someone else, someone who had given him something more permanent than my heart—a child.
It all made sense now. Every puzzle piece fell into place and the picture became clearer. I was his game, his sure thing, someone he knew would always be there when things didn’t work out with Jessica, the mother of his child.
He had lied. Again. It seemed to be all he was good at.
I wasn’t surprised. The tears that had been falling nonstop dried against my skin. I wouldn’t cry for him. It wasn’t worth the headache I’d get in the morning if I did.
“You knew about me but you waited until now to say something? Why?” I asked, a little taken aback.
“Because he needed to get you out of his system,” she said calmly. “But I think it’s gone on long enough now, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say.
I was the girl he cheated on her with, the girl he supposedly fell in love with, but she was his future, his present, and apparently his past. I was just woven in between those spots. For what? I’m not sure, and I’m not sure I wanted to know. It was done, and I couldn’t take it back, but I could change how it went forward.
I would end it. For real this time. There really wasn’t any other option. Did I really want things to continue the way they had been? I had hoped they would change but I think deep down I always knew they wouldn’t.
Sebastian Hayes was my first love, but he wouldn’t be my last. I’d need to remember that for this next part, for the goodbye.
My chest deflated with the deep breath I released.
“Jade?” Jessica was still on the line. I steeled myself for what she was going to say next. “I mean it. Stay away from my boyfriend. Or fiancé, since it won’t be long now. Like I said, you were just something he needed to get out of his system. But that’s done now. You’re a girl compared to us, a high school student. Did you really think you’d have a future with him?”
With that, she hung up. I processed her words. Did I think I’d have a future with him? Maybe at one point, but I was smart enough to know that was never in the cards. Fate had a mind of her own, a plan etched in stone, and that plan didn’t include Tian and I together. I knew that, I always had, right? So then why did it feel like someone had torched my heart and tossed it into the ocean?
I had planned on ending things anyway, I was going to have a talk with him and that would be it. Jessica’s words only confirmed that I was making the right choice and solidified that decision.
Tian’s words were sweet. He always knew the right thing to say, but the thing with words is that they were just that—words. His actions didn’t mirror his verbal sentiments, and that had always been a red flag with me.
So, again, why did it hurt so much? I had already decided to end things.
No.
That wasn’t true.
Deep down I knew that he’d pull me back in the way he always had. I hoped he’d convince me to give him another chance, which I would have. I wouldn’t do that now. I couldn’t. I had to let him go. I had to push him away for good.
You sound like a broken record again, Jade. Don’t you see a pattern here? You need to get it together. You’re stronger than this, than one boy. He isn’t the end of the world.
No, but he sure felt like the end of mine.
My phone started ringing again. With once glance at the caller name, I ignored it. Tian must have known she called and wanted to know what she said. Jessica could fill him in. But until tomorrow, when I said my piece, I had nothing to say.