Out of Bounds [h.s. au]

Chapter 23

We kissed and said goodbye at our usual spot, then I drove back to Penny's. Still completely exhausted, I collapsed on my couch-bed and took a nap. I was awaken an hour or so later by the ring of my phone. Picking it up, I saw Justine's name on the screen. Curious and a bit peeved, I swiped the screen to answer her call.

"Justine," I said after clearing my throat.

"Hey, Tisa!" she exclaimed as though she was excited to speak to me. "How's it going?"

"Um..." I stammered, trying to collect my thoughts. "Okay I guess, all things considered."

"Oh, yeah," she said, lowering her voice. "I heard about you and James."

"Oh, you did?" I asked, although it was more like a statement.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry."

"Wait, what?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I shook my head, incredulous.

"Well, I knew you weren't happy, but divorce is hard. Remember, I've been there."

"Oh. Yeah." For a moment I thought perhaps she was trying to be the friend she should have been to begin with - the shoulder that I had needed before.

"Are you still seeing Harry?" she inquired.

"Yes," I replied flatly, furrowing my eyebrows. "You knew that. You just saw him Mikado's."

"Oh yeah," she giggled nervously. "I forgot I called you."

"Uh huh."

"I was kind of drunk," she confessed.

"Yeah." I decided then we needed to get all of this out in the open. I needed some answers. "Justine, who was that man you were with?"

"What?" she asked.

"The man you were with at Mikado's. Harry said you were with someone. Was that the man you're seeing? Drew, is that his name?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's Drew," she answered.

"And how does he know James?"

"How..." Justine began. I could tell she realized she had been caught. Caught in exactly what, even I wasn't sure yet. But I knew the truth was unfolding. "Um...Drew is...a friend of James's."

"Uh huh," I repeated. "That's quite a coincidence isn't it?"

"How so?"

"Well, that you would happen to work with a man who also happens to be a friend of my husband's, excuse me, soon-to-be ex-husband's. And that you would start dating him just after I confessed to you my affair with Harry. That suddenly he's being seen at Mikado's where Harry works. And...that he happens to be the same man who served me my divorce papers."

Silence echoed between us until Justine finally said, "That is a coincidence."

I groaned loudly. "Oh, c'mon Justine, what gives?"

"Nothing!" she exclaimed.

"God dammit, Justine!" I yelled through the phone. "I thought you were my friend!"

"I am your friend!" she cried. "That's why I called you. I miss you!"

I buried my face in my hand, trying my best to keep my composure. This whole fiasco had a story to it, and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"If you're really my friend," I continued, "you'd tell me what the hell is going on."

Justine let out an exasperated breath. "James called me."

"What?" I shook my head again. "When?"

"I don't remember exactly. I think it was after you told me about you and Harry when we were at El Toro's."

"Wh-Why would he call you?"

"Well...I think initially he was checking up on you. I think he had suspected something was going on, and because you had said you'd been with me, he wanted to make sure. I assured him we had been together, but I could tell he was worried. I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. So we met for lunch."

"Wait, back up. How did he get your number?" I asked.

"He said he found me on your Facebook. My job is listed on my profile. He called my office."

"Oh God!"

"So, we had lunch," Justine continued. "And he told me he was afraid he was losing you. He said he wasn't sure if there was someone else or not, but that you were different somehow. He seemed really sad, Tisa."

"Ugh," I scoffed. "Then what?"

"I swear, I didn't tell him right away..."

"You told him?" I cried.

"No, no I didn't!" Justine promised. "He figured it out on his own."

"How?"

"I don't know exactly. I guess he just suspected something and knew you spent a lot of time with Harry."

"So he said something to you?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "He asked if I'd heard about this Harry fellow. I didn't want to lie to him, Tisa."

"Well, you could have, Justine! Especially since I'd confided in you!" I was beyond livid at this point. Fuck friends. Fuck Justine. Fuck James.

"Should I tell you the rest, or are you too mad at me now to listen?" Justine asked, trying to turn the tables.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "You're going to tell me fucking everything now!"

"Calm down," she insisted.

"I will not calm down! You don't have the right to tell me to calm down, Justine!" I was standing now, pacing the floor. I wanted to throw my phone across the room or punch a wall or something. I had never been so angry.

"No," I heard her say. "I can't talk to you when you're like this. Besides, I have to get back to work."

"Damn it!"

"Do you want to meet somewhere tonight and talk?"

I took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine."

We agreed to meet at the coffee shop around the corner from Penny's apartment at six o'clock. I hung up the phone and tossed it on my pillow. I wanted to talk to Harry, but I knew it probably would be best to wait until my anger subsided. I swallowed hard, feeling a knot in my stomach. I just wanted all of this to be over with. I wanted the truth to come out, my divorce to be final, and to live happily ever after with Harry. But I knew that was too much to ask.

***A/N***
Sorry for the cliffhanger! Any predictions?