Prove It

Chapter 7

She turned to face him, which broke the grip he had on her. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands now that they were empty. He ran his fingers through his hair.

“I understand,” she told him.

“Do you really?”

“You had to give her what she wanted.”

Surprise registered on his face. He thought she blamed him, but she knew the truth. She obviously got it right. Jessica demanded that he stay away from her.

“I wish things could be different.”

“Me, too,” she responded softly.

“Me, too,” she repeated as Tristan walked away from her in more ways than one.

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Tristan was lying on his bed with his arms folded above his head. His mind was racing since he ran into Sierra. Seeing her had thrown the whole rest of his day off. He still hadn’t recovered. He found himself asking questions like,  was she always that pretty or did not being around her for so long make him forget how much she affected him and did he make a mistake giving in to Jessica so easily? These questions never crossed his mind until he spoke to her again. What was it about her? And why did he feel guilty?

He exhaled deeply hoping to clear his mind so he can relax.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked. He felt Jessica wrap herself around him and snuggled against his chest.

He didn’t know how to respond, but he knew he wasn’t going to lie. He didn’t want that kind of relationship, and Jessica deserved better, so he decided to be vague.

“It’s nothing to worry about. I’m just trying to work a few things out in my head.”

“I saw you today, you know… with her,” she said cautiously.

He tensed.

“Jess – ”

“It’s okay,” she surprised him by saying. “I also saw when you walked away. I know nothing happened.

Tristan’s body relaxed in obvious relief, then a thought occurred to him.

“You were spying on me?”

“Not exactly. I just saw her and I wanted to see what you would do.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. She had the nerve to look embarrassed.

“Okay, maybe I was spying. I was curious.”

 “So you’re not mad that I talked to her?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it still bothers me to see you with her, but I understand that your lockers are right next to each other. You can’t ignore her forever.”

Tristan was surprised that they were talking about this so calmly. Jessica wasn’t jumping to conclusions or throwing accusations, which he’d expected. She was amazing these past few weeks. She was attentive, understanding, and a lot of fun. But they still had one big problem. Jessica was too controlling. He didn’t want to say something because things were going so well, but in the end, the only one that was happy was Jessica. He was willing to let it go in the beginning, but now, especially after seeing Sierra today, he needed to make sure Jessica knew this wasn’t going to be a permanent arrangement. She needed to let him make his own decisions.

“We need to talk about me not being friends with Sierra,” he told her.

He saw the hurt in her eyes before she covered it up. He felt like a jerk for upsetting her but he wasn’t going to let her change his mind. They needed to have this talk.

“I’m still trying to learn to trust you, Tristan. It’s going to take some time, but I’m working on it. I can’t do that if you’re going to be around her. I just can’t, okay?”

“This isn’t healthy, Jess. Are you just going to keep telling me who I can and can’t hang out with forever?

“Why is this such a big deal? This is the only thing I’m asking for. Just stay away from one person.”

He was trying to stay calm. He knew that saying the wrong thing would make this become something bigger than it is and the last thing he wanted was to argue. So he chose his words carefully and kept his voice even.

“It’s only one person now, but we’re going to college soon. What do you think it’ll be like then? You can’t keep doing this.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes.”

“That’s not good enough, Jessica. I want my life back.”

“I remember there was a time when you wanted me back. You said you would do anything. Was that a lie?”

“No.”

“You have to choose, Tristan. You can’t have it both ways.”

She put her head back on his chest, wrapped her arms around his stomach and they didn’t say another word.

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A/N: Hey guys!!!! This chapter is a shorter that I expected but I was taking too long to finish it, so I just decided to post what I had. Next update will be soon. I love you all. Thanks for all the support.