In a Tragedy of Love Loss

Chapter 19

“See, Mckenzie? I told you she was still here,” Hazel groaned.

“Is there something you should be telling us?” Mckenzie looked at Jaycee through her bangs.

“I fucked Cole last night,” she said through clouded eyes.

“Well, damn,” Mckenzie said in shock.

“Just get in the car. I need caffeine, and I’m pretty sure Hazel does too. She looks like she has the hangover from hell,” all three girls got in the car.

            Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at the coffee shop a couple doors down from the ice cream shop were Dylan and Jaycee met. Mckenzie looked like something was eating her head because her hair was such a mess. She was sipping her cappuccino, and scarfing down a couple pieces of coffee cake. Hazel was on her third cup of plain black coffee, and she had dark circles under eyes.

            Jaycee was in the worst condition of the three of them. She had barely touched her coffee or her chocolate chip muffin. She was sitting on the other side of Mckenzie and Hazel, leaning on her left arm and tracing the rim of her coffee cup, so no one could see her red, bloodshot eyes or mascara stained cheeks. She had been crying the whole way to the coffee shop because of how bent up she was about her evening with Cole.

            She had slept with Cole. She had made a mistake. She hadn’t slept with any guy since Dylan, and she didn’t want to. She had only been with Cole because she was intoxicated and high, and was working on getting over her break up with Dylan. Usually by now, she was over her recent relationship, but she wasn’t going to get over Dylan anytime soon. That’s all Cole was to her, and they both knew it.

“Jaycee?” Hazel said softly. “Are you okay?”

“Fucking Cole was a mistake,” she whispered. “Let’s go,” she got up, and walked outside to the car.

“I’m guessing she’s not over Dylan yet,” Mckenzie said then they went outside.

            Jaycee was sitting in the driver’s seat with her head on the steering wheel, tapping her thumbs on the horn. Hazel jumped in the front seat, and Mckenzie slid into the back seat. She looked up at Hazel through her clouded eyes and mascara colored tears.

“I need to talk to Landen, so y’all can get changed at their place and go home or something.”

“What do you need to talk to Landen about that you can’t talk to us about?” Mckenzie asked.

“Because, frankly, Mckenzie, if I tried talking to you about it, you would just blow it off, and drag me to go get wasted or fucked up or whatever. Yes, that is how I usually get over a break up. No, it is not helping me get over Dylan one bit,” she snapped, and looked at Hazel. “And, Hazel, you’re just too hung over to talk to right now, and you need to get some sleep.”

“She has a point, Mckenzie,” she told her.

“Whatever. Let’s just go,” they went to Landen and Dylan’s apartment.

            When they got there, Hazel and Mckenzie grabbed their bags out of the trunk, and went inside. Jaycee ran over to her house real quick. When she went inside, she threw the keys on the counter, and ran up to her room. She tore off her dress, and changed into a pair of black jeans, a red T-shirt and a black hoodie. She brushed her hair, and washed all the makeup off her then ran back over to Landen’s.

            When she got there, Hazel and Mckenzie were both gone, and Landen was sitting on the couch, playing video games. Dylan was in his room. As soon as Jaycee walked through the door, Landen shut his game off.

“Is Dylan home?” she asked him.

“Yeah, he’s in his room. Why?” she ran to his room.

“Dylan!” she yelled from down the hall.

            Dylan had been in his room, drinking, all day, but he was still sober enough to be aware of his surroundings. He quickly shut his laptop, and went to the door. Jaycee threw the door open before he could.

“Jaycee? What are you doing here? Why do you look like you’ve been crying?”

“’Cause I was, but that’s beside the point,” she looked at the desk. “Have you been drinking?”

“Yeah, but that’s not much of a shocker these days.”

“I figured that after you came over after you’ve been drinking. Listen, I need to talk to Landen about something, and I don’t want to chance you listening because you might not like what you might hear. So, I need you to do me a favor, and get out for a little while.”

            Dylan’s eyes filled with tears. He didn’t want to hear what she had to talk to Landen about, but he had a feeling he needed to. Jaycee had a feeling he wanted to tell her he loved her. She felt like everything he had said to her yesterday was supposed to make her feel guilty about her way of dealing with break ups and at the party.

“Please, Dylan, just go. Go wait in the truck. Go to the park. Go somewhere that’s not here,” tears filled her eyes.

“All right,” he whispered. “Whatever you want,” he walked out to the kitchen to get the keys to the truck from Landen then left.

            When Jaycee walked out to the living room, her cheeks were stained with tear streaks.