Dying For Love

Chapter 21

Colin POV

     I plop the pancake batter into the pan, watching the cream sludge bubble and expand on the hot surface.

     I'm waiting for Megan to get back, but she's taking a really long time to get her phone. Maybe it wasn't in Jenny's room, and she's looking for it somewhere else. But where else would it be? It wouldn't be in my room, since we came back to Megan's dorm after the party. So it might be in her room.

     I walk out of the kitchen, and over to her room. I open the door and step inside. I sort of feel like I'm invading her privacy right now, but I was definitely invading it much more last night, so I know I shouldn't feel bad about this.

     After a brief scan of her room, I know Megan's phone isn't here. So I walk out of her room, close the door, and make my way into the kitchen to check on the pancakes, which are borderline burnt. Great.

     I flip them out of the pan with a spatula, and put them on a plate. I hope Megan is okay with mildly burnt pancakes, even though she said to me to not burn them.

     As I wait for her, I sit down and scroll through my phone, but I don't have to wait too long, as the door opens a few minutes later. Megan walks in, looking upset.

     "Hey, did you find it?" I ask, worried that we're going to have to go on a wild phone chase.

     "Yeah, I found my phone. But I also, I also found Jenny. And I- I didn't mean to, but I s-saw, um, I saw her-" Megan stutters, but cuts herself off as tears start to trickle down her face.

     "Megan, what's wrong?" I ask gently, walking over to her and hugging her tightly.

     She hugs me back, then after a moment, says. "I was walking past her room, and I heard noises. I knew it was none of my business, but I looked through the door and- Colin, she's cheating on Max."

     I pull back and look into her tear stained eyes. "What?" I ask, confused.

     "I saw her and Jasper having sex together! Jenny is cheating on Max with James's twin brother." Megan explodes, starting to cry harder. "Th-then she realized I was there, an-and I walked away. She ran after me, then James showed up. He g-got re-really mad at her, and I'm wor-worried that he's going to hur-hurt her."

     I don't know Jenny too well, so I'm not sure that this is a surprise to me or not. I do know James though. As much as he seems to always be angry, I know he will never get physically violent with them. So I highly doubt James would hit Jenny, but he might threaten her. Although, she did sleep with his brother, so that might be enough to make him go over the edge.

     "Where are they now?" I ask, so I can potentially go talk James down.

     "James is going to tell Max what happened, and I'm pretty sure Jenny is going too." Megan explains.

     "Yeah, I can see James doing something like that." I say with a sigh.

     "What should we do, Colin?" Megan asks, looking at me with worried eyes.

     I try to give her a reassuring look, then say. "We wait."

—-

     I texted James about an hour ago to meet us at Megan's dorm, and he just now texted me back saying that he's on his way. I take it that all the shit already went down, so we're just getting the aftermath of it.

     Finally, the front door opens, and in storms a fuming James. He stalks over to Megan and I in the living room, then sits down in a chair across from us.

     "What happened?" Megan blurts out.

     "Well, I finally managed to drag Jenny all the way over to Max's work, and when we got there we had to wait outside until he went on his break. Once he was outside with us, I told him briefly what happened. Max canceled the rest of his shift so he could talk to Jenny in his car. My guess is that it isn't going well." James explains quickly.

     "James, you said before that this wasn't the first time she cheated. How do you know that? Have you known her longer than your letting on?" Megan asks.

     James let's out a long slow sigh from his nose, then finally says. "Yeah, I've known her for a long time. Since we were kids, actually. She was my neighbour, and both Jasper and I were home schooled through elementary and high school, so I never met the group, and they never met me, until now. I knew that Jenny and Max were dating during high school though, since I saw him come home with her pretty much every day. Although, he wasn't the only boy she brought around. I saw about four or five different guys making out with her through her bedroom window, since my window faced hers. I never said anything, because I never cared, until Jasper started talking to her. He started doing the same thing she did, bringing girls around. Sometimes he would disappear, and I always guessed he was at Jenny's, cheating together. Eventually, I was proved right, when I walked in on them having sex in my room."

     "So that's why you hate Jasper then? Is because he helped Jenny cheat?" I ask.

     "That, and other reasons. Basically, there were girls I liked too, and he took them all away from me. There was one girl that was actually my girlfriend, and I thought I was in love with her, until she left me for Jasper. After that, I turned into this, and I never forgave my brother, or ever stopped hating him." He says, staring at the ground.

     "Wow." I breathe, trying to take it all in.

     "Where's Jasper now?" Megan asks.

     "I have no idea." James says with a shrug. "I texted him, but he hasn't answered back. I also checked my room and Jenny's, and he's not there either."

     He sighs and shakes his head.

     "I'm afraid my dear old brother is missing."