"Surprise!" Gladys and Vernon yell when I finally get Elvis into the guest room.
"Wow! Why are you guys here?" He asks, confused.
"We're staying here, son. Jane thought it would be a good surprise!" Vernon says and Elvis's face falls. "What is it, son? Is it too much too soon?" He asks confused.
"No no no, it's all good, I was just hoping it would be just me and Jane here, you know?" Elvis says half heartedly.
"Oh, yeah, I get it son. You want some along time to knock her up. I get it", he says with a wink.
"Vernon! We will not have this kind of talk in this house!" Gladys exclaims embarrassed and furious.
"I'm just saying, it's gonna happen if you two aren't careful."
"We will be Daddy, we will be," Elvis mutters embarrassed. "Now can you please leave?" He asks.
"Oh sure baby cakes. I love you," Gladys says and kisses him on the cheek.
"Love you too Mama. Bye!"
"Bye!" Gladys says, and leaves with Vernon trailing out behind her.
"I'm sorry baby, I thought it was going to be an amazing surprise," I apologized to him.
"It's okay satnin. It was a surprise. I just wanted this house all to ourselves, you know? It's a new chapter in our lives. Let's live it like it is,"
"I love you so much, you know that? I love you so much it drives me insane, you know that Elvis Presley? You drive me INSANE!!" I say, and kiss him.
"Oh honey, you drive me more than insane," he says, and kisses me back. With that he slams the door shut.
—————————————
I wake up and take a deep breath, and take in the smell of him. It's moments like these that I love the most. Just me and him in the world. Then what happened last night hits me. Oh god. Oh no. That's not what happened. It can't be. All I can think about is ending up like Codi. I shake Elvis awake.
"Elvis! Elvis!" I hiss frantically while I shake him harder and harder.
"What's wrong??" Elvis exclaims as he shoots up out of bed.
"Nothing, nothing. Just that we didn't use protection, that's all," I say.
"And you don't want to end up like Codi, I understand, and you won't. Trust me. I won't let it happen," Elvis says, reassuring me. Making me feel okay with the decision we made. Making me feel safe. "You'll be okay baby. I'll make sure of that," he says, as he lays down on the bed beside me. I lay my head on his chest, and let the rhythm of his heartbeat lull me into a sweet dream.
When I finally wake up, Elvis is gone. It's then I realize school has started back up again. Oh shoot! I panic. I'm gonna miss all of my classes! I get dressed quickly and rush out the door with my books crammed in my book bag. Luckily, Elvis and I have this class together, and it just started. I sneak in quietly and take the seat beside him.
"Why didn't you wake me up??" I hiss at him under my breath.
"Because you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you up," he whispers in return.
"You smell strange," I say. Strangely familiar.
"Uh, I bumped into a girl in the hallway and knocked her books out of her hands," Elvis says nervously.
"Okay," I respond, not totally satisfied with his answer.
After class, I proceed to question him further.
"Who was the girl you bumped into? Did you know her?"
"No, she was probably some freshman. Why are you questioning me so much, are you worried about my loyalty? Because that says a lot about our relationship," he says irritated.
"No, I was just, oh forget it. It was nothing," I dismiss it walking to my next class annoyed.
"I'm cheating on you! Is that what you want to hear? I'm cheating on you, okay? Every morning you wake up and I'm not there, I'm out screwing another girl. And you wanna know who this girl is? Her name is Adrianna. And yes, I do know her and yes, she is a gorgeous freshman. There. That's what you wanted to hear, and that's what you got. Bye now," Elvis yells, and storms away, leaving me stunned, frozen in the hallway.
The next thing I know, a girl is helping me walk away. "It's okay, we'll get through this together. I promise. I didn't know he had a girlfriend. He never told me," the stranger cooed.
"So YOU'RE the side hoe he's been playing with! Get away from me! You ruined us! You ruined me! Now get away, before I rip your pretty little head off that little body of yours," I threaten, and run off, get in my car, and let my body drive me to Gladys house. All the while there, all I can think about is Adrianna. She was totally gorgeous. She had natural bleach blond hair that flowed from her tanned skin. She had the greenest eyes I've ever seen, and nice, full lips. She had a cute little nose that hooked up just the slightest bit at the end. Don't even get me started on her dazzling body. There was no doubt about it, she was the perfect girl, much, much better than I am. I wouldn't be surprised if Elvis ditched me and got together with her. Heck, if I were Elvis, I'd ditch me and get together with her. I don't understand what he was doing with me when he had her. Probably just figuring out how to break up with me in the least painful way. Or the most painful way. I have no idea with him anymore.
When I get there, Gladys is there at the door. She must have seen the distressed look on my face.
"What's up Jane? What did my boy do to you?" Gladys asks with a worried tone.
"He cheated on me!" I wail.
"Was she at least pretty?" Vernon jokes.
"She was gorgeous!!" I screech. "She was better than me in every way! He was probably planning on breaking up with me any day!"
"Now look what you've done Vernon. Leave! I'll take care of her. Lord knows you put me through this and we're still here today,"
"Wait, Vernon did this to you too?" I sniffle.
"Yes, yes he did. Three times, actually. The first one was with your mother, actually. That's why, the first time Elvis told us he was dating you, I was concerned. But now I'm not. He was the one I should have been concerned with. Not you. Now I will have a stern talk with him, and have him a great scolding. You were right, to come here. You made the right decision. I am always here with open ears and arms for all your troubles. Not only with my disgrace of a son. I hope you resolve this soon."
"Actually, Mama, I wasn't planning on getting back together with him. Evelyn always said, 'once a cheater, always a cheater'. I don't plan on making the same mistake she did," I say, and right when I finish, Elvis storms our from around the corner and slams the door shut after him. "WHAT?? He was here the whole time? How could you do this to me, Mama? How could you? I TRUSTED you! And you just threw that all away. I would have never expected you, out of all people, Gladys, to do this to me," I say, my eyes filling up with tears as I run out the door.
"Jane! Wait! I can explain, please," Gladys yells after me. With that, I am peeling out of Lauderdale Courts and back to Evelyn's house, where I know I have an actual, true shoulder to lean on.
———————————————————————————
"So, let me get this straight, he's been playing with this side chick for months now, she's beautiful, gorgeous, and better than you in every way, and his mother used your trust to get the truth out of you, but it wasn't the truth he wanted, so he stormed out on you. My oh my, this is quite the dilemma. We must do something about this," Mrs. Elizabeth says.
"What can I do? He thinks it's his house, he did buy me most of my clothes. Hah, he practically owns me. There is nothing I can do," I say with defeat.
"I think there is. I think you should go talk to Adrianna, and hear her side of the story. Become friends with her. That's what you should do."
Okay, I'll do that. Thank you SO much for all the help Mrs. Elizabeth. I'll update you on things with Adrianna soon," I say, giving her a hug.
"Bye Jane, and thank you for coming by. I thought you had forgotten all about me!" Mrs. Elizabeth responds.
"I'd never forget about you Mrs. Elizabeth. Thank you again! Bye!"
"Bye!"
I drive home feeling confident. I was going to march into my house and demand that he leave. When I parked my car in the driveway, though, I got really nervous. What if he doesn't leave? What if things turn out badly? Well, I'll just have to wait and see. But, when I unlock the door, what I see shakes me to the core.
"What the heck?" I screech, and they both turn around.