Sarah kicked my ass yet again.
I let out a yawn as I met Jase in the lobby, Sarah greeting him. I closed my eyes, ready to go home, smoke a little, maybe take a nap. Maybe just go to sleep for the night. I wasn't going to protest to either.
"Great job tonight Owen." Sarah said as she patted my shoulder.
"I'm dead." I mumbled.
I looked up at her as she smiled. "Good that means I did my job."
"Your job is to help me 'improve my function'" I mocked. "Not kill me in the process."
She shrugged. "Same thing."
I snorted out some laughter, saying goodbye before Jase pushed me out to his car. Sarah wasn't that bad. I could even say she'd grown on me. Alright, fine, I liked her, she was cool. The two of us had started this bantering back and forth thing and were relentless about it. But it made time pass and I found myself in a good mood as I left therapy most days.
My phone vibrated in my hoodie pocket as I clicked my belt into place. Jase was folding up my chair, dropping it with a thud in the back of his SUV. It took me until Jase slammed the door to his car shut, the engine revving before I managed to get my phone out of my pocket.
Beautiful: Bre had to leave early
Me: just got out of therapy
Me: want to come over?
Beautiful: sure see you in a few
"Who's that?" Jase asked, peering over at my lit screen as he pulled onto the road.
"Jae."
"She coming over?"
I put my phone back in my pocket. "Looks like it."
I wasn't exactly sure why I was still going along with it all. At some point, the love I used to feel for her had faded. It wasn't that I didn't still care about her. But at the same time I knew I could still breathe if she wasn't mine anymore. Something I didn't think was true beforehand. Maybe things had switched when I came to the conclusion there was another guy. Or maybe it was when I realized that the little quest I'd set out on with trying to get Mina to hate me less had turned into feelings for her. Or maybe it was just inevitable. Whatever it was I felt like I was just going through the motions.
I also wanted to know who the other fucking guy was. And how long she'd been cheating on me before I figured it out. So if I had to keep playing along for a little bit to get my answers, I would.
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I was pretty sure Jaelyn could tell I wasn't paying attention all night. My mind drifting between Mina and whoever Jaelyn was sleeping with. I wondered if anyone else knew. If Alec did, he'd kept it sealed convincingly well. I was hoping he didn't though, I didn't want to find out that everyone knew but me. It was bad enough she was cheating, but I didn't want to be the idiot that everyone was pitying. I had enough of that already.
"Oh good, commercial." Jaelyn said, a smile spread across her face.
The corners of my mouth turned in an attempted smile as her eyes met mine.
"Be right back."
I watched her disappear from my sight, letting out a sigh. I was bored of watching tv. I wanted to feel alive again, like I wasn't a burden.
Jaelyn's phone vibrated on the coffee table, the screen lighting up. I'd never been the guy to go through my girlfriend's phone but at the sight of Drew's name across the screen I was suddenly leaning closer. I unlocked the wheels, inching my chair closer so I could see the text.
That mother fucker.
I ground my teeth together, my eyes reading the text at least a thousand times over as the screen stayed lit.
How long had he been fucking her? No wonder he was acting weird around me. How had I not put it together sooner? It had nothing to do with my injury and everything to do with that he was a back stabbing, girlfriend stealing whore.
So much for best friends.
I heard the toilet flush but it didn't matter. I'd read all that I needed too. The space between us was real. It wasn't in my mind. Drew's text confirmed any and all doubts that I had been trying to swallow.
"Oh good, I made it back in time." Jaelyn said, tucking her brown hair behind her ear.
I had never wanted someone out of my house more than I wanted Jaelyn gone right then. I didn't want to look at her. I didn't want to see her. I didn't want to hear her. I stared down at my hands, my heart thundering, my jaw tight.
I could have just called her out right then. But something was holding me back. I wasn't ready to let her know that I knew. And not only did I know but I knew it was Drew. I wasn't quite ready to lose her too even if the sight of her made me want to puke at the moment. I thought I had been, that it wouldn't really matter. But now I just wanted her out of my face.
"Jae, I'm pretty tired."
I wasn't.
But I knew she wouldn't stick around.
"Oh yeah, of course."
I watched her bend down to collect her phone from the coffee table. The screen lit up again, her eyes dancing over the words. I knew her well enough to know that the glimmer in her eye, the one that used to be directed at me, was for Drew. She slipped her phone in her pocket, her brown eyes landing on me, devoid of the glimmer.
"Get some rest baby."
She planted a kiss on my forehead, my body stiff but she didn't notice and was out the door within minutes. I blew out a breath, running my hands down my face.
What the serious fuck?
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I'm maintaining about a four chapter buffer somehow. So daily updates shall continue until I eat through the buffer. I know everyone foresaw Drew and Jaelyn but how do you think Owen's going to deal with it? I'm curious.